Aaria’s Blue Elephant is a nonprofit organization that supports autism, a neurological condition. There was an event called Circle of Friends, so I entered a drawing and a short story into it. Here is my drawing and story:
Different. Yet Together
Briiiinnng! As the fifth graders of Greenwald Elementary rushed to the door, Mrs. Hawthorne stopped them. ‘You’ll all be staying here for another hour. I’ve told your parents already. SIT DOWN.’
As the students sat down, Mrs. Hawthorne said, ‘Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person understands, communicates and interacts with the world.’
‘I want to go over some things before our new student comes in tomorrow. First of all, you have to be nice, kind and NOT ever degrade the student because of their mental condition. Now, from our chart, who can tell me what’s the second thing we should remember?’
Five students raised their hands, and they all had similar answers.
‘Yes, Layla,’ said Mrs. Hawthorne.
‘We should always be respectful, and never reject or dislike someone with autism. Just because of a neurodevelopmental condition doesn’t mean we have to treat anyone lesser than who they really are. We are all different. Yet together,’ said Layla.
‘Yes, Layla, you’ve actually covered the summary of all the 7 Things To Remember chart,’ Mrs. Hawthorne said.
‘Thank you, Mrs. Hawthorne,’ said Layla. ‘I just wanted everyone to know how we all deserve the same amount of respect and kindness, even for a person that is on the spectrum.’
The next day, the new student, Santiago Sanchez, walked into the room. Everyone greeted him with a smile, and came over to him, offering to show him around. Thanks to Layla, no one commented on Santiago’s condition. At the end of the day, Santiago had the whole class as his friends, and one was his lifelong friend–Layla. The class was ready to support Santiago here, and help him bypass challenges and obstacles on his journey. The connections made between all the students and Santiago were phenomenal, and he felt welcome at Greenwald Elementary.
For the first time in a long time, Santiago didn’t feel different at all. He just felt like he belonged.
I was awarded a Certificate of Excellence, and I hope I supported autism in every way I could. This was REALLY important to me because I have a friend in class who has autism. I treat him like my brother, and he treats me like his sister, and we have a very strong bond. We treat them like they are gifted because they are amazing at geography and math and are really talented at both subjects. We also have a lot in common, like being born in the same hospital and sharing many of the same interests that are popular among our friend group.
I hope this encourages people to support people with autism and include everyone.
