Life is difficult enough to navigate if you’re neuro-typical. But when you’re on the autism spectrum, even the things that most of us don’t think twice about are a challenge.

Asperger’s syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder that makes it difficult to socially interact. It’s also typically characterized by repetitive behavioral patterns and interests.

It’s thought that around 1 in 250 people have an Asperger’s profile, and Benjamin Giroux is one of them.

Benjamin’s behavior is pretty typical of a child on the spectrum. He doesn’t often show emotion, and he can be quite limited in communication.

Speaking to TODAY, Benjamin’s father, Sonny, said:

“When we ask him how his day went when he gets home from school, we don’t get much more than a one-word answer.”

You might be thinking that Benjamin sounds like any teenager – but his limited conversations with his parents aren’t because he doesn’t want to talk to them. It’s because of how his Asperger’s affects his brain.

So when Benjamin returned home from school excited one day, his parents were curious.

As it turned out, his class at Cumberland Head Elementary School was celebrating National Poetry Month by penning their own poems about themselves.

While the first two words of every line were provided, the children had the creative freedom to write whatever they wanted.

Benjamin felt that this was something he could really pour his heart into – so he sat down and began to write.

According to his parents, Benjamin didn’t leave the kitchen table until he’d finished his poem. When he finally got up and showed his creation to his mom and dad, they both became instantly choked up.

A snippet of Benjamin’s poem, titled “I am Odd” is shared below:

“I am odd, I am new
I wonder if you are too
I hear voices in the air
I see you don’t, and that’s not fair
I want to not feel blue”

You can read the full poem in the picture below.

There’s no denying that this is a beautifully written poem that flows perfectly from one stanza to the next. But it wasn’t the form of the poem that had Benjamin’s parents in tears – it was the words themselves.

Benjamin’s dad admitted that at first, he and his wife had felt sad that Benjamin felt so isolated.

But on reflection, he realized that the poem went deeper than that. He said:

“As the poem went on, we realized that he understands that he’s odd and that so is everyone else in their own way, which is what Ben wants everyone to embrace.”

The next day, the class had prepared to read their poems out loud one-by-one. But when Benjamin woke up that morning, he was overcome with anxiety, so much so that he didn’t even go to school.

He had convinced himself that his poem wasn’t worth showing off – but his dad knew otherwise.

Sonny decided to share Benjamin’s poem on Facebook, hoping that his friends and family would have some positive feedback for his son.

But when the post went viral, what Sonny already knew was confirmed: Benjamin’s poem was something really special.

The highlight for the Giroux family was when the National Autism Association shared the poem on their own page.

There were many comments from people who felt just like Benjamin and had been deeply moved by his words.

The poem became so popular that Benjamin won various awards, and the piece was published in a children’s book – well deserved! He deserves all the recognition for something so beautifully written and relatable to many.

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Source: aane, TODAY, My Positive Outlooks