I sat some of my children (ages 5,4,3) down to watch these interviews as well as the video that Amanda made. They have never knowingly observed someone with autism before, and I wanted to teach them so they would have a better understanding.
“Why is she doing that, mom?”
“Because God gifted her in that way – she is more aware than we are of how things taste, feel, sound and smell. She is rattling the paper because she is looking at the flag out her window and thinking of the sound it is making as it flaps in the wind.”
We talked about how God made each of us unique – Thomas is good with numbers and likes adventure games. Tabitha can whistle – but Thomas can’t. She can eat more than mommy can, and yet she’s a little girl! Aiden is very sturdy when he climbs high.
I told them that God has made this woman to be unique, too. Yes, she does things differently than we do. But, she is a person just like we are.
We must never make fun of or hurt someone because they are different from us. To do so is like telling God that His creation is not good enough for us.
Tabitha was sad that people would hurt someone else just because they were different. I told her that if she ever sees someone being hurt or made fun of that she could tell those bullying to stop and to come get an adult if they didn’t.