I Am NOT Kelli Stapleton: Value Disabled Lives!

It truly breaks my heart to keep reading all this SHIT from organizations and parents that set up autistic kids for such significant judgement and self loathing. First, you can not discipline the disability out of a person. Seriously, if your kid could "control" his/herself, he/she would. Discipline is for those who purposely act out. Which is not to say that disabled children should not have "consequences" for their actions.....but behavior is communication. Always. For any child. Look for the purpose behind the behavior. If your child has communication challenges, it is your job as a parent or teacher or therapist to find the reason behind the communication/behavior, not to simply judge the action good or bad and then act accordingly. Autistic people must be respected for who they are, not by how society thinks everyone should be.

Respect, compassion and kindness are never wrong....ever.

When a society allows for the devaluing of any human life or existence, then those that are devalued can become expendable. And that is very dangerous.

By Susie Glathe Christensen