Shanttel Porras
Prof. Ryder
March 14, 2019
ENGL 21003
Free Write Prompt: Write about a time you felt like an outsider or witnessed one?
One way I could say I’ve witnessed someone as an outsider would be my brother and how he lives with a barrier in communicating with others.
My brother has always lived with the difficulties of autism and it’s many challenges. While he is fortunate enough to be verbal and high functioning he was not always that way and it has been a long road to get there especially for my mom. Even within our own family it’s hard to understand his reasoning and relate to him even now which I know must be frustrating for him. But my family, especially my mom have always shown him unconditional support with whatever triumphs and problems he has faced which sometimes he fails to give her full credit for.
Autism can have many impacts even in high functioning people especially socially. I remember how in many occasions my brother would be asking my mom why some children wouldn’t play with him or if people would avoid him or pretend to listen to him, and I would always be internally angry when I was younger that he could be treated like that. When I was younger I always tried to stick up for him and help him avoid people who wouldn’t respect him or treat him well.
My mom had a big role in helping him over come certain stigmatized traits to help him adjust to blend in with society. When was younger had certain behavioral tics where he would react in overwhelmed emotion with hand-flapping jumping, and sudden smiling and losing present focus that would start seeming out of place as he grew older. He even had more negative tics where he would bite his hand when he was younger and had a sensitivity to loud sounds that would overwhelm him. One by one my mom painstakingly helped my brother overcome his overreactions to tics and while his fear of dogs never fully went away he can cope with how he reacts and continues to improve. She did these with the best intentions so he could try live a life just like any other non-autistic child but I’m glad to say he still keeps his internal character and personality that matures however slowly as he grows. Every person’s growth is a work in progress and I’m proud of how far my brother has come and how far my mom got him.
