The Autism Button Chronicles: Prologue

Welcome to the Button Chronicles.

Riding public transit is one of
Liam's special interests.

Some time ago the Toronto Star posted this article about a mom who travels the Toronto subway system daily with her autistic son. The mom carries a sign on her backpack explaining that her child has autism and requesting that the public be understanding of his needs. This opened up some discussion in the autism community; some agreed with her choice and others disagreed, but ultimately it was working for that family.

I talked to Liam about it and he thought it was a good idea. (Liam loves riding public transit, as it's one of his special interests.) Both boys often run into fellow transit travelers who just don't get it (see this article that I wrote for Holland's Bloorview's BLOOM Blog). Liam often bears the brunt of people's judgment because he is older and people seem to think he should have a better handle on himself. But Phoenix is a fiery, quick tempered little fellow who has a tendency to throw things across crowded vehicles.

Liam suggested to me that he would prefer a button over a sign. So last week I ordered two of these buttons off of Zazzle.ca.

I ordered a smaller one for Liam to wear if and when he chooses, as well as a bigger one to pin onto Phoenix's stroller.

I'm very curiuos to see the effect that it will have on how the public interacts with the boys. I will post updates to this blog of our experiences with the public when the boys wear them.

What do you think? Will the buttons have a positive impact on how the public interacts with the boys?