As you've noticed, my website looks a bit different today. There are now more ways to order, more things to order, and more pictures to look at.

You may have noticed a link over there to the right that says "support Autism awareness". That's new too. Why are we advocating this? It's a great cause, and a very underfunded research. One of my sisters has a form of autism. As a kid, I never knew what was going on, why we visited so many different "doctors", or why people kept saying "She falls in the Autism spectrum". I didn't know what autism was, what it entailed, or how it affected us. I just knew that she was my little sister. A person who happened to have autism.

Some people view autism as a way people are "broken". Like a toy, that, new out of the box, just doesn't work right. Well, I'm going to say that view is wrong. Autism, to me, is something that affects a person. Something over which they, nor anyone else, have no control over. People with autism are not broken toys, dull crayons, or bruised apples. They are mystery packages, with great life-changing surprises inside. They are glitter crayons that when colored with, make the drawings swirl and shine with vibrant color. They are apples with a sweeter taste, better than the rest. Why? Because they have to work SO much harder to be able to do the things "normal" people can. 

My sister once asked me, "Do you have an automatic shifter in your brain?" Confused by this, I said, "Sure" to which she replied "Mine is a standard." She stated this so knowingly, so certain, that it leads me to believe that autism is just a different way to think. Us "normal" people have brains that relate like to like, while my sister finds ways to relate things to each other that have absolutely nothing in common. She manually shifts her thoughts, while mine go about by themselves. 

Many years ago, I was asked, by a professional nonetheless, what it was like to have a sister with autism. I replied simply "I don't know." She looked, confused, "What do you mean 'I don't know'?" I stated, "She's my sister, she's my normal."


Which leads me to this- I believe some people practice autismism. Like racism or sexism, it can be just as harsh, just as demeaning and immoral. People have made the word "retarded" slander, just as "gay". Sometimes, these words, while not intended to be hurtful, are. Sometimes, it's just the way something is said, like "Oh, she's autistic" said in the manner of "Oh, she's an alcoholic."

It's not these people's fault that they're born this way, just like it's not my fault i was born blonde. They didn't choose this, so we shouldn't reprimand them for being who they are. 

That was a lot more than I had intended to type, I just got caught up. Anyway, the point of that was supposed to be that autism awareness is a great cause. It's obviously worth MY time, how about you?



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