Gooseberry

by Robin Gow

Mrs. Luca said the school psychologist suspects I have autism. Eri cut Mrs. Luca off and said, “I don’t want you to talk about it like that. You’re saying it like autism is a disease. If it’s part of who B is, then I don’t want them to ever feel like that part is bad.” I felt uncomfortable because things felt tense. I’d never seen Eri so firm about something. I didn’t really know much about autism so I just kind of listened. Mrs. Luca furrowed her brow and asked, “Well what would you like me to say?” “Autistic, you can say they’re autistic,” she said. Mrs. Luca paused and replied, “We are usually taught not to say that. It can sound . . . not polite.” “What’s not polite is that you or anyone else would think being autistic is something negative,” Eri said. Mrs. Luca didn’t seem to know how to respond to that. I felt really happy Eri cared so much about me that she talked back to a teacher, but I guess when you’re an adult you can talk back to teachers more. Still, I do want to think for myself about what words feel right. I don’t know how I feel about being autistic or having autism yet.

This is literally the opposite of what I've learned as a teacher.