Unapologetically Embracing Autism

You've seen it, haven't you?  That moment when someone's face changes. That split second when ignorance transforms into something else. I call it the metamorphosis of understanding. And it's *everything*. Because awareness isn't just some cute hashtag or puzzle piece magnet slapped on the back of a minivan. It's the cocoon that eventually—painfully, beautifully—gives birth to acceptance. The Ugly Caterpillar Stage Let's get real: most people's first encounter with autism is uncomfortable. They see the meltdowns in grocery stores. The stims that make them stare a second too long. The social "awkwardness" they can't quite place. They're in the caterpillar stage. Crawling through their assumptions. "Why can't they just control their child?" "He looks so normal though!" "She must be doing it for attention." These aren't just ignorant thoughts. They're poisonous. They're the reason countless auti...