They're Different, Not Broken - Autism Awareness

 

I know in today’s society many feel that people that don’t function “normally” must have something wrong with them.  There must be a cure or solution.  A pill or treatment to fix the problem.  Well I’m sorry if I offend anyone or lose any of my few readers, but… Autistic child/people are NOT broken!  They do not need a cure or solution.  They need to be understood.  I’m not saying that research shouldn’t be conducted to find a cause (if we even can, human biology is extremely complicated and sometimes things just seem to happen.  I know, I know… another foreign concept in our society that we, including myself, really struggle with if someone says it) or attempt to find ways to improve the quality of life that many with autism are thrown into.  But, I am saying that we should not put autistic people in a box with a pill and ignore them or treat them as incompetent.  Many, if not most or all, are HIGHLY intelligent people.  The general public fails to discover, let alone understand, this because they don’t take the time to learn a new communication style!  In my experience, autism really boils down to a communication disorder, not a disease that must be contained and cured immediately.  Much like someone that has lost their ability to speak coherently after a stroke, autistic people usually know what they want to say but have difficulties getting it out.  Yes, they tend to have what seems to be certain quirks that throw some people off, like generally preferring not to be touched and structured schedules.  But, heck, my sister hates to be touched and she is far from autistic.  These are also preferences that change with culture!  In some cultures there is nearly zero physical contact generally speaking; and, some cultures value a rigorous schedule closely adhered to, while others adhere to a very loose schedule.  I find that people believe autistic people incapable of emotion.  This is LUDACRIS!  All the autistic people that I have met and/or spent time with are highly sensitive to both your emotions and how they feel and are treated.  They just express these emotions differently.

My point is I think instead of the general public focusing on what’s “broken,” they should be educated on, or by in many cases, what autism really is and what those special people we call autistic really deal with.  In my experience, they are often some of the sweetest, most sensitive, most loving, most caring, highly intelligent, curious, creative people you will ever have the honor of meeting and spending time with.  Learn their “language,” spare a minute to be blessed…

Ok, so now I will get off my soapbox and show you my nails for Worldwide Autism Awareness Day today.  If you missed out on fun and educating today, don’t worry this month this Autism Awareness Month so you can participate as much or as little as you like :)

I started with Orly Snowcone as my base because I felt it to be the closest match to the Light Up Blue Campaign Logo I’ve been seeing.  I then used a dotting tool and Essie Blanc to create a puzzle piece on my ring fingers (I will try to persuade my camera to work properly and make a tutorial for my version of a puzzle piece soon).  And since like I said I feel like many autistic people are misunderstood and are actually very loving I stamped a heart from Konad plate m18 with Konad White Special Polish on my thumbs.  I layered “A”s going all different directions from Konad plate m17 over this with Konad Blue Special Polish.

 

Thanks & Gig ‘em!

Jessica