As someone who was a learning specialist for over a decade, I especially loved this blog post called, “When a Little Girl at the Pool Realized My Son Has Autism” by April Shaw.
Here is an excerpt from after her son was approached by a seven-year-old girl at their local swimming pool. This mother was nervous about bringing her son back here because the last time she brought him, an extremely insensitive man was quite cruel to him (heartbreaking for any parent). And then this happened:
About this time, I fully expect her to walk away, just like all the others had before her, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t walk away. Instead, she looks at me and asks, “Does he talk?” I respond, “No, he does not.” She asks, “Does he have autism?” I’m not going to lie here, the question stunned me a little. I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain autism to a girl so young. Either way, my response was short and simple, “Yes, he does.” She turns around and changes her approach with him. Instead of asking him questions, she starts telling him what to do. “Here, get on the float, I’ll pull you,” “I’ll throw the ball, and you catch, OK?” Whoa! Was I really seeing what I was seeing? Was my son playing? Did my son finally have a friend? For about 20 minutes, until the little girl had to go, I got to watch two kids laughing and playing together, and for the first time ever, one of them was mine. Thank God I had sunglasses on because I was a mess. That warm summer day, I got to see a first responder being born – “the girl” (The ones who reach out. The ones who come to help. The ones who come to “rescue.”). And that, my friends, is something you never forget.
Here’s to all the “first responders” who come in all ages.
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