I've had a more great teachers then I can count, but the one who has truly set themselves apart from the others is my 17 yr old, non-verbal, autistic son.

He goes through the days in relative happiness, finding joy in what seem to be incredibly small things, but that to him 1/5

make his world a happy place. Rarely complaining or unhappy, almost always a smile for everyone, I've come to realize that he's the example I need to follow. Neither of us can control the outside influences, but only our environment so far as the front door. 2/5

He's taught me patience, understanding, and a perspective of the world around us that, to him, is probably something he can't understand because of its complexities.

He makes me care more than I would otherwise; His quiet demeanor calms my soul. He is reassuring in times 3/5

of distress. He makes me want to fight with everything I have for him and his peers.

He has unknowingly made me a better person, even though I know I'm angry. I have a right to be angry, because people think he has no value because of his disability. 4/5

Our society suggests he's the one with a disability, but maybe, just maybe, it is the neurotypicals who're truly the disabled and just don't know it.5/5