Today’s guest author is Sarah Stup.
Sarah Stup is a critically acclaimed author with autism who types to speak. She discovered the power of the written word when she was eight, but because she could not speak before then, few appreciated just how bright she was or the extent to which she absorbed her lessons and environment. Sarah graduated from high school with honors and has since authored numerous books, gift collections, poems, and essays for children and adults.
Sarah lives in Frederick, Maryland, and writes in her cozy kitchen nook, as she is depicted in her website banner. She enjoys listening to music, walking, fancy coffee drinks, and spending time at the beach in Lewes, Delaware, where Paul and His Beast takes place. She enjoys meeting and making friends on Facebook and her blog.
Today Sarah is sharing her thoughts on seclusion and restraint.
Schools punishing students with autism for running (elopement) is sad.
I was a runner when young. Please know that it is not to misbehave, but rather to escape the experience of autism’s confusing world. Your world is bearable, but ours is often jumpy or noisy or spinning. Running and feeling air swirling about can help erase these scary feelings.
The escape made adults angry, but I could not keep my body there because it did as it pleased and did not listen to my directions.
Please consider the confusing world of autism when deciding how to help us. Placing us inside a room with no way out or restraining us is punishing us for a disability we cannot rid ourselves of.
Students with disabilities are real people whose bodies and minds work differently. Please, please, please respect us.
Learn more about what Sarah has to say about inclusion in schools.
