“In short, acceptance means that people know who you are, and they include you anyway.”
My mom says that when I was little, I would ask her about her “friends who don’t drive” when I talked about the adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities at her work. Growing up I would ride the bus home from school to my mom’s work. In those days it was customary that organizations would secure local contracts and have assembly-type work for these adults to do and get paid. I remember spending my summers packing sponges alongside them and talking about many different things. Apparently, the only difference that stuck out to me was that they were adults that didn’t drive.
I am often asked what led me to work in this field: How I decided to work with individuals with disabilities. For years it was hard for me to articulate an answer because I never made a conscious decision to work with people with disabilities.
Rather, I chose to work in social justice. But what started out as a fun job out of college grew into an understanding of how slowly our communities are evolving to provide opportunities for individuals with disabilities. I realized how naïve I had been about how hard individuals and their families had to fight for basic human rights and kindness.
Friends Life Community supports more than 65 adults who don’t drive — we call them Friends — and their family members. I still get uncomfortable when families tell us that they are so appreciative that their loved ones have a safe place to be, a place where they know they are accepted for who they are, and a place where they are respected and valued. It makes me uncomfortable because that is not something that should warrant a thank you. It should be the standard, not the exception.
“What does it mean to be accepted? That’s easy. It means that people smile a genuine, welcoming smile when they see you. It really is that simple,” says Diane, a mother of an adult son who attends FLC. She further explains, “We learned about acceptance the hard way: by being excluded. We learned from too many classroom birthdays when he was the only kid left off the invitation list. Too many church congregations who asked us to leave because they “just didn’t have the staff to deal with him. Too many times he was the kid all by himself on the playground. Too many sideways glances, eyerolls, and awkward silences when he entered the room.”
April is Autism Acceptance Month. This is a two-part call to action. It is helpful that many people have heard the term Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder, but few people understand Autism, and many people still do not feel accepted.
We are fortunate to have teachers such as Temple Grandin, who writes and offers insight into how individuals with Autism think differently from others. She is able to clearly articulate how her Autistic brain works and has done an exceptional job of being a voice for others who may not know how to explain what they are thinking or feeling. She is just one example of how the differences in how an Autistic brain works is extremely beneficial and necessary for the collaboration of a team and a community as a whole. She revolutionized the agricultural industry and increased the quality of life and death for animals, and as she points out, there are many engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who have changed history and advanced society who have had Autism. They have been able to implement solutions in an advanced way because they saw the world differently.
Mary Ann works at Friends Life Community and has a sister with Autism. Siblings have such a wonderful perspective. She explains, “Autism Acceptance means knowing and understanding there are people that see and experience the world in a unique way and it is simply adequate. My mind goes to children in schools that have to endure standardized testing because that is the accepted measure of success. Then, as adults, they have to endure standardized workplaces that emphasize profits because that is the accepted measure of success. What if those standards do not measure success for a person?”
As Mary Ann points out, our society is often built around measurement that fits only a specific type of person. The problem is that this system leaves some people out of important opportunities, and the society as a whole loses because we miss out on what these individuals have to offer. She continues, “Women and men are created differently and experience the world in a unique way and each brings a perspective or value that the other cannot. The same is true for women and men with Autism. They experience the world in a unique way and bring a perspective or value that the other cannot, so it seems unwise to deem other ways incorrect, problematic, or challenging.
“I would give anything to be in my sister’s brain for a moment to better understand the way she experiences the world and better understand all the ways in which I am inadequate.”
It’s not Autism that is complicated. People are complicated. We all have quirks, challenges, temperaments, demands, traumas, and many other traits that make us human. And we all have strengths, perspectives, skills, and gifts to share that are valuable and make the world around us better. Let’s not make acceptance complicated.
Jimmy, one of the Friends at FLC, said it simply: “People treat us differently. Don’t do that! We are not broken people. We are just different and different is not broken.”
To reiterate Jimmy’s comment, people with Autism are not broken and therefore they do not need to be fixed. What is broken are our systems that do not include everyone and do not create equitable ways for everyone to participate. This is a lose-lose environment.
I recognize that I can’t fully understand how Jimmy sees the world, how he thinks or why he makes the decisions that he makes. And Jimmy can’t always relate to the way I think. But we both know what it feels like to be ignored, treated unkindly, and disrespected. Jimmy said, “Acceptance feels good. I feel important, like I mean something — not just a throw-away.” I don’t have to think the way Jimmy thinks to know how that feels and to know that I don’t want either of us to feel that way.
I think we can all relate to Diane’s words and the desire to have a place to belong, “To paraphrase the old Cheers song, it means everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came to join them. It means you have a place where you belong, despite your odd behaviors and less-than-polished social skills. It means that others want you to come back again when you leave. It means that someone else’s life is diminished if you’re not in it.
“In short, acceptance means that people know who you are, and they include you anyway.”
SUCCESS +256756096881 IS BY JOINING ILLUMINATI UGANDA NOW
SUCCESS +256756096881 IS BY JOINING ILLUMINATI UGANDA NOW
+256756096881 +256756096881 +256756096881 +256756096881Have you been trying to join the illuminati rich brotherhood, but you failed, don’t loose your opportunity my brothers and sisters. You just call on 256756096881. This is the only solution to avoid those scammers and this is the time to light up your future and the future is today. The good news is that you can request any amount of money you want without human blood sacrifice. Illuminati agent call +256756096881 in Uganda Kampala, no need of human blood sacrifice, joining us for money talents wisdom power knowledge.256756096881
Great opportunity to those who need to be rich, famous, talented, wealthy and powerful with out human sacrifice. Having fifty millions on your bank account does not mean you are rich, my friends join illuminati today you will thank me later, just Whatsapp true agents on 256756096881 you will thank me later, no human sacrifice please only animals and birds to be slaughtered and you enjoy your life extremely.256756096881
Congratulate you all again those who have been receiving their money in last month like: Ojok
steven, munyambabazi melisa, sabwe vicent mbaziira thompsons, waisswa emmanuel, kisakye paul, muyanja agustus and other 236 members, so if you want to join the illuminate billionaire’s organization. Now you can also request any amount of money you need without human blood sacrifice.256756096881
You can connect with Mr George Gudman +256756096881 You call or what’s up on +256756096881, Join now and receive your package where you are. In just 30 minutes only the money will be in your bag.256756096881 Though you are merely a speck on the back of a grain of sand when compared to the vast number of humans born and decomposed for millennia, +256756096881 you are as important to your species’ survival as the greatest kings and queens, by nature, the human is affected by instinct, and emotion, A human will turn on one of its own species for reasons that +256756096881 will never matter in a thousand years, and likely not matter in even a hundred or ten. The Illuminati operates various departments and programs for the benefit of all people, in all places, from all generations.
TO JOIN NOW
call/wtspp: +256756096881
ADDRESS: KAMPALA UGANDA
WATSAPP: +256756096881
AGENT : MR GEORGE GUDMAN
```
NO BLOOD SACRIFICE +256754770544 JOIN ILLUMINATI
NO BLOOD SACRIFICE +256754770544 JOIN ILLUMINATI
256754770544 no need of human blood sacrifice, joining us for money, talents, +256754770544 wisdom, power, knowledge and protection.Over the years, the Order has become a popular +256754770544 topic for movies, novels, websites, and even video games. +256754770544 From the Great Depression, which was ultimately necessary, to world wars256754770544 256754770544. In many people’s minds, the Order idea ties in with the New World Order, +256754770544 a current political idea about a one-world government, religion, and financial system.
The New World Order is the outward goal and we are the secret power working behind the scenes to achieve it. +256754770544256754770544Many pseudo-entertainers are aware of Illuminati legends and work those symbols and myths into their acts to fuel further +256754770544 speculation. Supporters of this idea say organizations like the United Nations, European Union, the World Health Organization +256754770544 , the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, G-20 Economic Group, the World Court, NATO, +256754770544 Council on Foreign Relations, World Council of Churches and various multinational corporations are pawns of the New World Order, nudging the world closer and closer to this socialist, +256754770544 one-economy, one-religion
here the good news is that you can request +256754770544 any amount of money you want without human blood sacrifice. Call Illuminati agent in Uganda Kampala
+256754770544+256754770544 256754770544 +256754770544 +256754770544
+256754770544 future.256754770544 +256754770544 +256754770544 +256754770544 +256754770544
+256754770544 +256754770544
No blood sacrifice.. +256754770544 +256754770544 +256754770544
ADDRESS: KAMPALA UGANDA
WATSAPP: +256754770544
AGENT : LADY LARAH
EVERY WHERE IN UGANDA+256756096881 TO JOIN ILLUMINATI FOR GENERATIONAL WEALTHY
EVERY WHERE IN UGANDA+256756096881 TO JOIN ILLUMINATI FOR GENERATIONAL WEALTHY
SEND A AMASSAGE ON WATSUPP+256756096881 TO JOIN THE NEW WORLD ORDER IN UGANDA JOIN ILLUMINATI IN KAMPALA JOIN ILLUMINATI IN BANDA, KIREKA, SEETA, MUKONO, LUGAZI, JINJA, IGANGA, BUSIA, TORORO, MALABA, MBALE, OPIYAI, NADIKET, PANYANGARA
Over the years, the Order has become a popular topic for movies, novels, websites, and even video games. From the Great Depression, which was ultimately necessary, to world wars. In many people’s minds, the Order idea ties in with the New World Order, a current political idea about a one-world government, religion, and financial system. The New World Order is the outward goal and we are the secret power working behind the scenes to achieve it. Many pseudo-entertainers are aware of Illuminati legends and work those symbols and myths into their acts to fuel further speculation. Supporters of this idea say organizations like the United Nations, European Union, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, G-20 Economic Group, the World Court, NATO, Council on Foreign Relations, World Council of Churches and various multinational corporations are pawns of the New World Order, nudging the world closer and closer to this socialist, one-economy, one-religion future.
here the good news is that you can request any amount of money you want without human blood sacrifice. Call Illuminati agent in Uganda Kampala +256756096881 no need of human blood sacrifice, joining us for money, talents, wisdom, power, knowledge and protection.
No blood sacrifice
FOR ONLY SERIOUS PEOPLE
Joining Illuminati brotherhood is not done online please Reach the Illuminati brotherhood Temple near to you FOR UGANDA CONTACT AGENT ON: +256756096881
⛔ WARNING ⛔ WARNING⛔
Joining Illuminati brotherhood is not done online please Reach the Illuminati brotherhood Temple near to you FOR UGANDA CONTACT Mr George Gudman +256756096881
No blood sacrifice
FOR ONLY SERIOUS PEOPLE
BECAUSE HE DOESN’T ATTEND TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SERIOUS
call/wtspp: +256756096881 +256756096881
email: georgegudmun@gmail.com
Bertha Jensen
Divorce doesn’t have to be the end of your love story. Sometimes, it’s just a painful chapter that needs healing and restoration. Priest Alaska understands the pain that comes with separation and has helped countless couples rediscover their connection. His powerful spiritual guidance works to calm emotions, rebuild trust, and restore the love that once felt lost. Don’t let distance or misunderstandings destroy what was meant to last forever.
If you’re experiencing any of the following difficulties, Priest Alaska can also help:
Get Ex Lover Back (Spell Caster)
Reunion Marriage Love Spell
Lottery Winning Spell
Pregnancy Spell
Protection Spell And Job Spell
Contact him today; your marriage can still be saved. Email: alaskaspellcaster44@gmail.com or visit his website: https://dralaskaspellcaster.mystrikingly.com.
Bertha Jensen
Divorce doesn’t have to be the end of your love story. Sometimes, it’s just a painful chapter that needs healing and restoration. Priest Alaska understands the pain that comes with separation and has helped countless couples rediscover their connection. His powerful spiritual guidance works to calm emotions, rebuild trust, and restore the love that once felt lost. Don’t let distance or misunderstandings destroy what was meant to last forever.
If you’re experiencing any of the following difficulties, Priest Alaska can also help:
Get Ex Lover Back (Spell Caster)
Reunion Marriage Love Spell
Lottery Winning Spell
Pregnancy Spell
Protection Spell And Job Spell
Contact him today; your marriage can still be saved. Email: alaskaspellcaster44@gmail.com or visit his website: https://dralaskaspellcaster.mystrikingly.com.