#differentnotless

A thoughtful and practical guide for parents and educators on embracing neurodiversity in the classroom — exploring how to support children with different learning styles, cultivate inclusive teaching practices, and partner together in helping every child thrive.

التوحد ليس مرضًا. إنه ببساطة يعني أن الدماغ يعمل بشكل مختلف، وليس بشكل خاطئ. 🌍💙

يتعلق التوحد بنقاط قوة ووجهات نظر وطرق تفكير فريدة. لذا دعونا نستبدل المفاهيم الخاطئة بالفهم والقبول والدعم.

What is love but a measure of our worth? A way to tell who is deserving and who is not. We chase love but instead we find ourselves contending, desperately trying to prove we are worthy of one person's next moment. That they haven't wasted the time spent with us or the pretty words they lathered us with. That our pain and our brokenness doesn't disqualify us from that which all people crave. On the hierarchy of needs, love and belonging come third, after food, water, and safety. But truthfully we are unsafe outside the fold of love.

What is living if we aren't accepted, aren't noticed, if we don't belong?

And what does it take to belong?

My heart is tormented by that very question. I live my life in worry and fear, that I will never be accepted, never find the security my biology says I need to survive. That my differences will forever hold me back from the esteem, the self-actualization that comes after love and belonging.

When I look at the world, I see a fractured reflection of what broke inside me. I see a tiring and endless repetition of the seeking and never finding, the hope and the dejection, the friends and partners who leave and who give up on us. What I see is bleak, for hatred, selfishness, and betrayal destroy us. They banish us to the desolate, the parched land outside of love, where survival is just out of reach.

I'd bury my head in the sand and forsake it all, if not for the persistent nagging hope that this time will be different. That maybe I am loveable beyond the barrage of hurt that marrs my past. That I'm not so beyond understanding, so strange and awkward, so impossible to put up with for longer than two years maximum.

When I look at myself I see an entity so entirely deserving, so full of light and potential, so capable of being fully loved. I see someone just like, and at the same time, so unlike anyone else. Someone who has survived what my mind said would kill me, someone who's hope could not be snuffed out, no matter what battering it took, or what impossible odds it was presented with.

And yet I still lack that feeling of safety and belonging that I tirelessly seek. I still find myself alone, wondering if I'm worth the heartache, worth the dashing of hopes my life seems so intent on bringing me. If my self-love is really enough.

And it terrifies me. I look to the future with dread, afraid that I will never find someone who is willing to stick with me for the duration. When I'm not talking, I'm too needy, or I'm suicidal. When I'm too anxious, or too depressed, or too autistic.

There's always something more important, something that takes priority over that needy friend, Aziza. That deep carer, deep feeler, deep emoter, Aziza. It's like if the ship is going down and we're deciding what to save and what to cast off, I don't make the cut.

Every child is unique, and every milestone matters! On this World Autism Awareness Day, let's come together to foster understanding, inclusivity, and support for children with autism.

World Down Syndrome Day is a global healthcare event observed every year on the 21st of March to raise awareness about the disease and voice in support of friends and family of the person affected by Down Syndrome.

Down syndrome is a medical condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. At birth, a newborn will typically have 46 chromosomes. Having an extra copy of chromosome 21 causes Down syndrome in infants.

World Down Syndrome Day 2025 Theme

This year, 2025, World Down Syndrome Day's theme is "Improve Our Support Systems." The theme is to strengthen inclusive support systems to secure that individuals with Down syndrome receive the care, education, and opportunities they deserve.

Year by Year themes of World Down Syndrome:

World Down Syndrome 2024 Theme: End the Stereotypes

World Down Syndrome 2023 Theme: With Us, Not for Us

World Down Syndrome 2022 Theme: Inclusion Means

World Down Syndrome 2021 Theme: Connect

World Down Syndrome 2020 Theme: We Decide

World Down Syndrome 2019 Theme: Leave no one behind

World Down Syndrome 2018 Theme: What I bring to the Workplace

World down syndrome day 2025