The clamor for acceptance
Time and again, as the month of April ushers in, I make it a point to dedicate a column to espouse not just autism awareness but rather autism acceptance. As I have written in my April 15, 2021 column:
The Autism Society of America is leading the shift of calling the advocacy campaign every April from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month to "foster acceptance to ignite change through improved support and opportunities in education, employment, accessible housing, affordable health care, and comprehensive long-term services," says Christopher Banks, President, and CEO of the Autism Society of America.
More than spreading awareness to let more people understand autism and its challenges, we, parents of children with autism also yearn for something more than others being informed about what autism is all about. We look forward to that day, and hopefully, it will happen very soon, when people will be more sympathetic, supportive, and accepting of our children.
We do not just wish our kids to feel included everywhere they go, be this at school, at the workplace, or even in public places, but we also want them to feel that they can do things the same way we can do them. They may be special or different, but they are definitely not less.
Autism may be somehow regarded as an invisible disability, meaning some, if not all, of those with autism like my son, may appear to be normal because physically, nothing is wrong with them. However, most of those on the spectrum have behavioral and social problems that when they have tantrums or when they talk or when they flap their ears, that's when people start noticing that there is something odd with them. Through the years, and as my son grows older, I have come to accept the fact that whether I like it or not, there will be people who will judge my kid because of his unusual behavior. Still, I can consider myself lucky since my son may still adopt a high-functioning life when given the proper attention and intervention.
But those with other physical and mental disabilities such as Down Syndrome and the like may have harder times compared to those
with autism. Physically, anyone can tell if a person has this condition, and being judged initially because of how one looks is already heartbreaking and disappointing, to be honest. When I read the Facebook post of Louie Vail, detailing the disheartening incident involving her 20-year old brother Hycel Roy who has Down Syndrome in a supposed flight to their hometown General Santos City via Cebu Pacific Air, I just couldn't process the thought of how people can treat those with disabilities in the most discriminating and inhumane way possible.
According to the posted story, Hycel Roy, who was accompanied by her other sister and brother-in-law, was simply denied by the Area Manager to board the flight on the basis that he might have violent tendencies because according to the Area Manager, she has a cousin who has a similar condition and tends to be violent. Louie Vail further explained that his brother has fear of heights and since he and his companions were held inside the glass tube for a long time and this triggered Hycel Roy to sit down and not move. That's when they were informed that they will not be allowed to board the plane anymore.
Louie Vail said the CebPac Area Manager offered them free hotel accommodation and rebooking of tickets but they turned down the said offer because those are not even enough to compensate for the trauma and humiliation they experienced at the airport.
To quote Louie Vail:
"My siblings arrived 4 hours early to make sure they will be assisted properly and things would go smoothly and fine but .... they can't be early enough with this kind of handling from Cebu Pacific.
I understand that Mrs. M (area manager) and her head manager were just doing their jobs according to their judgment, but please understand that I am just also doing my duty as a big sister to speak for my brother with down syndrome. And according to my judgment, my brother was discriminated by Cebu Pacific today."
As for me, I will always vow to continue voicing out not just for my son Lance, but for all the families of children and people with disabilities to clamor not just for awareness but for true inclusion and acceptance in the soci et y.