Knowledge, understanding and compassion are power.
This concept can be applied to many facets of life, but particularly when it comes to those aspects that make us different from one another.
Those differences can be used as reasons to cause pain and hurt, or present opportunities to understand and appreciate the qualities that make us unique.
While Camas teenager Lindy Treece, diagnosed with autism when she was 2 years old, has suffered through what are likely some painful and difficult times, she has chosen to share those experiences with the hope of alleviating some of the misconceptions about the condition. She recently organized an event as part of her senior project with the goal of helping people to better understand the autism spectrum.
Meanwhile, a Camas mother of a boy with autism has organized a series of seminars with some of the same goals in mind. Julie Hillyard has put together a series of four seminars that will be led by industry professionals to assist parents and caregivers of special needs children. As profiled in an article in today’s Post-Record, the focus is on understanding children with special needs, and fostering their strengths.
Events like these are opportunities to see that differences don’t have to separate us, but instead can bring people together.
