Thursday, October 23, 2014

Talent Tuesday - Spotlight on Gifts


Pretend today is Tuesday.
Talent Tuesday is when I feature books by people in
the autism community.
Two of my favorite people/authors in the community
are Leo and Leisa.
Leo is a young adult with autism. 
Leisa has a daughter with autism.
Leo’s book follows a ferret.
Leisa’s book follows families. 
I’m thinking about them because 
I’m thinking about the many talents
people with autism have.
Leo’s authorship is not just his gift of words.
His book demonstrates his gifts of focus and determination.
Leisa’s book features many talented people with
autism, especially her daughter Grace (Grace
creates amazing art).
We all have unique ways of engaging with the
world.
Sometimes these ways trip us up. 
Sometimes they let us soar.
The stereotyped picture of someone with autism 
too often misses their talents entirely or dismisses 
them as something freakish - “splinter skills” or
“savant ability” as if they are not connected to
the person and all that they are. 
These gifts offer others the wonderful 
chance to better understand how that person interacts 
with us and the world.
I want to share this perspective. I’m still working on how. 
Will you help me? Would you send me a note about your gifts
(if you have autism) or your kid's (any age with autism) gifts?
 autismreads@gmail.com


2 comments:

  1. What a wonderful idea - I love to tell people about my talented daughter, who also happens to be an aspie. She is a writer and has posted many stories online at fanfiction.net in the anime section (If you want to check them out her name is catsvsdogscatswin. She has been writing these stories for over a year now and has many devoted fans around the world (I wish I could say that)

    She wants to be a writer when she grows up and I think she is well on her way to making it. Thanks for giving me a chance to brag.

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  2. Thank you, Christine!

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