Autism Poem: Maybe She’s Shy

Maybe She’s Shy

Are you sure she’s autistic?
She looks normal to me.
Maybe she’s just shy,
It’s just her personality.

You did this to her,
You made her too clingy,
These behaviours are caused,
By her mother’s anxiety.

Why’s she so picky?
She doesn’t eat meat? 
Feed her what you’re having.
If she’s hungry, she’ll eat. 

Force her to hug people,
She has to get used to it,
Just wait ’til she’s older,
She’ll soon grow out of it.

Autism didn’t exist
Back in my day,
I’ve heard that everyone’s
A little autistic, anyway.

She just lacks discipline,
She needs to be brave,
Just beat it out of her,
She’ll learn to behave.

You’re making her worse,
Doing everything wrong,
She was never autistic,
It was your fault all along.

– Hazel Appleyard