World Autism Day - 2017
Yesterday was World Autism Day and I thought a while, wrote & rewrote before I finally decided to publish my thoughts on this.
What does World Autism Day mean to you? To me it is about acceptance. Do people need to become more aware of autism? Is that like – oh I see you are wearing red shoes? I am aware of your shoes?
To me World Autism Day is about awareness of our acceptance of others. That we, all people, have the same dreams, the same goals, the same aspirations. Whether we are mobile or not, whether we can speak or not, whether we can express ourselves or not, whether we can support ourselves or not, whether we are able to make our bed or can barely lay down to sleep in it, we are all the same. Yes, every one of us on this planet.
When we work with people with disabilities, it is not to change, cure, or diminish who they are. It is to encourage self-empowerment, offer recognition of their whole self, and work together lending support as a facilitator. In whatever we do – however we interact.
I am honored to be part of this community as a parent of a child with a disability. I cannot say that I experience the daily flow of life as someone who has a disability, but as an advocate and facilitator I will continue to do what I can to insure the voice of those with disabilities are heard.