For Severe Autism Acceptance Means Dignity and Respect

My son is a human. A quirky, not typical human, but a human nonetheless. .

Dignity. Respect. Treating my son with dignity and respect is what autism acceptance is for me. My son will be accepted for who he is, when you can interact with him with dignity and respect.

My son is different from most people and 1 minute in his presence will prove that. He does weird things with his hands and arms, makes loud, weird noises and doesn't interact with his surroundings as typical people do.

My son, for all his oddness, is a human being with all the rights and privileges of any other human. Dignity and respect. Please don't talk to my son like he is a toddler. He is an adult man.

I don't expect someone to talk about football with my son, but you can talk to him. My son loves interacting with people. You can talk to him, not at him, and not over his head to me. And for the love of all that's respectful, don't stand there and stare and point at my son. He may not care, but I do.

My son is a human. A quirky, not typical human, but a human nonetheless. Dignity and respect. Please keep these two words in mind when interacting wirh my son. When you do, I'll know that my son has been accepted for who he is.