Siblings are the best advocates...

My nearly 14 year daughter was chatting to me about her project for her civics and economics class - she picked “the problem with special education” as a topic that represents a civic issue due to her endless advocacy for her younger brother with non-verbal autism.

As I was listening to her ideas on what she was going to talk about in her project she mentioned that some people at her school use the word “autism” or “autistic” as an insult.

My daughter explained when she hears this she either:

1/ Gives them “the look”; or

2/ Tells them that they “should not use that word because not only is it offensive, it’s also a bad insult… people with autism usually absorb information must faster, but no one realizes it. So calling someone autistic who does not have autism just means you’re calling them smart and underrated. Who wants to use that as an insult?”

Kudos to this young lady on being a wonderful advocate for not only her brother but our entire autistic community. ❤️💪 🥹 👏.