A US mother has described how a letter penned by her son to his teacher about the difficulties he faces as a result of autism and other disorders “broke her heart”.
Facebook group Love What Matters shared a photo of the letter written by Year Eight North Carolina boy Austin yesterday, accompanied by a caption from his mother Amy Preslar Saunders.
In it, Ms Saunders explains that her son – who suffers from “autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, Fine Motor Skill Delay and Anxiety Disorder” – wrote the letter as part of a class prompt for students to describe three things they would like their teacher to know.
“I wish that they knew that I am autistic. I wish that my teacher knew that I need help on a lot of things like my handwriting,” the letter begins.
“I wish that my teacher know that I have a depressed life sometimes. I wish my teacher knew that I am not being defiant, I am overwhelmed, shutting down.
“I wish that my teacher knew that I am very good at bottling up anger and having outbursts.”
The teacher’s response can be seen further down the page.
“You are doing great so far! Glad you’re in my class!” it reads.
Ms Saunders said the sight of the letter and the glimpse it gave of her “son’s feelings, struggles and everyday challenges” broke her heart.
“We hope this encourages other parents, teachers and kids to keep fighting,” she wrote.
The page has since received thousands of reactions and hundreds of shares.
Have a good news story you’d like to share? We’d like to hear from you. You can reach us at contact@9news.com.au.
