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receive those services if they do not qualify due to lack of a label.

Secondly, I am proud to say I am autistic and have nothing to hide from the world. Parents who say they don't want to 'label' their children are in fact hurting them, they are telling them that who they really are should be hidden, like it is something to be ashamed of. I am glad I am autistic. I see the world in a different way than most people and I plan on helping others try to understand things the way 'we' see them. A parent should never be afraid to tell someone that their child is autistic. If their child was blind would they make him pretend he could see? I don't think so. That would be ridiculous. I don't see the difference.

I am thankful that my mother raised me to be proud of the way God made me. She always makes sure that I know how proud she is of me and that makes me feel good about myself. I have a friend, I didn't have one for a long time but now I do, he is autistic as well but he is different than me. He is just now learning to be who he is because his parents tried to hide who he truly was from the world and he thought that there was something wrong with him when in fact, there was never anything wrong with him. He was just different than they were. His analogy for it is this, if a blond haired, blue eyed child was born to dark haired, green eyed parents should they dye his hair and make him wear colored contacts? No. That would change who that child is and what they will one day become.

One very common misconception is that we, people who live on the autistic spectrum, want to be changed or cured or fixed. Are there directions for that on the label? We do not think there is anything wrong with us, we sometimes think there is something very wrong with everyone around us though. I have never spoken to another autistic person who wanted to be something or someone other than who they were. Even some very low functioning autistic people express a contentment in their 'world'. Our world is accepting and open, yours is not. The only autistic people who truly wish they were different are the ones who were taught that they should be.

Ignorance is intolerable and the world is ignorant to the autistic community. Hiding from the truth is paramount to ignorance.

Thank you for listening and being open minded and understanding."

I agree with my son. What he has to say can be applied to any form of disability and should be, a label is only scary if you allow it frighten you. It can in fact empower you . . .

Learn more about this author, Crystal Cook.
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