Autism remains as one of the most enigmatic conditions in modern medicine. And through a writing assignment in school, a ten-year-old boy who has the condition offers an illuminating view on what it’s like to be Autistic.
Benjamin Giroux and his class were asked to write a poem called “I Am.”
The instructions were simple.
Given the first two words of every line (“I am, I see, I feel, etc.”), students are then supposed to fill the rest in.
Benjamin used the space to describe what it was like living on the autism spectrum.
“I say, ‘I feel like a castaway,’” his poem reads. “I dream of a day that that’s okay”
“I try to fit in / I hope someday I do.”
What he wrote was so heartfelt his parents were moved, deciding ultimately to share it on the National Autism Association’s Facebook page.
The viral post has accrued over 31,000 likes and 28,000 shares.
Talking to The Huffington Post, Benjamin’s dad Sonny said:
“I… wanted to show Benjamin that he is not, odd, alone, or isolated and that his diagnosis is something to embrace and not something to hold him back.
“Sonny explained to the Huffington Post. “Each like, share and comment he’s received since has made him feel like not only he does fit in and belong in this world, but has also moved him beyond words that he’s touched so many.”
The poem, heartbreaking as it is, captures the unique life experiences and feelings in a way that is relatable across the board, the universal pain of what it’s like as an outsider and castaway.
READ: Does my child have autism?
READ: Does my child have a mild form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome?
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