To put it simply, high schoolers are mean. I don’t intend to insult, nor do I mean all of us at all times, but we’re young and foolish. We stick close to our friends and aren’t accepting of everyone, whether it be of one’s attitude or style or background.
And yet, even when we dislike others, most of the time I believe we have the common decency to hold it in. Maybe we just don’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing us mad, but I’d like to think it’s because we all have some ounce of respect for one another. We’re foolish, yes, but we know even our smallest actions hurt others because they’re aware of our feelings. There’s no hiding behind a mask. We’ll live with the consequences. At least, this is how it generally goes amongst general education students. But when interacting with students who have autism, I believe many of us think they have a mask.
According to the Seattle Children’s Autism Blog, 63 percent of youth of the autism disorder spectrum (ADS) have reported being bullied. This is more than a statistic from a one second Google search. This problem is perpetuated every day at South: students being mocked for their disabilities, both verbally and physically; being ignored in the lunchroom; treated as entertainment in mostly gen ed classrooms. I’m not overdramatizing the situation– I’ve seen it, even before I joined Peer2Peer. And everyone else sees it, too, including the students getting bullied. It doesn’t matter that their cognition differs from the gen ed community. They are aware. They know. There is no mask.
I myself am not outside of this issue. I have had my shortcomings. I haven’t always been as compassionate as I should be, as righteous when I see things go wrong. There are times I should’ve spoken up in the classroom, the cafeteria, the hallways, but didn’t because I was afraid. That’s another part of our foolishness– the fear. We fear judgement and exclusion, so we do those exact things to those different than us in order to ‘fit in’.
And for this, I have nothing but gratitude for the Peer2Peer community. Beyond the lunches together and in-class opportunities, we are a community. A community that values the voices of all students. It’s fun, and more importantly, it’s normal. We’ve grown too used to the divisions between gen ed and special ed students. Peer2Peer allows me to return to what education should be: a joyous mixture of all different students.
At this moment in time, many things are uncertain, including the Light It Up Blue campaign. As heartbreaking as it could be for this event not to come to fruition, it all won’t be in vain if we take into our hearts what this was trying to, and still can, achieve. Don’t just read my words, this gen ed student’s words, and put down the paper. Go listen to the real champions of the movement. Students with autism and other cognitive disabilities play an integral part at South and our world as a whole. If you want to be uncomfortable, laugh or make a comment, remember: there is no mask, so hold it in.