Day 30: Acceptance Is A Process

I made it!

I wrote a blog post a day for the month of April, in honor of Autism Acceptance Month.

Thanks for those of you who took the time to read some or all of the posts this month.

I hope that by sharing our story, I’ve provided you with a new perspective or simply reassured you that you are not alone.

I hope that these posts can serve as a starting point for conversations that we all need to have about how embrace those who are different.

Thanks to those of you who know me in the real world and have said kind words about my blog.   It truly means a lot.

Some of you have called me brave and an amazing mom, but the truth is, I am no braver nor any more amazing than any other mom would be in my shoes.

What I’m doing is not extraordinary.  

The superhero to me is my son and those like him who find a way to navigate through this world every day. 

Words come fairly easy to me.  

Language flows from my brain to my mouth with little thought or effort on my part. (Sometimes I should perhaps put a little more thought and effort into the words that come from my mouth, but that's a different topic of discussion...)

My brain subconsciously filters out extraneous sensory information around me so that I can concentrate, focus, and live my life.  

None of this is true for my son.  

He has to work at these things and more every day.

Acceptance, however, is about celebrating the person for who they are. 

It is about recognizing and building upon strengths.

It is about respecting a person’s way of interacting with the world, even if it looks different from what we are used to seeing.

It’s about letting the person know that he is loved- no matter what.

Acceptance isn’t resignation or giving in.

It’s allowing the person to find wings and soar to new heights.

This blog may be written by me, but it’s not about me.

This is his story.

I just have the honor of telling it to you in the best way that I can.

Remember- his story is but one of the millions of stories out there- each one unique in its own right.

I believe that by telling our stories, we can help each other learn and grow. 

Understanding leads to true acceptance for all.