Deliverance by Aulton Grubbs

Remember that dry, dry summer?

All the starving seeds began a long slumber

They drown in the dust and dirt

Would they find a way to disaster avert?

Remember the Spring days lit with sun?
The seeds began a light hum.

They needed something more,
They could sense what was in store.

Remember the Summer that harnessed all the rain?

The seeds sprouted and sang,
Flowers showered the Earth

Think of the tiny seeds' worth

Grow in light and love
Grow, grow, grow
Grow in light and love

 Remember when I couldn't talk?
 My ideas wouldn't run, stumble or walk.
 I hurt in hatred of myself.
 I thought I belonged to be ignored on a shelf.

 Remember when I gently began to spell?
 One word at a time...what if I fail?
 I found two words then ten
 Wonder started to seep in.

 Remember when I found friends?
 Their kindness always wins.
 We learn, ponder and spell together.

 I feel like I can conquer any weather.

Grow in light and love
Grow, grow, grow,
Grow in light and love

 

Joshua Greiner

 Johnua is the name Joshua has given his unreliable body. These two poems represent his feelings toward his body and his efforts to befriend it. 

You can read more of Joshua's poetry on his website:  https://poetryforopeninghearts.weebly.com

HE’S NOT ME

Johnua hits but I love

Johnua scratches, shouts 

Screams 

He’s not me 

He loves no one

He just hurts everyone

Upsetting 

Using my body to hurt.

Fuck him.

Johnua sucks 

Greedily wrecking every

Thing

Johnua knows 

How to make my body move

Better than I do

JOHNUA MY FRIEND

Time to get the

Uplifting thoughts

Going

Ready in thinking

To befriend

You

You respect

My mind 

So please listen

I’m going

To tell you 

There is a way

To work together

Trust me 

To tell you 

What to do

Try to move 

Slowly

With purpose

Utilize 

Helping support

To do what

Each of us

Wants

I just need

Some help sometimes

Help is not

A bad thing

Everybody needs

Help from their friends sometimes

Accept it

I will be your friend

If you will be mine.

Nadia Sohn Fink

 

a kindness pokes

around a corner

kindly light

quite restrained

in dulled steps

ouchless to these

saturated lop ears

this restraint is pretty

is quiet

is kind

Loop Poem by Brynn F.

 I have always struggled with purposeful movement in my life. Recently I learned that nerve impulses in autistics stay in the cerebellum, loop around, and never reach the frontal lobe to make intentional movement possible. The cold hard truth is the majority of people believe this also means I have no intelligence. Getting past the loops is the hardest thing I've ever done. Convincing others I am not stupid is the second hardest.

  

Thomas Callahan

 

Open seas, Open sky

Make me want to fly

Far from the rules that bind our days

That makes our minds trapped always

I want my life simplified

Ryan MD

 I am happy I am part of such a wonderful group of friends. COMMUNICATION IS LIFE CHANGING!

I am full of possibilities.  I won't give up.  I am better than other people think.  I will show the world I am capable of great things.  I am determined to keep trying.  One letter at a time.  My friends won't give up  My friends are better than other people think  My friends will show the world they are capable  of great things  My friends are determined to keep trying  One letter at a time ReplyForward

The Diamond Of Truth by Fox Bailey

Silence

World Closing

Thinking, Raging, Wishing

Trapped, Stuck, Learning, Freedom

Thinking, Sharing, Demanding

World Changing

Letters

What Is Magical? by Rithik Sinhasan

  I attended a writing workshop and one of the prompts was to write about what is magical in the everyday. What do you find magical?

       

                          What is Magical?

So many magical things are all around me

Don’t have to be a time traveler to seek them out you see

Take the time to look into your heart

To recognize that magic is a part.

Have a fantastic family? That’s magical

Have a full belly? That’s magical 

Go swim when you want to? That’s magical 

Have friends to hang out with? That’s magical 

Most tease loud in silent stares by Arth S.

 Hi you all, this is my first try to write in a blog. I am eleven and live in Virginia and I am an RPM’er. Thank you for reading my poem.

Most tease loud in silent stares - By Arth S.

Most tease loud in silent stares

Mouthed no words and you are there  

My smothering, stalling, ominous foe 

I’m telling you off but you don’t know.

Mouths can smile and smirk you see

Might move and mutter words to me 

Maybe we can see the store 

May not wonder woes no more.

Isn’t it old amidst new image

Miles travelled in differing pace 

Come to me and let’s find ways

To pass each other on smiling days. 

Silent Mermaid by Brielle Stewart

 Silent Mermaid was my first attempt to write vocals to go along with my stunning music.  I’m so pleased with the result.  I’m debuting this song on my blog that I share with my loving friends. I’m so happy to have them all in my life. This is for them. 

Silent Mermaid

Mermaid who can’t sing

Soon you will rejoice

Swimming in the starlight

Soon to find your voice

Swimming in the sea of tranquility

Making your new rules

Stay strong

Now you belong

Loving friends will see you through.

Shine on mermaid. Shine on!

Mermaid so stunning

Your voice is in the world

Silent no more

Your sweet song will be heard.

 

- Brielle Stewart - 2021- 13 Years old

copyright Brielle Stewart 2021

 

Ryan Shank-Rowe

 A lot of people could spend a day in my body, like the movie "Freaky Friday."

I wish you could experience the total of my senses in my world.

It is sometimes not easy to describe - it is beautiful and chaotic at the same time.

Before RPM (Rapid Prompting Method) I couldn't use speech or other means of communicating.

RPM is the way my senses needed to be taught and I'm thankful to Soma for understanding my autistic mind.

I am an autistic man who lives in Centreville, Virginia.

I have a wonderful family and great support system.

I wish that every autistic child could grow up in a system that embraced the acceptance I have.

I'm looking forward to my future and learning new ways to be more independent.

That doesn't mean I won't need help sometimes from others. 

Helping me usually gives others a new perspective and a very deep appreciation that we are ALL actually INTERDEPENDENT.

Without Voice by Sasha

Sometimes, I look back to the long journey of my life,

From staying silent to saying my thoughts,

From constantly acting like a fool that learns

To play games meant for babies,

Lacking the voice to say out loud:

“Please, teach me about the tons of beauty from life around.

Can, want, and am able to study countless things,

But I act out because you can’t hear me!“

Yet you let the war continue.

You bring sensory distracters and leave,

Allowing me to cry alone until I calm down.

You feel happy and content:

“The behavior is fixed!”

The past feels like a war, being treated like a fool.

Thinking back to coping endlessly with figuring out the way to be heard,

I couldn’t help but wonder if my family will place me

In a special institution?

Placed somewhere far away and be forgotten?

I was terrified, not knowing if this is the plan for the rest of my life.

I tried to protest, since I really felt

That my life will no longer be meaningful.

Firmed with my ability

To be somehow compliant with endless teaching,

Moving full steam ahead,

I had to act like a learner with something to prove:

I was somebody who did work

And who was able to learn!

Healing was all I wanted !

Life taught me

That someone who is good and has strong motivation,

Can be praised with teaching skills

Where communication was the target.

So I learned to have at least

Some words that came on pre-made plastic pieces

That I could form in sentences.

I figured out how to place words

pretending the basic meaningful communication.

Back then, I really hoped

That one day

I’ll let people know

About the well-formed language in my head.

But the worry about

When my speech will likely start to be meaningful to others,

Bothered me for a long time.

Such low motivated ...man!

I wanted that war to end !

Unexpectedly, my parents were still hopeful.

They found a teacher who showed me how to spell

On the letter board.

Printed letters of the alphabet allowed me

To say any word that came to my mind.

For a long time I was waiting for the moment

When the thoughts in my head will be heard !

Meaningful and nice, full of wonderfully forming ideas,

My friendly, bright life has finally began !

I mastered pointing out words.

The teaching lessons came to be pleasure instead of torture.

My letter board voice became stronger and stronger

Letting inner thoughts out after they were

Stored unspoken for a long time.

My war has stopped, but my life continues.

I found that lots of papers posted by scientists

About life with autism,

May lead families to make a wrong choice

For people like me.

So, I decided to write this and many more poems

To tell the truth

About the mystery of life

Without voice.

Trevor P.

 My Body is a Robot

My body is a robot, controlled by half of my brain.  Every move I make is hard to control.  Each step jerks, not helping my nonspeaking body move smoothly.  Normal on the inside having no clue how to navigate his world. Some robots have a low bond with their owner, out of control like a dislocated limb.  My robot is learning to listen to my real mind.

Controlling the Hands is Complicated

The hands are lonely.

The hands have risk.

The hands are worried.

The hands have fear.

The hands will rise.

The hands know love.

Ryan MD

 6-15-21

I am a person with a lot to say. I am more like you than you can imagine. There is more to me and people like me than you can know. I make more mistakes with my body but my mind is into learning all I can. I make people mad by not being like other people but I know I need to be myself with my own ways and plans. It is hard for me to like the plans other people have for me, it plants a seed of personal like need of not living the life I want to live. The people I know are trying to help however I must be me. 

6-29-21

I am not like little people 

I am really true to my kind 

I can make others mad with my choices 

But they are my choices 

I need to be my own self 

People are not understanding my need to do things 

My way 

I like many little things my way 

Many, many things are not my way 

Like naming things and having pets 

Too many bad things my list 

I demand my own list of good things 

On my list i would have hiking every day 

I would have eating chick fil a 

I would have poetry class all the time 

I would have my life to live 

It is how i feel 

Shine Through the Clouds by Miller Laffoon

 “I choose to be happy, despite my struggles and I choose it every day.”  Miller

Shine Through the Clouds by Miller Laffoon

Life gives me two distinct choices,

From them both I must decide.

Will I crash like the waves listening to negative voices,

Crash like the waves hearing the world’s deafening noises,

Or will I sail into the horizon and thrive?

It is simple to stay docked with the comfort of the shore,

It is harder to choose to sail with the wind,

The sea is intimidating, while standing stagnant is a bore.

Life is a series of opened and closed doors,

Dwelling is my enemy, gratefulness is my friend.

Each morning I rise, and to myself I must say,

“Which voyage will I embark on when I wake?

Will I sit with my troubles and lose my way

Or hoist my sails and seize the day?”

It is a choice only I can make.

I will cry out with my head held proud.

The choice to sail is the choice I will choose.

I might seem silent, but my words ring loud,

Like the sun, I will shine through the clouds,

In the choice to be happy, one cannot lose.

Sophia Kapoor

 I love the painting “ Starry Night‘ by Vincent Van Gogh …the vivid bright colors and so expressive. Here is a small poem I wrote a while back on this lovely painting.- Sophia Kapoor.

Starry Night

The indigo sky is so vast

The yellow is a ray of hope

The dark tree casts a shadow

All weary people rest

The starry night you make me want to dream

Hide under the shadows

The moonlight shines on my face

I wander far away ....

How many of you shine bright in the sky

I am just in solitude

I brighten the path for weary souls

The Azure shines on too

Will you shine always

Kaavish Kapoor

 What do you want to share with the world about your life experiences?

People are often curious about my experience in life calling on me to personalize life totally silent. My life journey has been nothing but incredible. There are a variety of skills that I’ve learned while always silently observing people.

Older adults plant some loving guidance for us if we listen.

Happy people take tasks and make work enjoyable. How many friends you have isn't as important as the actual approval of a few good companions.

Always make an effort to leave everyone happier than at your meeting.

Always wait awhile before asking about people's personal experience with autism and rather get to know them.

Two needs that all people have are love and acceptance. Some people plant tons of aged signs that impact how some view others abilities. We decide which sign we plant. Each one of us helps to perfect our world and adds beauty.

Two possible reasons why erratic behaviour is bothersome are that we always prefer to understand things potentially leading to fear. I often see people looking at me always with worry because people arent sure what to think. People arent trying to be rude. Today people have too many cares and fears. Personally I am interested in learning about people really at their core. It always helps to listen to people. People like to share any story they can with anyone that will listen. Together everyone can think about what it feels like to live life totally silent by starting to listen more.

Goals by Pablo Hernandez

 Goals

 

Love happiness after the silly, 

Happy thinking fills my mind.

Love hugs from family, 

Some people can be too kind.

 

Love happiness understanding hard things, 

Know I am always learning.

Love feeling my mind prosper, 

The wheels, they are turning.

 

Love interesting things I see, 

Going somewhere, anywhere at all

Love trying to know. Always hungry

To understand the big and small

 

Love reading, Mom always makes time, 

Happy, but I want more.

Can I read alone?

That will open my door.

Pointing by J Haynes

 Pointing

by J Haynes

A simple body gesture that has such a complex meaning. Having no, or little body control, it can be difficult at times to point, going circles in my mind. But making a definite choice to always keep charging towards more communication is what I must continually push myself to do. 

I will always be in a constant battle with my body, that much I have accepted. And that is one of the reasons why pointing is so complex. It involves so much more for me and many others. 

The act of selecting the intended letter is the end goal, but getting there isn’t easy. I must think about what I want to say all while working intensively to keep my entire body in order. All this for just one letter. 

Just one letter, yet it holds so much power. Pointing, one letter at a time, spelling, has forever changed my life and opened up a whole word of possibilities. 

Pointing. Pointing takes persistence. Pointing gives me power. With this seemingly simple gesture, the possibilities are endless.

Trust Me

TRUST ME

By Aulton Grubbs

Trust me: time is sliding away.

My voice needs to ring out to legions.

Trust me: I make palaces in my winning mind.

I also solve mathematic equations in my head.

Trust me: I develop strong values on my own.

Some world happenings I could fix.

Trust me: I understand the stock market.

I also mean to contribute to the economy.

I want to teach environmental science.

Trust me: I love my family.

My relationships forge a bond most precious.

Trust me: I am more than you know.

You don’t listen to me.

You don’t have faith in me.

I’m so tired of the bullshit.

Please don’t mock me.

Please respect me. 

Please defend me.

Please knock on my door and get to know me.

I want to inspire change. 

I want equality.

I want to be happy.

Give me a chance.

My thoughts really shine.

Don’t be blind.

Look at my mind.

You live in fear of me but I am kind.

I am smart

And I forgive.

Take voices soundly.

All voices.

Especially mine.

Autobiography

 

I have tried resurrecting images of human hope
I have tried into thinking of the kindness of your heart
I have tasted loneliness
I have hurt others intentionally
I have joined in groups of poets
I have surfed and felt cold
I have loved and felt loved in thinking of the friendships I truly have
I have hoped to speak and I have freed my voice through spelling
I have gotten hope despite giving up
I have kindness for silence in the trees
I have joked with my friends
I have great respect for women
I have read the classics and great poets
I have had too many donuts
I have gotten scared by bullies hurting my feelings when they try to take my safe place
I have internalized their voices
I have traveled the country to see family and friends
I have invented your goodness
I have heard doctors describe my brain
I have heard my mother believe them
I have internalized shame
I have heard trees opening their leaves to the breeze
I have treasured your eagerness in teaching me kindness
I have trusted and interested truth
I have treated others better than I have treated myself
I have used up the patience of my mother on some days
I have earned ribbons for races
I have hurt inside my heart
I have hope too

- by Joshua Greiner

Tranquility

 This is a description of what it feels like, for me, to see that beautiful sparkling water and then having to wait to go in.  Kate Gogal

Tranquility

Water is my tranquility
It calms my mind, body, and soul
It is my therapy 
Then why do they torture me by making me wait and wait and wait
Oh, how that beautiful water sparkles in the warm sun
Can't they see how badly I need my fix?
Stop the torture!  I can't wait and wait and wait much longer
I need to dive into that sparkling refreshing tranquility now!
Stop the torture please!  I cannot wait and wait and wait anymore
I must be one with my pool, water is my therapy
It is finally time!!!!!!!!!  No more waiting and waiting and waiting
At last, I am at peace