Autistic people are often on the receiving end of a lot of scrutiny. They get made fun of and excluded from a lot of things, especially during their formative years and into early adulthood.

The thing is, if you ask someone, they are likely to tell you “I have never, or would never, make fun of someone for being autistic.” And I think that largely, this is probably true. I don’t think most people would make fun of a person for having the label of autism.

What about being weird, though? What about for being that “nerdy kid that reminds the teacher to assign homework?”

What about for having a public meltdown on the playground over something that seemed trivial to everyone else?

What about for hand flapping, pacing back and forth, or humming obnoxiously when things begin to get out of control?

No, it’s true, no one is making fun — in these situations– of a person for being autistic, but they are making fun of someone for things beyond their control that, ultimately, are traits of autism.

And many times, this being singled out will lead to being excluded from the group.

When I think about this, my mind often goes to Heather Kuzmich from America’s Next Top Model and the way she was treated by other contestants in cycle nine. She was not excluded from the group for revealing that she was autistic, but she was ridiculed for her odd mannerisms and awkward social behavior, which more or less amounts to the same thing.

In the grand scheme of things, her autism was a non-issue as far as modeling was concerned, as she was highly photogenic and, I believe, enjoyed a fairly decent modeling career after her season was over, despite coming in fourth place.

Recently, I was told that my daughter would not be able to continue to attend her classes at our local homeschool alliance due to her difficult behavior. And I understand that it’s due to the fact that the adults giving the lessons are not teachers, professionally, and lack the experience of handling a five-year-old with behavior issues such as hers. I know they did not exclude her for being autistic, as we did not receive her diagnosis until recently, but she was still excluded due to her autism.

I haven’t told her yet. I’m not sure how I’m going to break it to her, seeing as she loves those classes so much. And I’m not sure what I can do with her on Tuesdays that will compensate for missing out on the thing she enjoys most about her school week…

But I’m thinking maybe dance lessons.