I Love Nerds and Their Ilk

This article so clearly states so many of my assertions, but I couldn't properly put them into words. And I think the opinions in the article could apply to any person who is considered eccentric or odd in our society. Sure I would like it if my kid didn't have sensory problems or anxieties, and of course I don't want her to get aggressive with other children. But so much of those anxieties and impulses are brought about by people expecting her to function in an environment designed for neurotypical children. So let's fix the environment. Let's cure anxiety. Those things are the disabilities. I like Josie's weirdness. I like the unusual way she has of looking at things. I've even come to appreciate the fact that she doesn't need the approval of adults or other kids for the things she does, and that embarrassment is a word that doesn't exist on her radar. I love how she can't really lie. My daughter understands so many things that most parents would have to keep from children because she doesn't emotionalize them. She's fascinated by animals mating, killing each other, mosquitos drinking her blood, a spider eating a ladybug she kept in a cage for a week. She collects goose feathers at the park and tries to make wings from them, asking me how she can lose enough weight so that the wings will make her fly. She can walk right up to a boy that she liked from school and say "I like you cause you're tall and handsome" then just give him a hug. (It helps a bit that she's gorgeous). My boy seems weird to other children too. He doesn't understand that you speak differently to boys than girls. He can sound a bit gee-golly, like he stepped out of a black and white sitcom and didn't know how to change the dialogue. That is so okay in my family. I think it takes a great amount of courage and honesty to be geeky. I'd venture that you can't find people more true to themselves than you find at a Star-Trek convention, revelling in their roleplaying games and their oddness.