10-year-old Benjamin Giroux was given an open-ended homework assignment by his teacher. When asked to write a poem, Benjamin decided to use it as an opportunity to show other what it’s like to live with autism.
Being autistic, Benjamin has always felt ‘different’ when compared to his peers. While he wishes he could be treated the same as everyone else, he understands his autism makes him come across differently.
In a poem titled “I Am,” Benjamin tries his best to illustrate what his life is like. When his father Sonny read it, he was overcome with emotions. Once you read his poem, it’s easy to see why.
Imagine reading lines such as “I feel like a boy in outer space / I touch the stars and feel out of place” or “I say I ‘feel like a castaway’ / I dream of a day that thats okay.” As a parent, hearing these words from your child will choke you up.
Sonny tells the Huffington Post that he and his wife were proud of their child for writing such a poem, but they didn’t realize he felt this way. “We were both so proud, and yet so heartbroken, that this was how he felt.”
The poem has gone viral on the Internet since it was first posted. The National Autism Association highlighted Benjamin’s poem and shared it with all of its followers. Now, people all over the world can get a better understanding of what it’s like to live with autism.
This is all thanks to Benjamin and his touching poem!
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