Lydia Teclemariam - My relationship with autism

Autism is always going to be a big part of your life, especially if a close family member is autistic. It affects your life at home and even the way you see and understand the world. My brother, who is only a year older than me, is autistic. Early signs of autism first started to show when he was a baby. It was mainly the simple things, like having trouble understanding what my parents wanted him to do, or the way he preferred to play on his own than with the others his age. By the age of three, he couldn't talk or communicate, which made ANY social activities quite difficult; and because he couldn't say what he wanted to say, tantrums were often the only way he could express himself.  But it wasn't all negative. My parents observed the way he interacted with the world. It seemed like he could almost hear things that others couldn't. He had no problem being by himself and he was attached to certain toys and people for years. ​

He was officially diagnosed with ASD and ADHD at the age of 3. 

Fast forward 12 years, we are now both in high school, and since I can remember, my brother has been attending special needs classes since elementary school. But his communication wasn't an issue anymore; in fact, he became one of the most social and talkative people at our school. He always had a positive energy around people and had become extremely kind-hearted. Aside from that, he was never really at the same level academically and behaviour-wise as other students, though he loved to be challenged. My parents never wanted him to feel like he was less than other students, so they always made a large effort and sacrificed a lot of their time for TONS of specialized therapy sessions, which slowly but surely, improved his skills. But with all this, he never saw himself as any different than his peers, until he became a teen, when he started to question things, "Why wasn't he like every other kid?". 

Many other autistic children are in situations that are unimaginably worse than his and many aren't, as experiences can vary based on where someone is placed on the spectrum. But, I consider myself lucky to have a person like him around, because it has taught me that nobody has to be a certain way just to fit into societal standards. I've developed a deeper understanding of patience and tolerance. I've become more carefree and less worried about the opinions of others.

Because he never had to be taught to be himself, he just was. So why would the rest of us have to? 

If you feel like you can relate to his story, I hope it brings comfort in knowing that your experience is worth sharing because you're most likely one of the thousands of stories like this one.

If not, I hope you learned something new :)