“My little cousin was diagnosed with autism at 2 years old and ever since I’ve been watching him grow up into this little amazing man. I recently wrote a poem about his special gifts.” – Alayna Kurland

Camelio

By Alayna Kurland

Autism isn’t a disease,
it’s my little cousin,
Camelio,
having special gifts.

Camelio can’t really express himself in words,
yet.
But he can express himself in music,
singing in perfect pitch.
His vocals kissing the world,
With an amazing melody.
Not only that,
but he knows every animal,
IN THE WORLD!
Somehow memorizing the,
tweet!
chirp!
oink!
mooooo!
meow.
All unique,
just like him.

Camelio has special gifts,
that I fear not everybody will see.
Others not knowing,
he’s 10 times smarter than,
them,
Even me!
I fear he won’t be able,
to cry,
when dark red blood comes from a scrape.
To share,
when he does something great.

I don’t see Camelio much,
but I hear his soft voice in every Disney song.
See him running on the soft dewy grass,
touching the flowers of my grandparent’s backyard.
Exploring his amazing gifts.

See,
Autism isn’t a disease.
It’s the perfect melody,
of a perfect pitch,
animal-loving,
amazing kid.

Alayna Kurland is a 7th grader at Northdale Middle School, Minnesota. Alayna submitted this poem and art for the Art of Autism’s 7th Annual Poems & Art for Peace. We will be posting more submissions in September.

Header Image: Alayna Kurland “Special Gifts” Digital Art