Please, mom, hear what I am doing; see what I am saying.
The world is crazy, confusing, scary place for me.
I can't do the things other kids do - my body doesn't work right.
But inside I'm just like other kids .
I need to be loved and appreciated;
I need to belong, to fit in; I need to contribute, to be useful;
I need to be heard and understood;
I desperately want you to be proud of me.
I want to tell you my needs, my feelings, my thoughts,
But they get trapped inside me because I can't get my mouth to say my words.
There gets so much piled inside me that sometimes it just blows up everywhere,
And I know you're disappointed in me,
And you get angry at me,
And somehow, it's all my my fault.
My actions speak so loudly you can't see what I am saying.
Yet, my actions are my saying.
My body says what my mouth can't.
I act out my feelings, but often, the acting out is such a problem that my feelings go unnoticed.
But I have no other way of telling you my feelings.
I want to cooperate, to succeed, to contribute, to feel good about myself,
But to do that I must be heard.
Please, mom, hear what I am doing; see what I am saying.
Carolyn Hunsinger



