What I Want Parents to Know

We are good people it just takes us longer sometimes to do things because our bodies take times to react to do what we want them to do, it can be very frustrating.

When I get upset I am not mad at you most of the time it is because I can not communicate what I need or if I am hurt or scared.

I wish people would not talk about me in front of me because they think I do not hear them or worse I am not smart enough to understand their spoken words that is greatly insulting. I hear everything and mostly understand what people are saying especially my mom, dad and Matthew.

A great many times we are invisible because we can not talk out loud with our voices, we need type on an iPad which takes longer and some of us need help but like Joseph says to me "I see you" which really matters because it makes me feel like a valued person.

I love you mom, dad and Matthew because they will never leave me and are always there to help me, treat me like a real person and make me feel loved.

~Brian Collins

I want parents to know that their child is whole

They need to know that their child is extremely perceptive even if it looks like they are not. Speak to them like they understand everything because they do even if they cant respond or follow your directions.

Have great expectations of your child. Autism is not an excuse for poor behavior. When poor behavior takes over try to figure out if there is another way to give them communication or is poor behavior all they have to use.

Parents need to stop making excuses for their kids and start having the highest expectations of their kids because if you make excuses for them they will never believe in their own abilities and will keep acting poorly.

Parents can make a big difference for us. Feeling sorry for us is not helpful. Help us become the people we want to be and the people we were meant to be.

If you feel sadness it is ok but when you are done with your sadness you will be most helpful to your child. To make progress sadness is an emotion best left behind.

~Sagarika Vaidya

We are good in mind, bad in body movements

To really well intentioned parents: pleading with you before its too late to presume competence and believe in your child. Few people believe in us. We are good in mind, bad in body movements. I also want to tell parents:

• Don’t rush your child; be relaxed and let your child process what you’ve requested which takes a little time.

• Don’t blame autism for everything your child does and let them get away with it.

• Don’t believe autism is a learning problem. It’s a motor planning issue.

• Don’t repeat yourself: getting my body to do something is especially hard when you repeat the directions.

• Do guide your child through the emotion: if you don’t, we feel like you think we can’t do it.

• Do read interesting things to your child and presume competence. 

• Do get kids spelling (typing or letterboarding) by five years old if they can't talk.

• Do expect more from your child: don’t lower the bar.

~William Britton

Autism is surrounded by my overcrowded mind of apraxia

I want my parents to know that autism is surrounded by my overcrowded mind of apraxia. I say to myself I want to accomplish so many things but my mind goes crazy like a jigsaw puzzle and it’s hard for me to set my goals in motion.

My parents sometimes don’t understand how hard it is to live in a world with autism surrounded by others who judge me unfairly and my heart feels so much pressure being accepted by society. I feel angry inside at times for having autism and I wish it would go away but it’s not going to.

I need my parents to always be patient and kind to me, be there for me through my struggles of apraxia when my mind isn’t working the way it wants to.

Help the world to accept me for who I am, the strong intelligent young woman you know, who will make such a difference in people’s lives.

~Tiffany Broskoskie

#ExceptionalMinds #WeAreInHere #NonspeakingAutism #NonSpeakingDoesNotEqualNonThinking

#Apraxia