Henry Frost: “Please Talk To Me Like Everyone Else.”

Courtesy of I Stand WITH Henry / Facebook

Henry Frost and his sister protest for his right to attend his Tampa neighborhood school.

Henry Frost, the autistic Tampa student who wants to enroll in his neighborhood school, did a Q&A with a Huffington Post blogger.

Here’s our favorite part, especially number 10:

AZ: What are the top 10 things you wish people understood about you?

Henry: #1 Please talk to me like everyone else.

#2 Please don’t talk about me in front of me. I can hear you. I can read your lips. I can read your body language. It feels terrible. Sad. But it feels great when you treat me like I am smart.

#3 Please talk directly to me, not to my support person, or my mom, Russ or my sisters.

#4 Please focus on my strengths. I have many. We all do.

#5 Please presume my competence.

#6 Remember, I am a person, just like you.

#7 Don’t make me prove it.

#8 Please never refer to my iPad as a toy. It is not; it is my voice. Imagine if you could not speak with your mouth, how important your iPad voice would be.

#9 Listen to all communication. Not just typed.

#10 You will be fine. Better even.