10-Year-Old Autistic Boy Writes Poem For Homework, His Teacher Is At A Loss For Words

When asked, most children will tell you that they don’t like homework. And it is quite an understandable sentiment.
Thanks to our cookie-cutter education system, very little emphasis is placed on the child actually learning everything – they are simply expected to be able to regurgitate facts and information upon command.

Not only is it incredibly boring and repetitive, not every child is capable of doing what the education system asks of them!

And sadly, the ones who suffer the most are often those with learning disorders, such as ADHD or autism, as they usually struggle with the learning system set up by the government.

So when 10-year-old Benjamin Giroux is given the homework assignment of writing a poem, he leaped at the chance to pour out his feelings.

Those of us who struggle with learning disorders know just how hard it can be to make friends and be accepted socially, especially at a young age where children can be harsh and the acceptance of peers is so important.
Born with autism, Benjamin knows very acutely just how painful and difficult it can be to try navigating school and friends with a neurodevelopmental disorder that scrambles and messes with how he perceives social signals – on top of a million other things.

When it comes to sharing emotions with others, poems can be some of the best ways to show the intensity that we feel deep inside.

And it is clear that Giroux took this opportunity and really dove deep into the creative outlet, doing his best to tell everyone around him how living with autism is like through poetic phrase.

And the results? Are absolutely incredible.
Named “I Am,” this young child wrote in this short poem about how he feels so out of place, how he feels like he isn’t quite in sync with everyone else around him in a manner that is hauntingly beautiful.

He calls to attention how his world and the way he perceives it is so different from others, and how obvious it is.

It is a difference that he is painfully aware of – a sentiment that just about any child with a learning disorder can sadly relate to.

The problem with neurodevelopmental disorders is just how it completely affects the way a child receives input from the world around them.
As Benjamin points out poignantly in his poem, this results in the children seeing and hearing things that others don’t seem to notice – and Benjamin isn’t a fan of that in the slightest.

Unfortunately for children like Benjamin, it can be incredibly hard to fit into the world and the society around them, who are eager to pounce on anyone that stands out or seems different.

It can be a cruel world, but as dark as it gets for Benjamin, he shows how he is still hopeful of finding a place where he will fit in, even with all the oddities he has.

His message is certainly something that we should all remember – and it looks like it will be, as his poem has since gone viral and was highlighted by the National Autism Association!