Today, April 2nd, is World Autism Day.

I remember before my son was born, I’d acknowledge this day existed. I had heard about autism but that was the extent of it. But I never really fully understood the significance of this day. How does one understand what others go thru until they walk in their shoes?

Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others. But how does one do this without actually living their lives? It seems a bit unrealistic.
But we can try to understand. We can read about struggles; we can educate ourselves about obstacles that others go thru. It is possible to understand, it is possible to try to reach empathy. It just takes a bit of work to get there.

Since autism is not a physical disability, it is very difficult for others to know when someone has autism. It is difficult to know other people’s battles.

But we can be kind.

We can be patient.

We can be understanding.

We can be accepting.