Not all Heroes Wear Capes. Some Wear Blankets.

Whether it’s a real cape and mask, or a blanket with a hot-glued symbol on the back of their favorite character, and a quickly thrown together mask made with paper, colored black with markers that doesn’t matter. If its Batman’s observational skills or Superman’s super sight and hearing, autism is a superpower in of itself. I watched a kid name every original Pokémon from memory and another hear even the quietest of whispers. Why not consider autism a superpower? Sure. it may not be as useful as flight or as strong as super-strength. but those are fictional, and autism is very real and truly a gift. The parents of children with autism have to go that extra mile to get their children taught right which most schools won’t provide or won’t do it well and talking from experience it’s hard, emotionally and physically draining, having to explain something once then twice, then three times and so on.

People who work with students that have autism understand that fact, and they embrace it with open arms to get these students the social/emotional skills needed for them to understand how to function as a human being and live life to its fullest. Parents, you too, are super in your own way because I understand how far some of you are willing to go in order for your child to be successful. The teachers don’t do it all alone. If a student is so taxing, no wonder you have aides/paraprofessionals who are willing help them with a classroom that includes students with ASD to understand and help every individual child, but teachers could not do it without them.

So, whether its a real cape and a mask or a blanket with a hot glued symbol on the back with their favorite character, a quickly thrown together mask made with paper, colored black with marker, or maybe the hot glue didn’t apply that well, the hot glue can be reapplied or instead pinned on by the parent. It could be that maybe the marker on the paper mask is starting to fade and it is recolored with a sharpie by the teacher. All of these adults are giving these amazing individuals valuable lessons for life in the form of hot glue and a sharpie. Just as superhero characters are born from hard work, tons of patience, determination, commitment, and quite a bit of imagination, so are the individuals with special needs whose teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents need put in the same amount of effort to see them succeed.