Let's talk representation.
A note from Singalong Swamp on the first day of Autism Acceptance Month.
"Am I a bad person?" These are my brain's favorite words. I remember elementary school nights, where I would call my mom into my room before bed to "confess my sins" - anything I believed that I had done wrong that day. Day would roll around and I would be on the playground sobbing that my relationship with my teacher would never recover because I got in trouble for bringing a McDonalds toy to school. I know now that these intrusive thoughts are and were an intense combination of both Autism and OCD. These fears of behavior being seen as "bad" also stem from difficulty understanding unspoken social rules, misinterpretations of social situations, and a hyperawareness of social perception.
Although I once thought I was a social butterfly, I know realize that I am an ever-morphing social cocoon. There are still social skills I am learning and honing on a daily basis. I still blurt, overshare, and turn the conversation back on myself in an attempt to connect with others through personal stories.
Enter Dots the Frog. I say that Dots has been carefully created for over a year, but truth be told, Dots has been being developed for almost 28 years. Every social situation, every hurdle, every celebration that I have lived through in this life - they are all part of her character. She is a reflection of just one tiny dot on the Autism spectrum, myself. However, I hope that she is a reflection young girls and boys will be able to see themselves in across the globe.