04/29/2019
We wrap up Autism Awareness Month with this TEDTalk from 16-year-old Rosie King: http://bit.ly/1FrDAeL
"if we can't get inside the person's minds, no matter if they're autistic or not, instead of punishing anything that strays from normal, why not celebrate uniqueness and cheer every time someone unleashes their imagination?"
Thank you also to Mighty Girl for assembling a great list of resources below, including literature for all young children that feature autistic characters.
In recognition of World Autism Awareness Day, we're sharing 16-year-old Rosie King's insightful TED talk on how autism freed her to be herself. “Imagine if that was the best compliment you ever received. ‘Wow, you are really normal.’… Compliments are, ‘you are extraordinary’ or ‘you step outside the box.’ It's ‘you're amazing.’ So if people want to be these things, why are so many people striving to be normal? Why are people pouring their brilliant individual light into a mold?” It’s a question this Mighty Girl from Yorkshire, England has pondered since doctors confirmed her self-diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome at age nine.
Rosie says, “it's very easy for me to let my mind loose because I don't try and fit myself into a tiny little box. That's one of the best things about being autistic. You don't have the urge to do that. You find what you want to do, you find a way to do it, and you get on with it. If I was trying to fit myself into a box, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have achieved half the things that I have now.” She admits that being autistic has its problems as well, but they’re mostly ones that result from the perceptions of other people: “it can be that people don't want to be friends with the autistic girl. It can be that people don't want to associate with anyone who won't or can't fit themselves into a box that's labeled normal. But that's fine with me, because it sorts the wheat from the chaff, and I can find which people are genuine and true and I can pick these people as my friends.”
Rosie says, “I wouldn't trade my autism and my imagination for the world. Because I am autistic, I've presented documentaries to the BBC, I'm in the midst of writing a book.” She’s even found ways of communicating with her brother and sister, who are also autistic and are non-verbal: “people would often write off someone who's nonverbal, but that's silly, because my little brother and sister are the best siblings that you could ever hope for.” And, she urges everyone listening that “if we can't get inside the person's minds, no matter if they're autistic or not, instead of punishing anything that strays from normal, why not celebrate uniqueness and cheer every time someone unleashes their imagination?”
You can watch entire Rosie’s TED Talk at http://bit.ly/1FrDAeL
For books and guides about girls with autism for both girls and their parents, check out our blog post, "A Different Way of Thinking: 20 Books About Autistic Mighty Girls" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14948
Among the recommended resources is a fantastic guide for tweens with ASD: "The Survival Guide for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (and Their Parents)" for ages 8 to 13 at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-survival-guide-asd
For an excellent guide for teen girls (and women) with Asperger's or their parents, check out "Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome" at https://www.amightygirl.com/aspergirls
Parents and educators can also find lots of great advice on pr***en and teens girls with ASD in "Girls Growing Up On The Autism Spectrum" at https://www.amightygirl.com/girls-growing-up-on-the-autism-spectrum
And, all kids can benefit from reading books with autistic characters which is a great way to build empathy for the challenges they face -- for several fictional books about Mighty Girls with autism or with autistic family members, we recommend “My Brother Charlie” for ages 4 to 8 (https://www.amightygirl.com/my-brother-charlie), "Rain Reign" for ages 8 to 12 ( https://www.amightygirl.com/rain-reign), “Rules” for ages 9 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/rules), and “Mockingbird” for ages 9 to 12 (https://www.amightygirl.com/mockingbird)
