@Samantha-Smith 31 July 2021

Let there be light!

**Let there be light...** A blank canvas Lies... Open. Unique palettes, Artistry at work. A rainbow of opportunity... Broken? Noises clamour, Compete for attention. Pandemonium consumes his world. Fists clenched He beats himself in time. Torn apart, he curls. Clothes scour His very self - regulation eroded. Abrasive to his being. Skin on fire. "No! No! No!" He melts down Inside His monotropic mind. Why? Oh why... Can't he just let it go? She thinks... Deeply, Fingers tapping, She speaks well... No hi or goodbye She interrupts... A lot. Her brain Focussed Unyielding Will not switch tasks... Will not stop. Unthinking? Unfeeling? Imperfect? Incomplete? Dehumanised Spectres Of mankind; In defeat. "He's extremely autistic; She's just a little..." 'They'* think they're being kind, But they just belittle. Because it's not a scale, No gradation Of degree... It's a palette, Of difference... Of disability. It's a spectrum of traits Unique works of art Who knows where it ends? Who knows where it starts? Like a prism of colour Red is not blue Meet one autistic person You HAVE NOT met two! Humanity Challenged And Awakened. Darkness retreats; Chinks in the armour Of ignorance Unseats. Neuro diversity Understood. Real people. No longer ghosts Of themselves. Knowledge is truth, And truth must take flight. Let's treasure the spectrum... Let there be light! Copyright asserted: Samantha Smith 31/07/2021 *Notes:* *1) They * refers to those referencing the autism in the poem, and not to those with autism.* *2) Poem inspired both by my personal experience with my youngest son who has sensory processing difficulties and demand avoidance, and is awaiting assessment for autism, and by an article by C.L.Lynch in Neuroclastic.com:* *It's a spectrum doesn't mean what you think* *3)Photo credit: Froken Fokus https://neuroclastic.com/2019/05/04/its-a-spectrum-doesnt-mean-what-you-think/ https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-jumping-photo-127968/