Caitriona Nicholls is autistic and grandmother to an autistic granddaughter. She penned this poem to share her experiences.
Take me As I Am,
Take me by the hand,
Walk on this autism journey with me,
An exploration of neurodiversity,
My differences don’t define me,
Nor diminish my humanity,
But they make me what I am,
Sometimes it’s hard to remain calm,
I need familiarity and routine,
My stimms can be heard and seen,
I might flap my hands or spin around,
Stimming helps keep my feet on the ground,
It’s how I regulate myself,
It’s good for my mental health,
It can cause people to stop and Stare,
Because they are not aware,
Of how awesome my autism makes me,
Nor the challenges of neurodiversity,
If I could change a single thing,
It would be to educate about the joy people with autism bring,
To make people more aware,
So they won’t stop and Stare,
They’ll just take me As I Am,
