April is, as I’m sure you’ve been told repeatedly since February, Autism Awareness/Acceptance/Appreciation Month. What you may not know is that April is also National Poetry Month. So this April, I’m going to spread Autism…all the things….through poetry. I’ll link the poems below as I write them. Day 1: Unhappy Hands Day 2: I Know… Continue reading Autism Acceptance Poetry Month Masterlist
Several really awesome advocates in the autistic community have come up with a content creation challenge centering around the hashtag #TakeTheMaskOff. The content that is created during the challenge will (hopefully) better explain what the “Mask” is and why we seek to “Take It Off” (and why we’re wearing it in the first place), but,… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Masterpost
Someone posted this ausome list of post/blog topics for Autistic Acceptance Month (which starts today!) on a Facebook Group that I’m in: Autistic Acceptance Month 20 Days of Acceptance And Appreciation Day 1: Intro Post [a.k.a. the post you’re looking at now] Day 2: What I Love About Being Autistic Is… Day 3: My Diagnosis… Continue reading Autistic Acceptance Month Day 1: Intro and Article List
If you are in Texas and are in need of immediate rescue: “The National Guard is being deployed to our Texas area. If you find yourself in a state of emergency. Call (281) 558-1742. ” Keep tabs on the most recent happenings with Hurricane Harvey and the rescue/recovery efforts currently happening with that with the… Continue reading Resources For Floods, Hurricanes, and Natural Disasters
An autistic man gets into a helicopter Scans his eyes across the skyline And draws the city building for building, street for street, Probably more accurate than my GPS on a rainy day; An autistic woman stands on a stage with a microphone And Simon Cowell scowling at her humble appearance And opens her mouth… Continue reading AAM Poem #7: Brilliant
There is (or used to be) This billboard somewhere between Lafayette and Lake Charles, A young child looking askance Draped in a grey filter Almost as if questioning the text next to her: “Not making eye contact is a sign of autism” And I laugh as I whip past it at 70 miles per hour; For… Continue reading AAM Poem #6: Billboards
I know a boy who doesn’t speak: You might get four words out of him On a good day All of them word-fragments that you’d have to know him to understand And it’s not that he’s literally Voiceless; He grunts, groans, yells, scoffs, Laughs, giggles, chirps, meows, Makes sounds that I don’t know how to… Continue reading AAM Poem #5: Voiceless
You With the stern eyes, tightened lips, Hands always working on one thing or the next Maybe you’re the breadwinner Spending long hours at the office Or in the field Or wherever your strengths and talents may take you; Maybe you’re overseas in a uniform Or on a plane to meet an executive Or in… Continue reading AAM Poem #4: Ode To The “Autism Dads”
[This is what it’s like to view one’s neurology as a pathology: ] My autism makes me less human So I won’t let myself think that There is so much beauty in who I am Because I know That people won’t love me once they know the real me And it seems increasingly unlikely That… Continue reading AAM Poem #3: Internalized Ableism vs Hope
I know an autistic woman who spoke in a tongue all her own until she was almost five, Who spent almost all of elementary school bounced between speech therapists and speech pathologists Whose tongue never sits quite right in her mouth and whose misaligned teeth press and slant the words as they come out Who… Continue reading AAM Poem #2: I Know An Autistic Woman
Clenched fists Flailing wrists Nails dug into fingertips Lip bit Tongue click Knuckles find the bone and hit Hips sway Eyes squeezed Tightened muscles won’t release Palms slammed tightly over ears Darting eyes betray my fears Fears, frustration, anger shows And shows more ever as it grows And then you stare, and then you pout… Continue reading AAM Poem #1: Unhappy Hands
