A Good Time to Have Autism
By S.K. Whang
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
By S.K. Whang
Editor's note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the author exclusively.
My son was probably one of the more unusual students who graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria this June. Quirky and comedic, he also happens to have Asperger's Syndrome and believes social skills are overrated. Still, he did graduate and will be sauntering off to college in the fall.
At my own high school 30 years ago, a classmate named Steve did not graduate with us. While we marched to Edward Elgar in our caps and gowns, Steve was nowhere in sight. For all we cared he could have been in a group home watching reruns of M.A.S.H. To us he was different – an outsider. Although academically capable, he pumped his arms when he walked, smiled for no apparent reason and talked to trees. Nobody told us why. And that somehow gave us permission to do as we did. Even now, I still feel remorseful for the way we treated him.
Thankfully, my son's experience was different. U.S. News and World Report again ranked Thomas Jefferson High School as the best pubic high school in the nation. No doubt, T.J. is a great school, but I am far more impressed by the fact that my son made it through four years there without experiencing open hostility or mocking. For students like him, attitudes toward peers with disabilities can make or break a young person's life.
What will high schools in America be like in another 30 years? By then, there might be a cure, and people with autism could be as rare as children in iron lungs. Or wide use of genetic screening might give parents a choice to alter nature's course.
Knowing my son as I do, and daily being amazed by the way his enigmatic mind works, I cannot imagine being presented with such a choice. At the same time, I cannot imagine a society that populates mental institutions with people as capable as him.
I am grateful to be living in a window of time when people with autism live among us, not relegated to the fringe of society or not born at all. I don't take for granted that I am free to openly love my son and enjoy simple things like just sitting in the audience with other parents, gushing with pride, as he received his high school diploma.
At my own high school 30 years ago, a classmate named Steve did not graduate with us. While we marched to Edward Elgar in our caps and gowns, Steve was nowhere in sight. For all we cared he could have been in a group home watching reruns of M.A.S.H. To us he was different – an outsider. Although academically capable, he pumped his arms when he walked, smiled for no apparent reason and talked to trees. Nobody told us why. And that somehow gave us permission to do as we did. Even now, I still feel remorseful for the way we treated him.
Thankfully, my son's experience was different. U.S. News and World Report again ranked Thomas Jefferson High School as the best pubic high school in the nation. No doubt, T.J. is a great school, but I am far more impressed by the fact that my son made it through four years there without experiencing open hostility or mocking. For students like him, attitudes toward peers with disabilities can make or break a young person's life.
What will high schools in America be like in another 30 years? By then, there might be a cure, and people with autism could be as rare as children in iron lungs. Or wide use of genetic screening might give parents a choice to alter nature's course.
Knowing my son as I do, and daily being amazed by the way his enigmatic mind works, I cannot imagine being presented with such a choice. At the same time, I cannot imagine a society that populates mental institutions with people as capable as him.
I am grateful to be living in a window of time when people with autism live among us, not relegated to the fringe of society or not born at all. I don't take for granted that I am free to openly love my son and enjoy simple things like just sitting in the audience with other parents, gushing with pride, as he received his high school diploma.
If you have a story you wish to share about your personal experience with autism, please send it to
editors@autismspeaks.org.
Autism Speaks reserves the right to edit contributions for space, style and content. Because of the volume of submissions, not all can be published on the site.
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