Wait, it's October already?

Whoa that first quarter of school is just flying on by! I had written an entry about the first few weeks of school and what we had encountered, then rethought the whole thing.

My son's class now knows he has autism. After getting a request from the teacher to come talk to the class, I had some misgivings. However, Hannah went with me and the two of us shared some things about Eli and autism in the hopes that his classmates might better understand him and why he does the things he does. It helped. I mean, sure, there was some backlash. A couple of classmates who shall remain nameless teased him about certain things, but honestly, since the teacher spoke to the students involved and also their parents, things have really calmed down on the bullying front.

I can't believe how much attention bullying in schools has received lately, but I must say that I am glad it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Recently, no fewer than five young boys have committed suicide due to bullying by their peers. The boys were gay. They were different from the majority of their peers, and the torment became too much for them to bear. This saddens me so much, having as many gay friends as I do. I think of what my world would be like without my dear friends who are gay. It's not a pleasant thought. I adore them and they have been supportive at times in my life when I needed it the most. They know who they are!

So then we come to little ones like my son. The kids who are different from their peers. The ones who don't have a posse to back them up, to stick up for them when others are mean. There are kids like this in every school in every town across the world. The outsiders.

Here's what I propose to those of you have regular old kids. Teach them well. Teach them to stick up for those who cannot defend themselves. Tell them it's okay to step up and say something, rather than being afraid of what others may think. Roleplay some bully situations and let them see how it feels--both to be bullied and also to see how they can make a difference by intervening. I tell ya, it feels great to stick up for someone who can't do it on their own.

My son will always be different. But he should not have to be fearful about everyday situations like going to school. Although we have seen it firsthand, it seems to be lessening somewhat for the time being. I know it will crop up again, and it really pisses me off that I have to teach my son that some people will want to hurt him, to make him cry, to get a rise out of him, just for the sake of doing it--for fun, even.

As time passes, some of his classmates have found respect for my son. They may have once viewed him as a waste of space and time, but no longer. Couple of reasons for that, which I am happy to share.

First off, my son is incredibly cute. And that's not just mama saying it, he really is a handsome lad. Already, he gets tons of attention from the girls. Yeah, that's right. He gets all the chicks, even though he is pretty oblivious to that. They tend to want to mother him, which is fine by me. Secondly, he is super smart. His classmates are recognizing it now, which leads to some friendly competition, academics wise. How many third graders incorporate negative numbers into "make up your own number problem" questions? Eli does, and he completely understands the concept. It's not so hard, even though it's completely abstract.

All in all, we opened up a whole can of worms by talking to my son's class about his autism. Some worms were good, others not so much, but at the end of the day, I feel like it's better to just throw it out there. And bullies beware--there's a whole legion of really great kids just waiting for you to start something.