Our school is a special school. We are proud to welcome people from different countries, different families, different religions, different interests and lots and lots of other things that make us all individual. Some of us have big families, small families, families with 2 mums, 2 dads, or 1 parent, some of us like football (girls and boys), some of us like baking (boys and girls), some of us like to wear dresses, some of us like to wear jeans, sometimes we like to wear different things each day, some of us have brown hair, some of us have blue eyes, some of us find maths so easy and some of us find it so hard, some of us love games and noise and playtime and some of us like quiet and talking and reading. We are each different and each as special as each other. There is no one more special than anyone else.
The month of April is autism awareness month. This is a special month where we will celebrate not just pupils with autism but anyone who sometimes feels different. In fact most of us feel different at some point or another and that can sometimes make us feel awkward but actually it is a good thing. It makes us unique.
The things that make us different don’t define us either. For each thing that might be different about us there will be something we can find that makes us the same. Pupils who happen to have autism are the exact same. We don’t think of them as pupils with autism, we think of them by their name and autism is just one thing about them which describes some of their feelings or actions. Some of us love strawberries, some of us are left handed, some of us are great at maths. But none of those things really tell you much about us. They just tell you one thing about us. A person who you know has autism is the same, it is only one thing about them.
Sometimes you might wonder about someone or something that is different to you. You might have some questions about it. That is perfectly ok too. You can always take a quiet moment to ask your teacher or someone at home. This should not stop you welcoming and including anyone in your class or games on yard. This is a really important rule in our school. As long as you are showing kindness and respect to everyone you are being a good person and however different someone might seem you will eventually get to realise they are just a person with feelings like you. That is the most important message for autism awareness month.
