Notes

today I have just one request please don't tell me I'm normal now I'd like to introduce you to my brothers is that okay yeah Remy is 22 tall very handsome he's speechless but he communicates joy in a way that some of the best orators cannot Remy knows what love is he shares it unconditionally and he shares it regardless he's not greedy he doesn't see skin color he doesn't care about religious differences and get this he has never told a lie when he sings songs from our childhood attempting words that not even I could remember he REM reminds me of one thing how little we know about the mind and how wonderful the unknown must be Samuel is 16 he's tall he's very handsome he has the most impeccable memory he has a selective one though he doesn't remember if he stole my chocolate bar but he remembers the year release for every song on my iPod conversations we had when he was four wearing on my arm on the first ever episode of telletubbies and Lady Gaga's birthday don't they sound incredible but most people don't agree and in fact because their minds don't fit into society's version of normal they're often bypassed and misunderstood but what lifted my heart and strengthened my soul was that even though this was the case although they were not seen as ordinary this could only mean one thing that they were extraordinary autistic and extraordinary now for you who may be less familiar with the term autism it's a complex brain disorder that affects social communication learning and sometimes physical uh skills and it manifests in each individual differently hence why Remy is so different from Sam and across the world every 20 minutes one new new person is diagnosed with autism and although it's one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the world there is no known cause or cure and I cannot remember the first moment I encountered autism but I cannot recall a day without it I was just 3 years old when my brother came along and I was so excited that I had some new being in my life and after a few months went by I realized that he was different he screamed a lot he didn't want to play like the other babies did and in fact he didn't see seemed very interested in me whatsoever Remy lived and reigned in his own world with his own rules and he found pleasure in the smallest things like lining up cars around the room and staring at the washing machine and eating anything that came in between and as he Grew Older he grew more different and the differences became more obvious yet Beyond The Tantrums and the frustration and The NeverEnding hyperactivity was something really unique a pure and innocent nature that was almost envious a boy who saw the world without prejudice a human who had never lied extraordinary now I cannot deny that there have been some challenging moments in my family moments where I wished that they were just like me but I cast my mind back to the things that they've taught me about individuality and communication and love and I realize that these are things that I wouldn't want to change with normality normality overlooks the beauty that differences give us and the fact that we are different doesn't mean that one of us is wrong it just means that there's a different kind of right and if I could communicate just one thing to Remy and to Sam and to you it would be that you don't have have to be normal you can be extraordinary and I shared this with you today because Autistic or not the differences that we have we've got a gift everyone's got a gift inside of us and these differences are there to be celebrated and encouraged and in all honesty the pursuit of normality is the ultimate sacrifice of potential the chance for greatness for progress and for change dies the moment we try to be like someone else so I have this one request please don't tell me I'm normal thank you