This week, we are celebrating our differences! Every day, each class will think about what makes us special and how we should respect and value the fact that everyone is different. We will think about different abilities, different families and different needs, understanding that we are all equal and that living in a world of differences is exciting - it would be very boring if we were all the same!

We started the week with an assembly about my nephew, who has Asperger's Syndrome. I explained about the difficulties he experienced as he was growing up and the judgements people made about him, even though they didn't know him. I then went on to explain how, with the support of his family and key staff at school, he overcame his difficulties and mananged to attend a mainstream school and sit GCSEs, learned how to fly a plane, drive a car and pilot a speedboat. He has even been successful in his application for an engineering apprenticeship! 

Our assembly ended with a poem, written by an autistic child, who has tried to explain what it's like to live with autism:

I am special just like you

I can take the things I do

And learn from them the best I can

Make a difference with who I am

You might be slow and I might be fast

We don’t need to measure who is first or last

You might be smart and I may be not

So who cares about that we still have a lot

To share and to grow together we’ll be

Friends to the end just you wait and see

 

I keep to myself quiet as a mouse

Quiet is good in this very big house

The noise the noise that gets too loud

If we’re shopping or in a big crowd

It can come from the tv or radio music

Whatever it is I can easily lose it

It bothers me everywhere and starts to hurt

In my ears and my head and I’m just not sure

How to stop it but wish I could figure it out

What is this terrible noise all about

 

I am a happy kid most of the time

And smile at everyone I can find

 

If I don’t understand I easily cry

Wish I could tell you I just don’t know why

Sometimes when you speak

I’m not sure what you say

If you’re sad or you’re hurt

I might not hear it that way

I like it when things are always the same

Like my food and toys and my video games

 

I walk on my toes and twirl round and round

It makes me feel better and helps me calm down

When you listen to a sound that you don’t want to hear

You can take your own hands and cover your ears

 

If I were a turtle I could move my head fast

Back into my shell where it’s quiet at last

Sometimes when we talk I don’t look in your eyes

I might just forget so don’t be surprised

If I don’t speak at all let’s try to wait

There are other ways we can communicate

 

It’s hard to sit still when I want to play

I start moving around in my own special way

 

When I get excited I can keep myself busy

By jumping and spinning even though I get dizzy

I can play with my hands and fingers all over

It’s just what I do no need to take cover

When I’m finally tired I do realize

It’s the end of today and can just close my eyes

 

Things don’t look the same to you and me

Where I see a forest you see a tree

I hear the wind blowing strong in the sky

You hear a breeze as it softly goes by

My smell and my taste are different than yours

So many choices thank goodness of course

 

There’s really a lot to say about touch

Sometimes even my clothes feel too much

If I think the light is shining too bright

Or even if the noise isn’t right

If it smells awful and tastes bad

And anything touching makes me mad

It’s a terrible time for you and me

But it passes so quickly and soon we will see

That it’s over and done with and better at last

It was just a quick moment now gone in the past

 

Say what you say easy and clear

I only understand exactly what I hear

If I can’t find the right words to answer you

Watch me carefully look at what I do

 

When all those words get in the way

I learn best when I see it every day

Be patient with me it does take me time

Show me again and again until my mind

Can figure it out so I can tell

That I learned what I needed and remember it well

As I grow bigger and stronger each day

I hope I can find an easier way

To say what I think and think what I feel

How great that would be a really big deal

 

I can do better when you think that I can

Remember to show me and show me again

I know that you love me so love me through this

I do my best and don’t need to be fixed

Help me and teach me it’s simple as that

I need you I love you matter of fact

If I can’t tell you exactly how I feel

Or act out in a way that seems unreal

You’re everything I count on every day

Do accept me and cherish my own special way.