"The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting" Plutarch
"Autism isn't something a person has, or a shell that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism" J Sinclair
There used to be a school of thought in the Autism world that the individual was somewhat of an "empty vessel" waiting to be filled. A blank slate, trapped within a hard to understand shell and wanting to emerge.
No.
And what a harmful, disparaging view of individuality.
Autism is not being without/lacking, it's being differently tuned with interacting with the world, environment, people, and situations.
It's sometimes being MORE when the situation calls for less, or being LESS when the situation needs more....Less attentive, less sensitive. Or possibly more attentive or more sensitive.
There is no one clear way to be Autistic.
What is super important to know is that every client you work with already is full of information and knowledge when you meet them. Some cannot share or demonstrate that knowledge, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. Or maybe they show it in a way you aren't used to, or aren't prepared for.
Regardless, the capacity to learn and grow is within all of us.
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