AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me)
A nine-year-old girl in Alabama has bravely given a speech to her entire school about what it is like living with autism.
Fourth grader Keira Meikus got up during the school announcements of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Homewood, earlier this month, making a speech before all 450 students.
'I have autism. I am like you. I go to school, I take tests, I watch TV, I like music and playing with my friends,' Keira said in the speech.
'I am also different than you. Some noises hurt me, I flap my hands when I get excited or overwhelmed. I don't always make eye contact when I should, and I don't always know when someone is being serious or joking.'
Keira continued: 'I can't speak for everyone who has autism, but I'm sure most want what every typical person wants - to be accepted and to belong....'
Keira's precociousness is all the more surprising given that she was only told what autism was one year ago.
Video of her speech, obtained by ABC News, has quickly spread online. However Keira's parents say she is not quite aware of the affect she has made.
'I don't know that she really understands the impact that she's making,' Keira's mom, Sarah Charles, told ABC.
'She's still very young. She calls autism her superpower. That's just part of who she is and that's just one piece of her that makes her special.'
Charles said that Keira's father, Jason Meikus, is her 'superman' and that he has encouraged his little girl to treat her situation as a positive.
'We are incredibly proud,' she added. 'We knew she was made to shine and she's shining at 9.'
Charles said, however, that the road has not always been so optimisitc.
'It was very scary because I wasn't sure what we would do,' Charles said of the diagnosis, which Keira got when she was four.
'I wondered how life would be for her and if she would be able to do all the things we hoped for her and all the things her older sister could do.
'She just found out a year ago that she had something called autism. We never named it for her before then. She's still learning about it.'
'My absolute favorite part of her speech is 'I am like you,'' Charles said.
''They [children with autism] want the same things.
'When you ask Keira what she wants to be when she grows up, she wants to be a mom ... there are many similarities and it doesn't always have to focus on the difference.'
SOURCE (with images and video): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ching-speech-entire-school-having-autism.html
- Keira Meikus gave a speech at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Homewood, Alabama
- She spoke before the 450 students at the school
- The fourth grader explained in her own words what it is like to be autistic
- She was diagnosed aged four, but it was only explained to her a year ago
A nine-year-old girl in Alabama has bravely given a speech to her entire school about what it is like living with autism.
Fourth grader Keira Meikus got up during the school announcements of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Homewood, earlier this month, making a speech before all 450 students.
'I have autism. I am like you. I go to school, I take tests, I watch TV, I like music and playing with my friends,' Keira said in the speech.
'I am also different than you. Some noises hurt me, I flap my hands when I get excited or overwhelmed. I don't always make eye contact when I should, and I don't always know when someone is being serious or joking.'
Keira continued: 'I can't speak for everyone who has autism, but I'm sure most want what every typical person wants - to be accepted and to belong....'
Keira's precociousness is all the more surprising given that she was only told what autism was one year ago.
Video of her speech, obtained by ABC News, has quickly spread online. However Keira's parents say she is not quite aware of the affect she has made.
'I don't know that she really understands the impact that she's making,' Keira's mom, Sarah Charles, told ABC.
'She's still very young. She calls autism her superpower. That's just part of who she is and that's just one piece of her that makes her special.'
Charles said that Keira's father, Jason Meikus, is her 'superman' and that he has encouraged his little girl to treat her situation as a positive.
'We are incredibly proud,' she added. 'We knew she was made to shine and she's shining at 9.'
Charles said, however, that the road has not always been so optimisitc.
'It was very scary because I wasn't sure what we would do,' Charles said of the diagnosis, which Keira got when she was four.
'I wondered how life would be for her and if she would be able to do all the things we hoped for her and all the things her older sister could do.
'She just found out a year ago that she had something called autism. We never named it for her before then. She's still learning about it.'
'My absolute favorite part of her speech is 'I am like you,'' Charles said.
''They [children with autism] want the same things.
'When you ask Keira what she wants to be when she grows up, she wants to be a mom ... there are many similarities and it doesn't always have to focus on the difference.'
SOURCE (with images and video): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ching-speech-entire-school-having-autism.html
