I am 1 in 36

I am 1 in 36.

I am one in 36, because I am autistic.

It is not so tiny a number as you might think.

Only 1 in 20,000 have Albinism.

And 9 in 100 people have green eyes.

1 in 20 have red hair. 

Even left-handedness is only 1 in 10.

I am 1 in 36.

It is not so tiny a number as you might think.

And yet…

We’re punished because we think differently.

Because we feel differently.

Because we are different.

Gifted.

Quirky.

Special.

Broken.

Atypical.

Abnormal.

Defective.

So many words to kindly or unkindly separate us from the majority of humankind.

Like misshapen pieces on a conveyor belt.

But…

2.8% is not as insignificant a number as it might seem.

It’s at least one kid in every classroom.

At least one person on every bus.

One co-worker in every workplace.

One person that you know.

And it’s enough that you’ll notice that we’re here. 

That we’ve always been here. 

You just didn’t want accept and acknowledge that we were. 

That we’re not an abnormality of what’s “normal.” 

But a variation of what IS. 

I am one of the 36.

And maybe you are too.

*According to a recent CDC report 1 in 36 persons in the US are autistic.