Thoughts from the budding Daisies - part 1
Guest blogger, 8 year-old Magic Bunny, tells us about autism from her perspective.
Hello. My nickname is Magic Bunny, and I am a 8-year-old girl with autism. Autism means that some people’s brains work differently, but that’s OK. We are all different. And we are all special. The point I want to make in this post is how I see life, and I want you to know too.
As well as telling you about my autism, I will also tell you about my special needs, sensory items, and daily life.
Our different brains
You can see that (in these pictures) there is a visible difference between the autistic and neurotypical brains. This does not mean that either of these types of people are not special. They are just different, and special in their own ways.
Just remember:
You Are Special.
Now, onto my sensory needs.
My strongest senses are: hearing, sight, smell, and taste. There are particular situations when my strongest senses are unhelpful.
For example: I hate crossing big, loud roads with lots of cars because it hurts my very sensitive ears.
For another example:
I don’t like trying new foods. I have a very strong sense of taste and will only eat the same things.
Lots of autistic people have sensory needs, but sometimes they can be hard to spot.
I have sensory toys that are either squishy or colourful. These help me to calm down when I am feeling stressed.
Some people think that having sensory needs is silly, but that’s not true. Don’t listen.
Social Difficulties
It can be difficult for autistic people (shown in pink) because in a situation like this the autistic person might feel like their sensitive neurotypical friend (shown in blue) might not want to be friends with them any more, the reason being that the autistic person can’t understand how their friend is really feeling.
In this situation the autistic person feels upset because their friends will not play together, and they can’t play with both. The autistic person may think that if they play with one friend, the other won’t play with them any more. They may also think that they have to chose between their friends (which is hard because they like both their friends).
Autistic people face not only their sensory needs but also their social needs (talking to other people, communicating, etc.), which are both rather different kinds of needs. Some people need more help with their sensory needs and some people need more help with their social needs, but that’s OK. All autistic people have different social and sensory needs, like you.
Some autistic people hide their needs, but you don’t have to.
Sing about it, talk about it, shout about it!
Tell the world about your autism!
Because your autism is too special to hide.
So, we’ve talked a lot about my autism and what it is but here is one main point that I think makes my autism special:
I care a lot about other people’s feelings and I have a creative mind full of ideas.
Now it’s your turn. Write down something that makes your autism special.
As you can see, I wanted to show you that we’re all different, but we’re all special.
And there’s no one quite like you.
Magic Bunny is an 8 year-old guest blogger for NeonDaisy
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