Love Not Fear.
Henry Frost on Autism Acceptance
Two Houses a story of Autism Acceptance.
There are two houses. There are two boys that live in these houses. Each house inside has one family living. Each member of each family has different ways of being.
House Number One
One house has the family that tells the boy he is loved . The family is not a family without the boy. All of the family members are loved as they are.
They are loved for being.
The boy is loved as he is. He is educated. He is respected. He is heard.
His family say they are so lucky that he is their child. He is the son they dreamed of having.
The boy is the family . The house is full of love.
The boy is surprised one day . Some people say to his family the boy is lucky to have a family that takes care of him. The people say this in front of the boy. They say he is so lucky to have this family. They say they could not take care of a boy like him.
The boy hears his family tell the people they are the lucky ones to have him as a son. The boys family tells the people they should not say these things about their son. They tell the people he understands everything any 8 year old understands.
The boy sees the look on the sad, unknowing faces of the people. The family avoids those people.
The boy is sad that his family did not warn him about people with these thoughts.
The boy is also angry . He knows these people are wrong.
House Number Two
The other house has the family that tells the boy he is loved.
The family is a family only for some.
The family lives in the house together, but the boy is alone.
The boy hears the family say it is very hard to have a son like him. He hears the family say that he makes them tired and sick. He hears the family talk of sadness about the boy he is not.
He hears them say he does not understand them when they speak to him. He hears them say he doesn’t not understand anything. He hears them say he can not learn but they send him to school so they can have a break from him.
The boy is not surprised when he hears people say, “the boy is lucky to have a family that takes care of him”. He is not surprised when hears his family agree with them. He sees the family smile so proud when the people say they could not do it. They could not take care of a boy like him.
He hears them say they are sad about the boy he is not. He the boy is not the boy they were dreaming of.
He hears his family tell people he does not understand what 8 year old students understand .
The boy is sad his family did not warn him about people with these thoughts. He hoped these thoughts were only in the family. He hoped life would be different one day.
Questions:
Where do you want to live?
Is the first boy right to be angry and sad? Is the second boy right to be sad?
Should the families warn the boys about prejudice?
What is the responsibility of society ?
This is a wonderful story Henry!
Thank you for this story, Henry! It is so hard to grow up in a house that doesn’t have full love and acceptance. Your story is so true!
Oh Henry… this is so beautiful. I love your story and I love you and I love your family that would not be a family without you in it…
I love this story and hope we can keep trying to let people know we are real and true people inside bodies that simply work differently, not empty shells with no inhabitants. Thank you for your story that is powerful. Your friend, Sarah Stup with autism who types to speak.
Henry, You are so very wise. Unconditional love is unknown to many. I believe that love conquers. My daughter struggles with her school and kids not accepting her for who she is. You help me have words to explain to her. We are all different, it is the fool that judges and thinks himself better. Thanks for sharing your story.
Love and respect hold the space for anger and sadness until they lessen. <3
Thank you Henry.
Both boys have a right to their feelings. I warn my child about prejudice. Some families might think they will do that “later,” when they should start at an earlier age.