Autism Acceptance Month is almost at an end, but my autism doesn’t disappear at the end of April. In fact, we’re stuck with each other as long as I live. It’s okay, I’ve learned to accept my disability as a part of my being and personality. Which I couldn’t have imagine being the case just a few years ago, when I was ashamed of my disability for making things that came naturally for others challenging for me. However, I have inspiration within the neurodivergent community. People like Dr. Kerry Magro is an inspiration to me and other autistic people when it comes to subjects such as public speaking and earning a college degree. People like this prove that a diagnosis and it’s limits can be wrong.
Autism Isn't Something To BE Ashamed Of
Yesterday I attended An Autism Forum as a vendor where I was selling copies of my book. I was successful as sold all fifteen copies that I brought, but that’s not the focus of today’s blog post. Anyway, while I was talking to a kind woman who was interested in my book, she said something that caught me off guard. “Your book proves that there’s hope for my son to accomplish anything.” That really hit me in my heart because I never considered myself someone to look up do, follow, or aspire to be. So, to be considered an inspiration to someone really made me feel that maybe I’m doing something right. There’s still more that I can learn, but I have others for my own inspiration, just like I might inspire that lady’s child. We all look up to someone, a celebrity, an athlete, a parent, a sibling, or a mentor. What we don’t realize is that the person you’re inspired by may feel inadequate at times too and need inspiration themselves. So, words like this can remind them, that they’re human and doing just fine.