Hello dues please share the following poem and song to those who would like them. It was written by Valerie Foley,an Australian who has an autistic son.

Imagine If a poem by Valerie Foley

Imagine if…
You had a bee buzzing around your head
And someone asked you to say the alphabet backwards

Imagine if…
You were in a moving car with all the windows down
And someone wanted to know the names of all your aunts and uncles

Imagine if…
You were wearing three pairs of gloves
And someone told you to eat a box of sultanas one by one

That’s what things are like for me, a lot of the time.
I’m autistic.

Your brain is like a computer motherboard, full of connections and wires
With messages to your body whizzing around telling you what to do
My brain looks the same as yours, except some connections work really well, and some work really differently.
And my brain wires can get crossed really easily.

So, if you think I’m ignoring you… I’m not.
I’m probably just focussed on something else, like a tiny spider on the ceiling on the other side of the room.

And if I’m doing something a bit funny looking… try not to laugh at me.
It’s just one of my brain connections clearing itself out.

And if I tell you something over and over… just ask me to stop repeating.
It’s just one of my wires plugged into the wrong socket.

Autism is a different way of seeing the world.
And seeing things the way I see them is awesome, but it can get really tiring.

So, I might not always understand what’s going on.
And, I might need time by myself to think things through.
Or, I might crash or jump or swing for a while to straighten myself out
Don’t worry if I don’t always do things the way you do.
Try to imagine what it’s like inside my head, then you’ll see…

I’m not being rude
I’m not being naughty
I’m not sick
I’m autistic
And I’m just being me.