To The blogger of The Great Leap who wrote about her new business—The Autism College Connection—which offers advice to families who hope their children with autism are college bound:

I am a big fan of your blog and applaud your work with your son and your new business. I’m sure many will benefit. I take issue, however, with the way you described day programs. You wrote, “He was too smart for day programs that babysat young adults with higher needs.” My daughter is also smart. She is quirky and has many talents that need cultivation. She has travelled the world with me and wants all those things typical young adults want. She also needs a day program that offers her instruction, community and some fun. The staff at her day program engages with her, fosters relationships and expands the worlds for their clients. To reduce what day programs do to “babysitting” hurt to read. I expected that you understood more about the complex post-pandemic world of young adults with autism and other disabilities. It was both disrespectful to my daughter and others who need day programming, and it further silos the larger community of people with disabilities. I believe we need to stand together, cheer on each other, support the needs of all of our children and young adult, not just those in our own children’s niche. If we don’t support and respect each other, how can we expect the typical world to ever understand, accept and support our children?

To her credit, the author responded to my comment almost immediately apologizing for her clueless sentence.  

And I am proud of myself for commenting. I think that even last year, I would have said nothing, feeling confused about the disrespect and the easy categorizing of people with different levels of disability. Feeling uneasy with the thought, “what if Julia read that?” 

This morning, I feel slightly clearer. Amazing how much we all have to learn.