Beyond Blue Lights and Puzzle Pieces

April is a month that was set aside many years ago as an "awareness" month for the wider world. For many people who are autistic, though, they end up reading about needing a "cure" for autism and that they are puzzles to be solved. How painful that must be!

I don't post much during April about autism awareness, because well, I don't know that it does anything to help people who are autistic. Some autistic people say they would like the month to focus on acceptance.

A friend who is a teacher was planning to do jewelry making with puzzle pieces for autism awareness this month. She is  awesome with my son.  Really takes the time to talk with him. Anyway, I suggested that not everyone likes the puzzle piece symbol and maybe she could read what some autistic people have said about that symbol. But she was approaching this from the perspective of wanting to honor the people in her school who are autistic. I love that.

Symbols are important, because sometimes they are an extension of what people DO. When I look at my son and then at the world, I want the world to be one who accepts him, but also has expectations of him to grow and learn, and has expectations of the world itself to grow and learn. Because that expresses the idea of commitment.