If you are a neurotypical person who makes fun of or teases neurodivergent people please donāt major in psychology and/or plan to work with children with special needs. Seriously. Donāt do it. Even if youāre only making fun of āoddā people solely online.
If āweirdā children or adults freak you out, maybe psych isnāt the field for you. If you made fun of your classmates in special ed or shared memes aboutĀ āspecial ed kidsā, maybe you shouldnāt be working in special education. Whether youāre at a school or working for a therapist, youāre going to be with these kids for a good chunk of the day. The last thing they need is someone who thinks theyāre a freak.
They also donāt need someone who sees them as an inspirational tools for your self growth, or as strange entertainment. Even if they do things you perceive as really strange or gross, that doesnāt give you a right to film or blog about them for the Internet. These children will become adults one day, and they donāt deserve to have their most vulnerable moments public on the Internet forever. I donāt care how odd or weird these children may be, they are still people and they deserve the same rights as you.
Working with special needs children isnāt something you do just because it makes you look good or even makes you feel good. You are shaping the future of these kids and how they view themselves. Would you have wanted a teacher who hated kids or thought they were lazy/stupid? No? Then donāt become that kind of teacher for children in special education.
Disabled children already have hard enough lives thanks to mean peers and a society that hates them. The last thing they need is more bullying and trauma from grown adults.Ā
