03 Jul People can be judgmental and cruel

“When we make judgements, we’re inevitably acting on limited knowledge, isn’t it best to ask if we seek to understand, or simply let them be?”
― Jay Woodman

Why must people ridicule and make fun of what they do not understand? This is what my son has had to deal with his whole life. He has been made fun of, ridiculed, and made to feel as though a target is on his back. All because he is different.

I learned how judgmental and cruel people can be when my son was in elementary school. Since a young age, my son has always known he was different. He has always been more intelligent than his peers and school did not challenge him. Instead of people trying to understand or relate to him, he was misunderstood and labeled. He was known as the weird or strange kid. Because of this, he never really had any friends. Could you imagine going through school with no real friends? Most of the kids were cruel, teased him and called him names. He still remembers this to this day. Because of this, he put up a wall and will not let anyone get close to him. He prefers to be alone, and he keeps to himself. He is known as the loner. If people would have just been more accepting and understanding of him, things might be different today.

When a child has Autism, the child is trying to understand the world. The best example I ever heard was this. Imagine going to a foreign country and not speaking the language. That would be a very stressful and frustrating experience. This is what a child with Autism experiences everyday. They have to learn how to communicate and navigate our world. Instead of us adapting to their world, they have to adapt to ours. Seems a little unfair in my opinion.