tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post5020708768693192215..comments2024-03-28T03:35:52.176-04:00Comments on Love That Max : Your child with special needs will surprise you: an inspiring storyEllen Seidmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433429847255621203noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-87596879682717698032015-11-19T07:31:58.198-05:002015-11-19T07:31:58.198-05:00The phrasing "She found her tribe" made ...The phrasing "She found her tribe" made tears spring to my eyes. When I was about 18, fresh out of a special-ed school and failing miserably at "normal" human interaction, I had a similar experience that impacts my life to this day, almost 15 years later. Like A, I also discovered fandom--though not anime fandom--and made plans to attend my first convention. I remember so clearly how at home I felt--maybe for the first time ever--when the convention organizer responded to a question I'd asked with kindness instead of derision, and how I responded to that kindness...by literally bouncing around my kitchen (well, my mom's, who I live with), repeatedly singing a Third Eye Blind lyric at the top of my lungs: "I would walk with my people if I could find them."<br /><br />What Ms. Marcotte wrote about how people are treated in anime--that who you are "outside" doesn't matter; if you like anime, you're in--is very similar to the experience I've had in media fandom in general. Uniqueness is something to be celebrated, not beaten into submission (I have a button that says "In the 'real world', I'm short, fat, and weird; in fandom, I'm compact, cuddly, and interesting!"). No one is "normal" (another button: "'Normal' is a setting on my dryer."), so everyone expects that other people will have their weirdnesses, and reacts accordingly. But more than that, fandom is united by the idea that, because so many of us are treated so badly by the outside world, fandom should be a place where we are all not only accepted, but loved. For many of us, fandom is more than where our friends are; it's our family. Or, as we say (because so many of us do better with quotes than we do trying to express ourselves in our own words), "Ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind." :-)Barrienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-40967454833782454982015-11-18T17:45:40.186-05:002015-11-18T17:45:40.186-05:00That's awesome! Good for her to do that! I use...That's awesome! Good for her to do that! I used to have a lot of trouble until my brother introduced me to the hobbit/ lord of the rings and a video game series called the elder scrolls. No he can't get me to stop talking about it! P.S I'm also a teenage girl with ASD.Max .Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10904861794391197803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-5645791870883835412015-11-18T10:44:54.778-05:002015-11-18T10:44:54.778-05:00Finding one's passions is finding the key to d...Finding one's passions is finding the key to desirable society. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616282351291824392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-401303964563152307.post-21311237976638843232015-11-18T06:46:34.176-05:002015-11-18T06:46:34.176-05:00That's awesome A! Good for you!That's awesome A! Good for you! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10392626811425787266noreply@blogger.com