i know nothing of autism and have never had any frame of reference for it. i thought not to do the tag, but decided to have a look around because i know about five acquaintances and a few good friends on wattpad who are directly affected by autism in their life. these quotes i found opened up a world of awareness, in the true sense, for me. i hope they do for you too. the media is very interesting, listing celebrities with autism (i'm a cynic when it comes to media and not sure of the truth of this). it is autism awareness month and i will tag a few people to post anything at all on the subject. should you want to participate, please tag your piece #autismawareness when you publish it.

i have two young children with autism. what could they have ever done to deserve that? what kind of god allowsthe innocent to suffer? it's a mystery. yet, still i believ in god.

-fred melamed

through the blur, i wondered if i was alone or if other parents felt the same way i did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. the emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. the human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.

-debra ginsberg

on the other hand, i think cats have asperger's. like me, they're very smart. and like me, sometimes they simply need to be left alone.

-jodi picoult - house rules

autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. it's that you're destroying the peg.

-paul collins

you know, everybody's ignorant, just on different subjects.

-will rogers

i know of nobody who is purely autistic, or purely neurotypical. even god has some autistic moments, which is why the planets spin.

-jerry newport - your life is not a label

if they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn.

-o. ivar lovaas

i like it that order exists somewhere even if it shatters near me.

-elizabeth moon - the speed of dark

think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. ... but autism ... is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.

-paul collins. - not even wrong: adventures in autism

autism is part of my child, it's not everything he is. my child is so much more than a diagnosis.

-s.l. coelho. - the world according to august-one good friend

go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. build your wings on the way down.-ray bradbury

-t.k. thom

a person with autism lives in his own world, while a person with asperger's lives in our world, in a way of his own choosing.

-nicholas sparks - dear john

but the beast was a good person ...the prince looked on the outside the way the beast was on the inside. sometimes people couldn't see the inside of the person unless they like the outside of a person. because they hadn't learned to hear the music yet.

-karen kingsbury - unlocked: a love story

art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.

-eileen miller - the girl who spoke with pictures: autism through art

autism: where the "randomness of life" collides and clashes with an individual's need for the sameness.

-eileen miller - the girl who spoke with pictures: autism through art

i myself am opaque, for some reason. their eyes cannot see me. yes, that's it: the world is autistic with respect to me.

-anne nesbet - the cabinet of earths

why was it considered normal for a girl to live for fashion and makeup, but not car engines or bugs? and what about sports fanatics? my mom had a boyfriend who would flip out if he missed even a minute of a football game. wouldn't that be what doctors considered autistic behavior?

-tara kelly - harmonic feedback

when you see an object, it seems that you see it as an entire thing first, and only afterwards do its details follow on. but for people with autism, the details jump straight out at us first of all, and then only gradually, detail by detail, does the whole image float up into focus.

-naoki higashida - the reason i jump: the inner voice of a thirteen-year-old boy with autism

do not fear people with autism, embrace them. do not spite people with autism, unite them. do not deny people with autism, accept them, for then their abilities will shine.

-paul isaacs

in reference to einstein's definition of insanity... 'no mr. einstein, that is not insanity, that is autism.'

-eileen miller - the girl who spoke with pictures: autism through art

wearing a cloak is on rose's list of the thousand things she hates most. the problem is that each of the thousand problems is ranked number one. 'but dr. rannigan says you must and anyway, it hardly weighs a thing, it's so full of holes.' i swung mine round my shoulders. rose hates any bit of clothing that constricts, but i say 'chin up and bear it. life is just one great constriction.'''ventilated', i said, 'that's the word. our cloaks are terrifically ventilated.'

-franny billingsley - chime

universities are renowned for their tolerance of unusual characters, especially if they show originality and dedication to their research. i have often made the comment that not only are universities a 'cathedral' for worship of knowledge, they are also 'sheltered workshops' for the socially challenged.

-tony attwood - the complete guide to asperger's syndrome

this is what i get very upset at... 'temple, who was driving suddenly faltered and wept. 'i've read that libraries are where immortality lies... i don't want my thoughts to die with me... i want to have done something... i'm not interested in power, or piles of money. i want to leave something behind. i want to make a positive contribution-know that my life has meaning, right now.  i'm talking about things at the very core of my experience.' ...i was stunned. as i stepped out of the car to say goodbye, i said, 'i'm going to hug you. i hope you don't mind.' i hugged her-and (i think) she hugged me back.

-oliver sacks - an anthropologist on mars: seven paradoxical tales

i have a condition called asperger's syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. it means i don't interact properly in certain social conditions.

-gary numan

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