Voice Of My Life-2

Look at me.
Go ahead, take a good look.
What do you see?
Weird? Silly? Pitiful? Can’t do anything?
You might feel sorry for me
You might pity me
You probably think I should be treated like a child.
I’ve heard and seen this before.
“Can she understand me?”
“Does she know what is going on?”
“How can she make choices?”
I understand your confusion
But it is time for me to come out.
Let’s just make something clear
I am autistic,
I am disabled,
I have many special needs,
I look different;
I need help eating, walking, moving around.
I do not need help
Thinking.
That’s what you do not see.
Look at me again.
What makes you think I don’t have an independent mind?
Have you tried to get to know me?
I have dreams, wishes, opinions.
I also have a disability
That prevents me to communicate like most people.
I have other disabilities that make me physically dependent on others.
That’s who I am
That’s who you might have to deal with.
Imagine how it would be
If you were discriminated against
Without a chance to show your inner self,
Without a chance to speak up.
That was my life for a long time
It hurt then.
The discrimination still goes on
It hurts now.
But I decided that I have more to say
Then you might want to listen.
I will make the best use of all my rights

(from : http://ollibean.com/2012/01/17/my-voice-my-life-a-poem-by-amy-sequenzia/)