My Open Letter: The Luckiest Brother
If you have a brother or sister getting ready to go off to college, you probably have mixed emotions. If you have a brother or sister with Autism going away to college, then you absolutely do.
If you have a brother or sister getting ready to go off to college, you probably have mixed emotions. If you have a brother or sister with Autism going away to college, then you absolutely do.
Neurodiversity is not just a new word, it’s a concept, a scientific and human based approach to neurological differences; it’s a movement to destigmatize and empower a large group of our population. When we speak of neurodiversity, we are asserting that our neurological differences are as fundamental to our humanity as the colors of our skin, the cultures and beliefs that shape us and our orientations.
Have you heard some of these common myths about autism… “Everyone with autism is ‘anti-social’ and doesn’t want friends,” or “People with autism are all pretty much alike,” or “People with autism don’t feel any emotion?”
Images, stereotypes, and ideas of diagnoses, we all have them. If I were to name a few, I imagine that a few images might be conjured in your head. For example, if I mentioned Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you might picture a boy running around the room while a teacher is struggling to teach a class. If I brought up the term, Reading Disorder, you might picture a young girl reading a series of letters in the wrong order. If I said, "he has an anxiety disorder," you might picture a man struggling with leaving the house, shivering in a corner.
Each day as we wake and venture into the world, we strive to impact our communities by being a productive citizen; contributing our skills and responding to one another with simple acts of kindness.
My life with autism has been an interesting and challenging life, but I never imagined that I would be advocating for people and kids in the autism community. It first started when I was in 8th grade. I was not properly diagnosed until I was 14 years old, and I felt like I needed to tell my classmates about why I acted and learned differently than they did. So I wrote a letter explaining my autism and I decided to read it out loud in front of my class, along with my teacher and school principal. When I first went up, I was a little nervous because I don’t always like talking in front of people, but I got over it fast. All I needed to do was read from my letter, and I did. When I was done, I got an applause. That was my first time telling my personal story of autism, and I thought as I got into high school, I could tell more about the autism community.