April is...

[Wells 1st MRB]

Doesn't mean you need to be donating somewhere. If you don't know what autism is, maybe you should look it up

[Lopez]

in a related note, i strongly recommend the movie "The Story of Luke"

Movie about an autistic guy in his 30s and an interesting surrounding cast of characters. Here is the trailer, give it a look.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Lopez 1st MRB

[ClickClickahShit]

I think this is a great thing to bring up Wells and I thank you for doing it! My 16 year old cousin has Autism, as of right now he has the learning capabilities of a 6 year old or close to it. It breaks my heart but I know my uncle, aunt and two cousins go through extreme measures to make sure he gets the help he needs. Every time we have a family gathering I hang out with him and watch Toy Story, his favorite movie. He is always so full of life and happy when I see him but I know there are times when he can be out of control. There are two things my uncle's family fears most for him, bullying and the future. I am disgusted when I hear about people, even teachers, harassing children and adults with special needs. They are human just like everyone else, they like the same foods and like to watch movies. I have always told my uncle that if I ever see someone making fun of or harassing him I will make sure the person pays dearly. I know my family and I love him to death and will do anything to help him.

[T. Brown 1st MRB]

One of my best friends in high school was autistic. He home-schooled though, but would come into the high school on occasion for special classes, pick up supplies, and socialize a bit. Maybe it was because it was a private high school in Japan as opposed to a public school in America (which I hear horrible things about, but never really attended), but we loved that guy. He was universally liked, and while it often made him feel good (95% of the time, he was super happy), he once told me how he wanted to be "normal". I think that since he got SO much attention, it made him either focus on his disability more, or made him feel as if without his disability, he would not be liked at all. Ever since he told me this, I have always wondered if other autistic people get similar feelings.

We stayed in touch since I returned to the states, but unfortunately he died a few years ago from some form of heart complication. He had went on to help teach other autistic and/or developmentally-challenged kids through another American school in Japan and absolutely loved his life, no matter how short or challenging it was.

[Wells 1st MRB]

I wanted to share a funny story regarding my younger brother who was diagnosed when he was 2 (I was 8). He was watching my Dad clip his eyebrows in the mirror. Ian rushed upstairs to attempt his own version of cropped eyebrows. About twenty minutes later, Ian waltzed back downstairs without eyebrows... Our attempts to fix this involved various eyeliner/eyebrow pencils to which Ian was not a fan of. He decided the best way to fix this was a permanent black marker. His eyebrows very much resembled the M for McDonald's.

He's 21 now with a much better understanding of facial hygiene haha.

[Kanganis]

The public school I went to was a K-12 school. It almost functioned like a private school. That is mainly because the town I lived in was basically full of preppy white kids. Anyways. Because it was a public school there were quite a few mentally disabled kids that were enrolled. Most of the children had autism. However none of the kids are mocked or teased, as far as I knew. I mean a few douchebag kids would make fun of them behind their backs. However, they were usually just terrible people anyways. Point is, I have spent most of my life in the presence of autism. However, it still doesn't make it any easier for me to not notice it. Sure I don't say anything; I still notice it though. I always feel sympathetic and sad when I notice someone is inflicted with autism.