The importance of education

I wouldn’t change my child for the world, but I would change the world for my child.

So often I see this phrase. The question is, how can we even expect to change the world for our children when our reaction to those who don’t understand is hateful? It’s easy to judge these people, and to assume that they’re jerks, but that might not always be the case. To me, the answer is education.

Everyone has their own experiences, and struggles in life. Having an open mind to those who lack an understanding of an autism diagnosis is important. How much did you know about autism before your child was diagnosed? If you are anything like me the answer to that question is, “not a whole lot.” We had to educate ourselves to understand it. We can’t expect everyone else to know what we didn’t know in the beginning of our own journey (see “The Start of Our Journey“).

Give those people staring at you in the store, or at the park the benefit of the doubt. Chances are good that no one has explained to them what autism is. Maybe they need you to open their eyes. Be that person! You might not make them any less of a jerk, and they might not understand your attempts, but maybe your voice will change something in them. Why wouldn’t you want to try?

Education is the key, and it’s our responsibility. Educate yourself, your children, and your neighbors. Educate kind people. And especially, educate the jerks!

I’m not ashamed of autism, and I’m definitely not ashamed of my child with autism. I want people to ask me about it because I want to educate them of our experiences. Our world with autism is unique, and it can be difficult to understand. I want to help people understand.

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