• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Geek Club Books

Autism Education, Awareness, Acceptance, Advocacy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • Autism Storytelling for Hope and Change
    • Speaking
    • Creative Team & Educational Specialists
    • Advisory Board
    • Our Benefactors
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
  • Blog
    • All Articles and Interviews
    • Articles By Author
  • Families
    • Welcome Autism Families!
    • Autism Resources Bundle!
    • Freebies
    • Mighty League Autism Moms
  • Educators
    • Welcome Educators!
    • Autism EDU
    • Bluebee TeeVee, Autism Information Station
    • School Visits
  • Comics
    • Autism Comics Overview
    • Autism in Real Life Comic
    • Autism Spectrum Comic
    • End Awareness Comic
    • Understanding Autism Comic
    • Mighty League 1: Autistic Hero Comic
    • Mighty League 2: Autistic Hero Comic Book
  • Resources
    • How to Find Resources
    • Asking Autistics
    • Autistic Self-care
    • Amazon Autism Book Shop
    • What is Autism?
    • Books By Autistic Authors
    • What is Autism Awareness?
    • Autism Glossary
    • Autism Myths
    • Autistic or Person with Autism?
    • Speech and Language
    • Autism Business Ideas
  • Zoom Magazine
    • Issue 13: Family
    • Issue 14: Trailblazers
    • Issue 15: Powerful Women
    • Issue 16: Travel
    • Issue 17: Health
  • Take Action
    • How to Advocate for Autism
      • #Activate4Autism
      • Activator Heroes
    • Make a Difference
  • Contact
  • Donate

Gifting the World with a Better View of Life

May 5, 2020 By Jodi Murphy Leave a Comment

TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedInRedditWhatsApp

By Megan Amodeo

We need to do better as a society.

It is unacceptable for people to still view autism as a one size fits all. We should be well past the stereotypes of autism that have often misrepresented us in the media. The old of views of autism need to be put away, discarded.

As an autistic women and mother, I feel we need to come together as a community.

We are an empowered community of autistic individuals ready to erase the derogatory stereotypes we have often, undeservedly, been labeled with. We need to stop looking at all of the negative aspects of autism, and focus on the assets we bring to society.

Why should we hide in the shadows? Why should we hide our autism? Why should we accept peoples’ opinions, views and stereotypes of our community?

We, the autistic community, comprise an entire spectrum of abilities and strengths. We are a rainbow of individuals that share an autism diagnosis. We are not like the rest of the world. We stand out. We shine. We fly our flags of autism high and proud.

Why should we stand for mediocre?

I am tired of people asking me if I’ve seen “Rain Man”, or if I have any savant skills. We may not all be savants, but that doesn’t mean we don’t possess extraordinary abilities. My youngest may not be a savant, but she is an amazing self-taught artist. People have asked me where she learned to draw such beautiful pictures. My automatic response is always, “autism.” When I get puzzled looks, I explain how her autism has allowed her to intensely study and focus on art. Her autism guided her in researching various forms of drawing. She has an awesome talent, and autism helped her achieve her goal.

Autism has gifted the world with a different view of life.

Instead of focusing on the negative, look at the positive. My autism has always been my constant companion, even though I was not diagnosed until my mid-thirties. Autism has helped me be a better mother. With autism, I can actually see the world through my daughters’ eyes because we share the same diagnosis.

People with autism often have admirable qualities:

  • We are often task oriented and focused. We really are able to focus on one specific thing or task until the job is completed.
  • We often have excellent memories and memorization skills.
  • We can see problems and solutions differently than others.
  • We are loyal and true friends.
  • We make honest, loyal and diligent employees.
  • We are often honest to a fault. (I once drove all the way back to a department store, to tell the cashier she forgot to charge me for a greeting card.)
  • We are not particularly good at lying. This means you will get an honest opinion, even if you don’t necessarily want to hear it. (My daughter is excellent at letting me know when I look less than presentable for running errands.)
  • We will often go out of our way to help loved ones
  • We can love. We do love! We love our families, our friends and our pets.
  • We can be open with others, sometimes too open.
  • We like to talk. Okay, sometimes we talk about only one specific thing for a little too long.
  • We are full of information and interesting facts.
  • We are amazing, creative and outstanding individuals.
  • We can think outside the box.

In short, you want us on your team. Never underestimate the power and brilliance of the autism community!

Megan Amodeo
Columnist
Megan Amodeo
Read Bio

Read More by Megan Amodeo

Is There Something Wrong with an Honest Answer?
Read More
Megan Amodeo in brown framed glasses
A Year That Forced Me to Be More Patient and Flexible
Read More
Being Autistic and Living in a State of Uncertainty
Read More
Learnable Life Skill
Dealing with Failure is a Learnable Life Skill
Read More
Image of doctor in white coat holding a stethoscope
Dreading the Unpredictability of Doctor Visits
Read More
Autistic Characteristics
Autistic Characteristics and Why We’re Not All the Same
Read More
TwitterFacebookPinterestLinkedInRedditWhatsApp

Filed Under: Autism Insider, Blog Haps, Penfriend Project Autism Columns Tagged With: autism advocacy, autism insider, Megan Amodeo

About Jodi Murphy

Jodi Murphy is the founder of Geek Club Books, a registered nonprofit committed to creating a world where autistic individuals are fully accepted, valued and have a voice. Her priority is bringing autistic individuals creative and leadership opportunities that are meaningful, empowering and support their advocacy. She works with a creative autistic team to produce pop culture-based autism awareness education that is innovative, engaging, positive and opens hearts and minds to a new way of thinking about autism. Sign up for Geek Club Books mailing list for free apps, resource guides, curriculum, audio stories and more: https://geekclubbooks.com/autism-bundle.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Our Neurodiverse Community:

Read Our Current Issue:

Search

Latest

  • #AskingAutistics: When Did You Realize You See the World Differently?
  • A Year That Forced Me to Be More Patient and Flexible
  • This Year I’ll No Longer Apologize for Taking Up Space
  • #AskingAutistics: What Caused Your Autistic Burnout?
  • Why I’m the Caregiver I Never Had Growing Up

Topics

  • 501c3 Mission (8)
  • Anxiety (8)
  • App & Product Reviews (12)
  • Autimisms (29)
  • Autism Acceptance (13)
  • Autism at Work (9)
  • Autism Entrepreneurs (17)
  • Autism Resources (6)
  • Blog Haps (535)
  • Buzz (6)
  • Classroom (15)
  • Curious Interviews (116)
  • Day in the Life (9)
  • Dorktales (4)
  • Impactful Blogs (9)
  • Labels (4)
  • Love (5)
  • Mighty League (31)
  • Neurodiversity (2)
  • Our Personal Autism Journey (28)
  • Penfriend Project Autism Columns (216)
    • Adriana's Awesome Autistic Book Lists (1)
    • Aspierations (16)
    • Autism Insider (76)
    • Autistic Speaks (27)
    • Being Brave (25)
    • Chloe Rothschild (3)
    • Fidgets and Fries (2)
    • Happy Aspie (9)
    • My Shaynanigans (8)
    • Neurodivergent Rebel (20)
    • Positively Autistic (17)
    • Proud Autistic Living (6)
    • Tud Sense (5)
  • Pop Culture (8)
  • Safety (8)
  • Self-Care (7)
  • Self-Esteem (3)
  • Self-Improvement (10)
  • Sensory Needs (9)
  • Social Skills (4)
  • Speech and Language (6)
  • Tell Us Your Story (29)
  • Zoom Autism (55)

Footer

Support Our Work

Partners

#ReadYourWorld Advisor
 

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 Geek Club Books

To improve your experience on our site we may use cookies. Find out more.