I recently came across this quote. It reminded me of my autistic friend Jack & how he inspired me.
Thirty five years ago, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma tumor. Back then I thought I was invincible & those kind of things happened to other people. When the tumor was removed I experienced facial nerve damage.
It hasn’t been easy going through life with a distorted face. If I’d keep my mouth shut you might not even notice it; however, I’m not known for that. Adults often treat you as though you’re mentally challenged while kids usually ask “what’s wrong with your face.”
One of my autistic buddies “preached” the best sermon to me via his actions. We were working on enhancing his vocabulary when I noticed he was pinching the one side of his mouth closed. You might say it was an epipunny- I realized he was trying to imitate me vs wondering what was wrong with me. Thanks Jack.