If you have a child with Autism then you've been there. The glaring stares of others as our children react by melting down from sensory overload, or race to the kitchen to explore the inner workings at a restaurant, or repeatedly jump up with excitement when everyone else is sitting quietly. So how do we explain autism to someone who doesn't understand, has never had close experience with someone with autism, or who hasn't yet learned that autism is abroad spectrum disorder?
Verbal - Have you ever had a bad case of laryngitis? It was frustrating not being able to say what you meant. But while you couldn't speak, you were still processing information and your intelligence level certainly didn't change.
Touch - Have you ever had a tag in your shirt that really bothered you? Yes? Good. Now let's add cactus needles to that tag. Lots of them. We don't know why people with autism have incredibly heightened sensitivities, but they are very real.
Misunderstanding - How often have you gotten an email or sent an email and the intention of the message was completely misunderstood? Without the verbal tones and facial cues most of us rely on for message interpretation, it's not uncommon to misread intent. Now, imagine all of your communication was carried out by tone deaf emails and you had to guess the intent of each message. Or, travel to a far away country and try to understand metaphors that are cultural specific and make no sense to you. Think how much more comfortable you would be in that country if people just said exactly what they meant.
We're not fooling ourselves. There will always be people who don't understand, or who don't display the tolerance we wish they had. But maybe together we can reach enough people to make a difference and give people that "ah-ha!" moment and make the world a more comfortable place for the people we love with autism.
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