Sometimes you read something and you just have such a big reaction and no place to put it. That is when I reach for a rage poetry:
Welcome
You can be Autistic,
but don’t have a meltdown.
You can be Autistic,
but don’t hate the lights.
You can be Autistic,
but don’t speak your heart
without thinking how we’ll feel.
You can be Autistic,
but don’t do what feels right
for your body.
We welcome you.
Please practise
being welcome.
The poster
You can be Autistic
on a poster on the wall.
You can be a rainbow.
You can be a day
we wear a different colour.
You can be the reason
we say everyone belongs.
But don’t make us reconsider
the thing
we have always done.
The slots
You can be Autistic,
but we only have so many slots.
You can have support needs,
but someone else is waiting.
You can ask for more,
but someone else will lose out.
Remember to be grateful.
When the slots are taken,
our generosity is complete.
Those who come afterwards
will have to explain
why they think
they deserve support.
Those already inside
will learn
to force their body still.
The call
Your child can come to school,
but you must make them stop.
You must make them stop
from your kitchen.
You must make them stop
from your workplace.
You must make them stop
under lights you cannot turn off,
inside rules you cannot change,
among adults
you cannot change.
Come and get them.
Try again tomorrow.
Tell us
what you are doing
at home.
The documentation
They write:
the parent is concerned.
They write:
the student refuses.
They write:
support was offered.
They write:
the family declined.
They do not write
how many times
the child asked.
They do not write
what happened
after they asked.
They do not write
what the parent left
to answer the phone.
The record grows.
The child’s world
gets smaller.
I keep them home
to keep them safe.
The government brief
You hear it
in their tone.
You are asking too much.
You are making too much of this.
Why can’t you make them?
For years,
you wonder
whether you heard it correctly.
Then you find the brief.
The language is measured.
The headings are tidy.
Your child’s need
is a pressure.
Your insistence
is a problem.
You are uncontrolled and
pursuing diagnosis incentives.
Afterwards
You said everyone belongs.
We brought you
our children.
