“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

When I was a young person I was small, round and freckly. Any one of these attributes alone, would have been unremarkable, but together they combined to put me in a particular class of people, undesirable people, or maybe it was the spectacles? My fairly ordinary appearance shaped how I experienced life, a crash course in social skills before the term had even been coined.

I was fortunate. My father was in the Navy which meant that we never had to endure any one school for very long, as there was always another posting hanging in the wings to bring relief. The crunch came with boarding school where my education was stabilized from 11 until I was 18. Like many marginalized children, not in the 'in crowd,' I made it to adulthood relatively unscathed. That was all back in the bad old days when people were more narrow minded, ancient history. These days people are more enlightened, open minded and accepting of differences great and small. We enjoy an ‘inclusive’ mentality and marginalize the judgmental tendencies.

Other people are far less fortunate than me. Their experiences defy comprehension.

Today I learned of a young man who was ostracized publicly, his name is “Alex Barton.” This little chap is definitely small but he is neither round nor freckled. He looks perfect. He is perfect. He is the perfect fit for his loving family. Sadly, he is not a perfect fit for some of his peers, primarily his teacher who orchestrated his ousting and planted stigma in the young minds of many. I learn that other “autistic people” have had similar experiences. Many others are flabbergasted at such behaviour.

Strangely, or rather coincidentally, a pal sent me this quote yesterday:-

“Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” Mathew 25:33-40.

Another chum sent me this e-mail. She is no longer small and round, and I grew up to be much bigger than I ever imagined.

Tequila and Salt

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could read it every day.

You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true.

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.

So………..

If you are a loving friend, send this to everyone, including the one that sent it to you.
If you get it back, then they really do love you. If life hands you Lemons, skip the lemonade,
ask for Tequila and Salt and call me over!

Best wishes from me and mine to all the Bartons.

“Left Brain Right Brain”

and

“Action for Autism.”
Many thanks to “Bev” for pointing us all in the right direction and to “Niks Mom” as we all gather together.
Alex might benefit from going to “Adam’s” school, where inclusion is a positive goal that many more of our children should enjoy.

“Drive mom Crazy” also gives as an adults perspective.
“Abfh” posts on this today too, as well as providing a very handy telephone number “here” in case you’re not the writing type.

Here are some more jolly good links that we may be able to pass around the blogosphere as an updated list from “Last Crazy Horn,” and numbered for ease of use [what would we do without efficient chums?]:-

1. Whitterer on autism
2. Leftbrainrightbrain
3. Action for autism
4. Asperger Square 8
5. Maternal Instincts…Flying By the Seat of My Pants
6. The Joy of autism
7. Drive mom crazy
8. Whose Planet Is It Anyways?
   
9. Odd One Out
   
10. Cogitamus
11. Odd Time Signatures
12. Stop. Think. Autism
13. Along the spectrum
14. Andrea’s Buzzing About
15. Foggyrock
16. The Diaper Heads
17. Memoirs of a chaotic mommy
18. Life with Joey
19. The Rettdevil Rants
20. ASAN
21. Livs Journey
22. Big white hat
23. Ballastexistenz
24. Aspie-editorial
25. Being ammey
26. The Anthill
27. Thinking in Metaphors
28. Lone Wolfs Den
29. Jonathan Turley
30. Lyndon
31. Retired Waif
32. Lorem Ipsum
33. Digital Journal
34. Disability Studies, Temple U.
35. Mommy life
36. Panic’s Deep Thoughts
37. Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest Of The Time I Know You?
38. Charming Bitch
39. The Adventures of Leelo and his Potty-mouthed Mom
40. DC Metro Moms
41. Enter the Jabberwock
42. Incertus
43. Eric Berlin
44. Awalkabout
45. The Gimp Parade
46. Man, or Maniac?
47. Autism Vox
48. Apple Tree
49. Club166
50. A Room of Mama’s Own
51. The Strangest Alchemy
52. Suspect Device: The Blog
    
53. Huzzah!
54. Beartwinsmom
55. Pipecleaner Dreams
56. The Squiggly Line of Thought
57. Highboldtage
58. Dvorak Uncensored
59. Social Skills and Asperger’s Syndrome
60. The Quaker Agitator
61. Bohemian Booklover
62. The Church of the Apocalyptic Kiwi
63. How This Old Brit Sees It
64. Stirring the Pot
65. Disaboom
66. Midlife and Treachery
67. Celebritique
68. Sanabitur anima mea
69. To Be Great Is To Be Misunderstood
70. I Can Only Imagine
71. Up On Eagle’s Wings
72. A Life Less Ordinary?
73. Kaleidoglide
74. Cripchick
75. Daily Kos (full of a lot of information)
76. Marla Baltes
77. Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop
78. Perseveration.org
79. Fatherhood Examiner
80. EditorMom
81. It’s Atypical Neurolognorosis I Tell Ya
82. Wheelie Catholic
83. Free Falling
84. The Lawdog
85. Sheila Schoonmaker

Or you could pop along to my jolly good pal “Last Crazy Horn” as see her sterling work in situ at “Odd One Out.”

P.s. We’ve been battling asthma over here with the boys, so I’ve not been as vigilant as I should have been. If we’ve missed you out drop me an e-mail / leave a comment / post a link.
“Here” is a link explaining why some people choose to “homeschool” from “Mrs.C.”