I’m going to tell you from my standpoint before I became a special needs parent to an autistic kiddo! It hurts so much now the way I thought and assumed before!
I had no idea what Autism was.
Here’s what I assumed about people with Autism.
-they can’t talk
-they can’t understand you
-they don’t like other people
-they don’t like affection
-they would live at home forever
-they like dinosaurs and trains
-they’re super smart in one thing (dinosaurs or trains)
-they are very aggressive
OUCH!
I cannot tell you how much it hurt me to write all those words. I thought that? I assumed those things? My heart is breaking that I thought that way, but it’s breaking even more that people still assume these things. And guess why?
You don’t know what you don’t know. Some of us have only seen Autism in movies or magazines or commercials or read the “signs of autism” lists to define Autism. But, my friends, that is FAR from the truth!
Here’s the truth about people with Autism.
-they are kind
-they are smart
-love needs no words, and there are so many ways to communicate
-they feel emotions more than most of us do
-they can be so independent
-they bring SO 
MUCH JOY!
-they will teach you things you would have NEVER learned otherwise
-they make you grateful and thankful for EVERY moment!
My daughter brings so much joy into this world and she has so much more to give! When I’m having a bad day, she knows to hop on my lap and cuddle with me. She KNOWS there are cookies in the cabinet, and it has become a new word for her! She cries in sad movies, just like her momma, and this wildly touches my heart!
Tears are flowing writing this!
Please don’t assume anything about anyone. Autism is a spectrum. One autistic is so much different than another- but these things we assume, they are so harmful and hurtful! And simply not true. Autism brings different views, colors, worlds, but it does NOT make anyone ANY less!
This is exactly why I started Opal’s page! To show you that the assumptions we all had or even still have simply ARE NOT TRUE! It’s not too late to change your view! Open your heart and your mind to learn something new- our world, my kiddo, all of the Autism community NEEDS you to.
Life With Opal 