Being autistic doesn’t mean you’re just living in a vacuum and you’re shut from your environment unable to feel anything.
On the contrary, environment for people with autism is real, evident and they really have an abundance of emotions, sometimes even too much to deal with.
One child with autism, 10-year-old Benjamin Giroux, was assigned a homework task- he was required to write a poem.
He did something amazing-he poured out his soul on the paper. He wanted to help others understand better how it feels to live with autism.
The boy who lives in Plattsburgh, New York, has been diagnosed with Asperger’s, a form of autism.
His poem titled ‘I am’ warmed everyone’s hearts.
Boy with Autism Pours Out His Soul in His Homework Poem
His teacher gave him the first two words in every sentence and he was required to fill out the rest.
Sonny Giroux, the boy’s father, says how they ask him how his day went in school when he comes back home; however, they rarely get more than one word from him.
Although the boy may not be able to express himself verbally, he was excited for his assignment. He started writing on the kitchen table and was really focused.
When he showed the poem to his family and teacher, everyone’s hearts warmed up.
Here’s what the sweet boy wrote:
I Am
“I am odd, I am new
I wonder if you are too
I hear voices in the air
I see you don’t, and that’s not fair
I want to not feel blue
I am odd, I am new
I pretend that you are too
I feel like a boy in outer space
I touch the stars and feel out of place
I worry what others might think
I cry when people laugh, it makes me shrink
I am odd, I am new
I understand now that so are you
I say I ‘feel like a castaway’
I dream of a day that that’s okay
I try to fit in
I hope that someday I do
I am odd, I am new.”
What do you think about this poem? What kind of emotions does it trigger in you? Do you have a better understanding now of how people with autism feel?
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