be reasonable, renarin

Short boys: 😍💕

Skinny boys: 😍💕

Chubby boys: 😍💕

Sensitive boys: 😍💕

Feminine boys: 😍💕

Masculine boys: 😍💕

Cis boys: 😍💕

Trans boys: 😍💕

Demi-boys: 😍💕

Boys: 😍😍😍💕💕💕💟💟💟💗💗💗

Black boys 😍💕

Latino boys 😍💕

Native boys 😍💕

Interracial boys 😍💕

Boys who use wheelchairs: 😍💕

Deaf boys: 😍💕

Boys w/ ADHD: 😍💕

Boys w/ service dogs: 😍💕

Dyslexic boys: 😍💕

Blind boys: 😍💕

Mentally ill boys: 😍💕

Mute/selectively mute/boys with speach impairments: 😍💕

Boys with severe allergies: 😍💕

Diabetic boys: 😍💕

Boys who use ASL: 😍💕

Boys who haven’t transitioned yet: 😍💕

Boys who never want to transition: 😍💕

Jewish boys: 😍💕

Muslim boys: 😍💕

Neurodivergent boys: 😍💕

PLEASE READ, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

Allism is a terrible condition that afflicts billions of people around the world, and impacts us all daily. As many as 67 out of 68 people may have some form of allism!

Some common symptoms of allism include:

Insistence on following a rigid set of social rules. People with allism may become agitated or angry when others do not conform to their limited understanding of how social interactions should work.

Manipulating others for no reason. People with allism see trust as a weakness, and will cruelly take advantage of highly trusting people for their own amusement.

Inability to develop relationships with people they view as “different” from themselves. People with allism have very limited ego development, and thus will protect their ego by viewing people who are different from them as “lesser”. This can also lead them to treat others unfairly.

Inability to understand thought processes that differ from their own. People with allism assume that everyone thinks exactly the same as them, and when it becomes clear that this is not the case, they will label other people as “crazy”, “stupid”, “r*tarded”, “idiot”, “delusional”, and other offensive terms. They may even come to believe that people who think differently, do not think at all!

Of course, not every person with allism will have all these symptoms; allism is a spectrum! With the right help, higher functioning individuals can learn to overcome these symptoms and become truly helpful members of society. The low functioning ones, however, need our help even more. Allism charities around the world are raising money for allism research. Scientists are working hard to discover causes and treatments for the disorder. But they can’t do it without our financial support!

Tell your friends and family that allism awareness month is February, and make sure to find out what allism awareness events will be happening near you. Join us on our annual #march4allism fundraiser on allism awareness day. Allism awareness day is February 14th, to draw attention to the difficult people with allism have forming truly loving bonds.

I want to be violent,

I want to be vengeful…

But mostly I feel shame. 

Mostly I feel guilt and sorrow. 

If you keep going like this, you’ll die.

If you lower your shield, you’ll die.

I work in a public library and there are times a book comes through circulation that is so awesome I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before.

Last week I came across this lovely children’s picture book called Why Johnny Doesn’t Flap: NT is OK! by Clay Morton, Gail Morton, and illustrated by Alex Merry. (Pardon the library barcode covering part of the title here.)

[Pictures of the front and back covers of the picture book. The back cover summary says: “My friend Johnny is different from me. We have fun together, but sometimes he acts pretty strangely. He is never exactly on time, he can;t seem to strict to a routine, he stares right into your eyes, and he often says puzzling things. Johnny is neurotypical. I like Johnny and I think being NT is OK.”]

The fact that I was seeing the term “NT” on the cover of a children’s book was enough to pique my interest. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the book is really quite lovely!

[Two page spread reads: “We have a lot of fun together, but sometimes he acts pretty strangely. Mom says it is because he is NT, or neurotypical. He doesn’t have autism, so his brain works differently from mine, but that’s OK.”]

It flips the typical “little Timmy has a special friend” narrative on its head. Instead, the narrator is an autistic boy who has an NT friend who he sometimes struggles to understand. 

[Two page spread reads: It can be pretty interesting being friends with a kid who is NT. He has a lot of quirks that can be very frustrating until you get used to them. Mom says that everyone’s brain is different and different isn’t always wrong.”]

The book uses simple terms to describe a perspective not usually seen in any literature, let alone lit intended for children.

[Two page spread reads: “When something exciting happens, Johnny doesn’t respond like you would expect. He doesn’t flap his arms or jump up and down. He just moves the sides of his mouth up and slightly widens his eyes. Maybe he doesn’t know much about how to express emotions.”]

I think ultimately this flipping of the narrative is more effective in getting the message across that kids with autism are just like everyone else but with unique needs. 

[Two page spread reads: “Johnny never has a meltdown when disasters happen, like a fire drill or art class being canceled. He is afraid of what people might think. It seems like he is bottling his feelings up, but he just has his own way of dealing with things, and that’s OK.”]

And this book is something autistic kids don’t usually have– it’s a book from their perspective! And it’s a non-offensive, matter-of-fact perspective, which is all the rarer.

[Two pages spread reads: “When he talks to you, Johnny looks directly into your eyes, which can make you pretty uncomfortable. He doesn’t mean any harm, though. That’s just the way he is, and that’s OK.”]

It talks about things that autistic people experience and can relate to.

[Page reads: “I like Johnny. I think that being NT is OK.”]