April is Autism Awareness month.
Every month is Autism Awareness in my house because my son, “The Peanut”, has autism. We love every inch of that boy!
Then why am I so annoyed right now?
I wanted the dates for Autism Awareness month so I went to autismspeaks.org. I didn’t find what I was looking for but I saw this on their donation page:
“Your gift gets us one step closer to our vision of a world where the 1 in 44 children and 1 in 45 adults with autism can reach their full potential.”
WTF is this nonsense? 1 in 44? Holy low expectations, Batman!
I know they mean well but could you imagine if FedEx said we’ll get ‘most’ of the packages there on time.
What if churches led with, ‘Jesus loves some people but not everyone’.
Like… What?
Ok, look. I get that Autism Speaks means well and most human beings don’t live our full potential. But that’s exclusive to ALL of us, not just kids on the spectrum.
That’s why I do what I do. Wayne Dyer used to say, “don’t die with your music still in you.”
That’s why I draw.
That’s why I teach.
That’s why I mentor.
And let me tell you one of the most important things you can learn from The Peanut and kids with autism.
They don’t feel like they have anything to prove. They believe and KNOW that they are worthy.
Timothy Shriver said, “To the extent each of us learns that, we have the key, the first steps to feel fully alive and feeling that our souls are free.”
That quote came from Shriver’s interview with Oprah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viRWv4EygIQ .
To be, do, say, and act however you want is something that eludes most people. The Peanut has a level of trust and honesty that I constantly work towards. It ain’t easy!
Too often we treat Autism like this BIG thing we have to eradicate kids and adults from. But in reality we can learn just as much from them as they can from us.
Adam