enddiscrimination

 By Sarah Seymour,  President All Kids Have Special Needs.org

I am the mother of a child with an invisible disability. My little girl has Autism. She was diagnosed at age 3, but we knew at 16months of age something was different. I call it an invisible disability because she looks the same as everyone else, at first glance. This allows society to expect her to then behave her like a "normal" child of her age, and when she doesn't; people are not always kind.

People all over the world have been discriminated against for many different reasons, and as societies have become more "civilized" we have taken the stand that it is wrong to do so. It is wrong to treat someone differently because of the color of their skin, their gender, even their sexual orientation - in short things that the individual can not help.  People do not get to choose whether they are born black, white, or purple and my daughter did not get to choose to be born with autism. Yet recently she was kicked out of a restaurant because the behaviors she exhibited upset other people. They were not willing to open their minds enough to her condition. This was discrimination. She was told she was not welcome in public.

Since going to the press with our story, many more have come to light. People are speaking out. We are finding strength in numbers and a voice together.  This is why this page has been added to the all kids have special needs web site.

By sharing Eowyn's story, others have been shared with me, and this has driven me to find other families who have had similar experiences. We have decided something has to be done.

Education seems to be the only solution. Education will hopefully equal compassion, and only then will the world be a more tolerant place for all our children, regardless of their disabilities, and abilities to grow up in!