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This is why no autism story or program will ever be perfect

Julia is a new character on the children's show Photo: Sesame Street

Julia is a new character on the children’s show
Photo: Sesame Street

So the Sesame Street #SeeTheAmazing autism program was launched and shared and talked about like mad and of course, torn to shreds and judged and attacked.

Why? Well, I could go into the details but honestly, the details don’t really matter. This has happened with every program and story ever created and will continue to happen.

No one autism story takes every single perspective into account. They just can’t. Many of the perspectives conflict, making it very difficult to include together and there are just so many that it’s nearly impossible to remember to include them all.

Personally, I’m attacked every single time I talk about how great a person with autism can be, because I’m not talking about how disabling autism can be. Then I write about how disabling autism can be and I’m attacked because I’m not making autism sound like the best gift ever.

This happens every single time.

Cure vs acceptance
Parent vs autistic
Person first vs Identity first
Children vs adults
Independent vs dependent
Verbal vs non-verbal
Boys vs girls
Toxins vs genetics

It really doesn’t matter to whom you are talking or whom you’re talking about or what position you take or how much good you do. None of that matters.

You will be hated for it.

Sesame Street’s program isn’t perfect because I didn’t create it. Even if I did, it would only be perfect for me. Not for everyone else. Lots of people would hate it.

That’s the whole point.

This is why we don’t only have one company doing one program or one person telling one story.

Parents will reach other parents. Autistics will reach other autistics. Somewhere in the middle of it all, we’ll all reach each other. But not everyone will like it.

There’s 2 things we should work on in this regard:

1. Don’t attack each other. Constructive criticism is educational. Hateful attacks create closed minds. Show people how your story is different. I’m sure they’d even appreciate that. Just don’t attack them because their story doesn’t align with yours.

2. Don’t take the criticism personally. Some people are not going to like what you say because it’s not what they wanted you to say. So long as you have something to say, there will always be people who will want you to say what they want said. It’s personal for them, it’s not personal against you. They’re allowed to wish you said what they wanted to hear.

If you are doing good work and making a positive impact and changing lives, keep going. Let other people worry about their own programs and their own stories.

There’s more than enough room for everyone and there is more than enough stories.

That’s where real autism understanding and acceptance comes from.

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Paint your own Autism picture

One thing that happens to me a lot, and I see this happen to others quite often around the internet as well, is that I’ll make a statement and quickly be corrected… sometimes I’m even told what to say.

For example, when I say on Twitter that Autism is neither a gift nor a curse, there’s usually someone that feels the need to correct me.  When I compare Autism to a rainbow, even making sure to include the stormy aspects… I’ve had people be downright mad that I’d compare it to something wonderful. Because to them, Autism is anything but.

I can understand that, to a point. But at the same time, I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to tell others how they should feel about something. Especially if it’s something that affects themselves or their loved ones as well.

The Incas

I don’t know a whole lot about the Inca Empire… but I did find their art work, sculptures and other artifacts most intriguing when I saw them at the museum.

What I found most interesting, however, was that there was no one artifact or piece of art work that could tell historians or archaeologists the whole story of what life was like for the Inca people.

The only real way to truly know is to take the whole tour. You go through the Inca exhibit and see so much, you learn so much and then… even then… you wonder at what it must have truly been like. Because you still don’t know!

You get bits and pieces… lots of bits and pieces… you get theories, you get stories… and you learn so much… but you still don’t know.

Museum… internet… whatever

Today, right now, our museum is the internet. This blog, that you’re reading now, is my contribution to the Autism exhibit. It’s not the whole exhibit, it’s just a piece of artwork on the wall (not very great artwork but it’s there all the same).

And I see other people’s contributions all over the place that compliment my piece, others contradict my piece, some are a whole other category of interest from mine… perhaps theirs could be considered the artifacts to my art pieces.

The fact is, there’s a lot to see and read and experience and while it gives people a lot to go on, and may give people a lot of theories, it’s still not the whole story.

But only by us sharing, all of us, can people get closer to really knowing… to truly understanding.

paintingMy Painting

Perhaps you don’t agree with my painting on the wall… maybe you don’t have any storm clouds in the distance behind a beautiful rainbow… and that’s ok too. That doesn’t make your art work any less important to the exhibit.

It just makes it a part of the story.

While it’s true that our museum could really use a better curator to organize and make things easier to find, it’s still a very wonderful exhibit with some really touching stories and people to discover.

Correct me if you feel the need to, but that won’t stop me from painting my Autism picture the way I see it.

And I hope no one ever stops you from painting your artwork the way you see it.

The visitors to our museum depend on it.

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