Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst. A victorious warrior. He will be quiet in His love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zeph. 3:17

Friday, December 16, 2011


As I was recently at an eating establishment.  I came upon a one on one out with her client.  I used to work in the field and I have one pet peeve about people out with their clients or even just working with them as a whole….Treat them with dignity and respect. 

The individual was probably late teens, early twenties.  He had a communication device and used it to communicate what he wanted to eat.  I believe that he was autistic.  Now, if you have worked with autistic individuals or know someone, you know that there is a lot in there that is wanting or waiting to come out.  But given their disability some are unable to.  The key is to help them unlock the possibilities of how they can express themselves.

Okay, back to my day at the eating establishment.  The one on one in an octave unknown to man, would say “chheeeessse….bur….ger” in the individuals ear.  I believe she said it in that manner at least 30 times in the span of about 10 -15 minutes.  Seriously, this is how you would talk to an infant.  He is a grown man, treat him this way.  If I were the parent of this individual, I would not want my son to be spoken to in this manner.  It is degrading.  Just because he is unable to speak vocally, do not degrade him to an infant. 

Put yourself in the individual’s shoes, how would you feel?  Or even try to put yourself in the shoes of the parent of and individual who is Autistic or has a developmental disability.  It is time that we begin to bring back dignity and respect.  Maybe this is a one of the pieces of the puzzle to understand the individual and quite possibly a piece that helps them unlock a lock.