[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_style=”outline” style=”round” message_box_color=”turquoise”]This is a post about Greta Thunberg and the gift of Autism, the power of neurodiversity.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old Swedish activist who is on the Autism spectrum.
She is one of the powerful young leaders who recently addressed the United States Congress and the United Nations about climate change, demanding action:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/bW3IQ-ke43w” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I dare you to watch that and not be moved.
This is the thing about Greta: she responded to what profoundly saddened her in concrete, direct ways.
She decided to strike school.
The genius of the school strike lies in this: politicians, parents, school teachers, ‘grown-ups’ collectively will say, “You are throwing away your future.”
The reply of the striker is, “No, YOU are throwing away our future.”
There is that, and there is also that school striking is a passive rejection of a society that is actively shaping children to participate in their own destruction (Will Morley, see link below).
The entire concept is genius.
When Greta Thunberg first started, she was alone; now, hundreds upon thousands of people join her.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Greta Thunberg and the Gift of Autism
Greta Thunberg and the gift of Autism is explained in this short interview here:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/jpptVrll-bo” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I have long tried to articulate the power of the neurodiverse in this world.
I have seen with my own son on the spectrum and my daughter with Down syndrome how differently they approach problems, how out of the box they think. I appreciate it, I am fascinated by it, and I believe in the power of it.
We live in a world rife with extra-ordinary problems and in need of extra-ordinary solutions.
Who better to glimpse an extra-ordinary solution than people who see everything from a completely different perspective, a clarity and with a single-minded focus, such as Greta does (and others who are neuro-diverse)?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1569294919689{background-color: #a3fff5 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Our house is on fire – let’s act like it. If nothing gets done in the next 10 years, we’ll be coming of age in a world where salvaging a liveable climate is close to impossible. That’s how late it is, and how little our ‘leaders’ have led. When you’re not doing everything we can to secure a world we can thrive in for generations, why on Earth should we sit in school?
– Greenpeace[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I want to say how inspired I am by her actions, how hopeful I feel with her action.
But Greta said in her recent speech at the UN, “You all come to us young people for hope? How dare you!”
So I don’t dare, I won’t do that.
But I WILL crack out everything that I’m doing right here and now, and what things I can do better[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”How to Help Greta & Join the Fights Against Climate Change” shape=”round” color=”danger” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.refinery29.com%2Fen-us%2F2019%2F09%2F8467683%2Fhow-to-help-climate-change-greta-thunberg||target:%20_blank|”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
Read More: Greta Thunberg and Autism
- I’m Striking From School to Protest Inaction on Climate Change – You Should Too, by Greta Thunberg
- 9 Reasons Why the School Strike for Climate Works, and Why We Must Listen, by Will Morley
- Square Pegs in a Round Peg World: The Power of the Neuro Diverse, by Meriah Nichols
- 3 Ideas. 3 Contradictions. Or Not: Hannah Gadsby’s TED Talk on Being Autistic
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Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
