Paint your own Autism picture

One thing that happens to me a lot, and I see this happen to others quite often around the internet as well, is that I’ll make a statement and quickly be corrected… sometimes I’m even told what to say.

For example, when I say on Twitter that Autism is neither a gift nor a curse, there’s usually someone that feels the need to correct me.  When I compare Autism to a rainbow, even making sure to include the stormy aspects… I’ve had people be downright mad that I’d compare it to something wonderful. Because to them, Autism is anything but.

I can understand that, to a point. But at the same time, I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to tell others how they should feel about something. Especially if it’s something that affects themselves or their loved ones as well.

The Incas

I don’t know a whole lot about the Inca Empire… but I did find their art work, sculptures and other artifacts most intriguing when I saw them at the museum.

What I found most interesting, however, was that there was no one artifact or piece of art work that could tell historians or archaeologists the whole story of what life was like for the Inca people.

The only real way to truly know is to take the whole tour. You go through the Inca exhibit and see so much, you learn so much and then… even then… you wonder at what it must have truly been like. Because you still don’t know!

You get bits and pieces… lots of bits and pieces… you get theories, you get stories… and you learn so much… but you still don’t know.

Museum… internet… whatever

Today, right now, our museum is the internet. This blog, that you’re reading now, is my contribution to the Autism exhibit. It’s not the whole exhibit, it’s just a piece of artwork on the wall (not very great artwork but it’s there all the same).

And I see other people’s contributions all over the place that compliment my piece, others contradict my piece, some are a whole other category of interest from mine… perhaps theirs could be considered the artifacts to my art pieces.

The fact is, there’s a lot to see and read and experience and while it gives people a lot to go on, and may give people a lot of theories, it’s still not the whole story.

But only by us sharing, all of us, can people get closer to really knowing… to truly understanding.

My Painting

Perhaps you don’t agree with my painting on the wall… maybe you don’t have any storm clouds in the distance behind a beautiful rainbow… and that’s ok too. That doesn’t make your art work any less important to the exhibit.

It just makes it a part of the story.

While it’s true that our museum could really use a better curator to organize and make things easier to find, it’s still a very wonderful exhibit with some really touching stories and people to discover.

Correct me if you feel the need to, but that won’t stop me from painting my Autism picture the way I see it.

And I hope no one ever stops you from painting your artwork the way you see it.

The visitors to our museum depend on it.