“There’s a little girl in my son Nicholas’ class. I’ll call her ‘E.’
Nicholas and E just met this year in Kindergarten. They like to play outside together. They like to sit with each other in school. They even like to hold hands. You may think this is a typical friendship story. A cute little love story. You may think you’ve already heard this story before. But this is different. This is a story of inclusion, acceptance, and kindness.
Nicholas has autism and is in the special education class at a public school. He spends most of his day in therapies and learning life skills to help him be as independent as he can. Throughout the day, he spends time in the general education Kindergarten class. He participates in Morning Circle time with them where they read books, learns the letters of the alphabet, dance, and sing songs. Nicholas also plays outside at recess with them. This is the class that E is in.
E always sits by Nicholas. She always grabs his hand. They spend a lot of time together when they can. The most beautiful thing about their friendship is how she talks to him. She talks to him even though he can’t talk back. She understands he doesn’t talk, but she does it anyway. This is inclusion.
E hangs out with Nicholas despite him having a disability. She wants to be friends with him even though he is different from her. This is acceptance.
E understands Nicholas can’t communicate as she can. She accepts him anyway. She knows he thinks and processes things a little slower than other kids. She still gravitates toward him. This is kindness.