“I think that there is like a higher level or something than autism where you talk when nobody is there, you laugh when nothing is funny, and other things. The hardest part of having any brother or sister that has autism (I don’t have any brother or sister that has autism) is that it will be part of your responsibilities to help your mom or parents to feed them or to help them with other things you could do but they can’t.” (Angelica)
“People with autism are not dumb, but they have a part of a brain that is dead or it is not functioning very well. Also, I think people with autism are cool because most of the time they are always in a very good and happy mood.” (Franklin)
“I think that we should have autism friends because they don’t have much friends…I think the reason why they don’t have friends is because of the way they act. They sometimes just do something crazy, like bang their head on the ground or shout. Maybe (people) are scared of people with autism.” (Jobe)
“Autism is a mental disorder in which some people have a hard time reading, communicating, or doing activities. People don’t know what really caused autism. It may be some kind of disease that the Mother had and the disease was passed down to the baby. The disease the mother had changed the baby into autistic mode.” (Ezekiel)
“I think autism is a disability that has something to do with vaccines. I heard that vaccines can have too much mercury in them which can poison a person.” (Nathaniel)
“People with autism cannot talk, but they can understand what you say. Also, when many people are talking at once, it’s like a million sounds to the person with autism. I don’t really know what it’s like to have autism…Sometimes I think that people with autism are weird, but I pretty much understand why. Sometimes I feel sorry for those people with autism. I want to know how people with autism feel.” (Keziah)
“The thing about autism is that their brain is lacking something inside it. The people that I know that have autism do unusual movements and also make unusual noises — I don’t really know why they do those things.” (Joshah)
“There is a boy in my school and some people say he acts weird, but they don’t know he has autism. I know (he is) smart. Some people say he is dumb, but (he is) really smart, but (he) just can’t say it.” (Daven)
“Autism is mostly hereditary, so you can’t get it by breathing the same air as someone who has it. Autism is like a dysfunction…the brain doesn’t register things correctly, it makes things louder and it makes the person feel as if (he’s) burning. The brain registers more pictures than we see.” (Devina)
“Many people have autism these days. I have little information about autism, (but) I think that autism would ruin the life of the kids that have it. That’s why teachers and parents now are trying to help them no matter what.” (Gabriel)
“People with autism struggle to control their body. Their senses are amplified times a hundred making their brain hurt… I think.” (Corlaine).
I think they are special meaning they have friends and family that care for (them) to help (them) with learning and to just be with (them) because I think people with autism get very lonely.” (Rynta)
“But, as we may all know, that not all humans are the same… if we are all the same, we won’t learn new things in our daily lives. People with autism didn’t choose to have life and to live life with disabilities. Be happy with what you are and what you come out to be. Remember everyone is different in a special way.” (Walyn)
Parents of children with autism and various partnering agencies continue to seek ways for increasing awareness about autism. Above mentioned class of kids regularly discuss disability-related issues (including autism) and yet the notion is still hard to grasp — I don’t think it is so farfetched to suggest that the above kids know as much, if not more, about autism than the average adult in our community. The point being that the discussions need to be on-going if awareness about issues surrounding autism and other disabilities is take any definitive root with people other than those directly confronting the issue.
For more information about autism and/or support services for people with autism or for ideas on how to generate awareness about autism, please feel free to contact the NMPASI office at (670) 235-7273/4 [voice] / 235-7275 [fax] / 235-7278 [tty] or via the internet at www.nmpasi.com.
JIM RAYPHAND
Executive Director
Northern Marianas protection
& Advocacy Systems Inc.
