Lately I have been thinking about the world of autism and the world of the neurotypical. Most of the time these two worlds are in orbit of each other in a solar system that keeps them at a distance. Very rarely do these two planets come close enough to get a glimpse of the inhabitants. More often than not, we gaze at each other from a distance trying desperately to understand the alienness of the other one. Such different ways of being and understanding has me thinking about the world of the hearing and the world of the deaf (not to mention my son with the imminent ear tube placement...) and it has me thinking about a book called 'Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language'. If you are at all interested in the world of the Deaf and the culture of the Deaf I highly suggest you read it.

In the book they speak about the culture of sign language on the island of Martha's Vineyard where hereditary deafness created the unique situation of one in four children being born congenitally deaf. Because so many children and adults were deaf on this isolated island, everyone used sign language. Deaf individuals used sign language with other deaf individuals. Deaf individuals used sign language with their hearing counterparts. Hearing individuals used sign language with each other. Sign was simply everywhere. It was quite possibly a Deaf Utopia. The individuals with deafness were not treated as being DISabled, merely DIFFERENTLY-abled. In fact, as the author interviews the older population on the island about who was deaf, many times they had a hard time even remembering that person AS deaf. He or she was merely a human being and nothing more.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that racial inequality would end and discrimination would become a thing of the past. I have a dream that one day, we will look at autism much like how those on Martha's Vineyard did with the Deaf. I have a dream that one day, we will say everyone here spoke autism.

What would that utopia be like?

Everyone would understand that we all have something to offer to humanity and to the world--that we all have value.

Everyone would understand that we all perceive the world differently and have different needs.

Everyone would understand that development happens at different times and that we all walk to the beat of our own drum.

Everyone would know what a Boardmaker symbol is.

Everyone would understand that if a child with autism screams and cries at the store, that it's not a reflection on his parents or her teachers but that the store is too loud and too bright and too much.

Everyone would understand that he's not just a rude person, but rather that he uses language differently than you do.

Everyone would understand that sometimes difference is a good thing.

Everyone would understand that IQ is not based on how many words you speak aloud.

Everyone would understand that all she needs is a little patience and some solitude.

Judgments and prejudices would fade away into obscurity. I have a dream that one day, we will say everyone here spoke autism.