Connecting with Autism

People say that autistic children prefer not to socialize. I say that is a bunch of bull. Autistic kids want to socialize just like we do. The problem is that they do not know how. What many people do when they see an autistic child is just stay away. They seem weird to us, so we want nothing to do with them. Honestly, we think you are weird too. We see the world in a different way from you. I am a person who had infantile autism. That means I outgrew my main symptoms. I love it when autistic kids are around me because I can understand them. It is really easy to befriend an autistic child and the best part is that they are usually your friend for life.

Most people spend hours researching a cure for autism. This is really unnecessary. Autistic kids don’t want to be like the rest of the world. We want to be ourselves and have others understand us. We love interaction with other people; we just don’t know how to act when we receive it. The best thing you can do for an autistic person is to research their disorder enough that you understand them. Then, you need to talk to them. Be careful not to upset us, but if you do, we are easily made happy again. Just say you are sorry. Now, there will be times when the autism is severe and they may run away if upset. Follow them as they run. They will tire out eventually, usually before you do. When they are tired, just get down on their level and apologize to them. They should be okay again.

Another thing you can do to make sure we talk with you is to constantly move your hands as you talk. This is comforting to us. You may notice that we fidget our hands often. If you do it, we think you are one of us, and therefore feel less stressed talking to you.