Moses Ting's inspiration and design notebook.
Today was my first volunteering session for KEEN, where I got to spend an hour playing sports with children with autism at the local YMCA. If you didn’t know, autism is developmental disorder that impairs social interaction and communication. Autism exists in different forms, and characteristics of individuals with autism vary widely from one person to the next.
Oftentimes, it is difficult for autistic children to fully develop their speech. From what I’ve read, these children often know exactly what they want to say, but have difficulty actually expressing it. The way they experience and interact with the world is unique, and different from how “normal” individuals experience the world. It is hard for others, myself included, to truly understand what these children go through and the internal victories and battles they have to go through.
I think my life changed a little today. As I interacted with a few of the kids, I was reminded of their innocence through their laughter. Even though they could not express the fun they were having through speech, their laughter said it all. It was simply amazing to see these children simply being children. This is what I ended up writing in my journal:
Children with autism might not be able to communicate through speech, but they know how to laugh. And that, should be the common language we all strive for.
