I’m at Not Alone today, talking about getting away from using the word “but” when talking about James and his autism …
When my son James was first diagnosed with autism, I was stuck in a world of buts. I would tell the teenager I was calling to see if she could babysit, “He has autism, but he is well behaved.” I’d tell the Sunday school teacher, “He has autism, but he’s pretty easy going.” I’d tell his new teacher at the IEP meeting, “He has autism and sensory processing disorder, but he love puzzles, counting, and being tickled.”
I realized my buts weren’t really helping him.
Those with special needs aren’t accomplishing things in spite of their challenges, but because of who they are, and part of who they are includes their disabilities.