Quotes by Topic
Quotes about Celebrating Abilities
"By raising our voices together, we are creating a world that celebrates children for their abilities." - Diane Bubel
"We are ... a nation of differences. Those differences don�t make us weak. They�re the source of our strength." - Jimmy Carter
"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them." - Lady Bird Johnson
"Whoever alters a person's expectations changes his behavior." - Rudolf Dreikurs
"We've lost a lot of the barriers that have to do with ... various other characteristics. But there's still not sufficient recognition of mental diversities. And we don't all have to think alike to be communal and to live in a productive and satisfying world." - Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith
"Acceptance as a unique individual is a basic human need." - Terry Haffner
"Instead of focusing on the 'problems' or the label of a person, we need to open our eyes a little wider and recognize and celebrate the abilities, strengths, talents, interests, and dreams of those who have been labeled." - Kathie Snow
"With our hearts let us see, with your hands let us break every chain. Then, indeed, shall we know a better and nobler humanity." - Helen Keller
Quotes about Teaching
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein
"The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"She looked at me and said, 'You know, Mr. Clark, you'll do fine. As long as you can affect the life of one child, you've been a success.' To this day I do not like that quote. I feel we have to approach education with the determination to affect each and every one of our students...I approach each year with the knowledge that I have only one year to make a life's worth of difference in each child in that classroom, and I give it everything I've got." - Ron Clark
Quotes about Autism
"From my clinical experience, I consider that children and adults with Asperger's Syndrome have a different, not defective, way of thinking." - Tony Attwood
"I want to live in a world where I can say 'I am autistic' and not be expected to be a bundle of abnormalities and deficits. I want the word 'Autism' to provoke not a mental defective or something that needs 'fixing', but an image of a wonderful and unique person with a wonderful and unique way of being and experiencing the world." - Amanda Baggs
"Working with children with autism has provided me with an opportunity to see the world in a different way. I see them strive to overcome obstacles and persevere, and learn to persevere myself. They are my inspiration."
- Clay Aiken
"Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me. I may not be good at eye contact or conversation, but have you noticed I don't lie, cheat at games, tattle on my classmates, or pass judgment on other people?" - "Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew" by Ellen Notbohm
"Regarding the future of our autistic youth, we stand at a crossroads. With the proper encouragement, a positive school environment that nurtures their unique gifts, high-achieving autistic role models in the workplace, and a fair chance to succeed on their merits, these children can go on to accomplish great things. If, on the other hand, they are treated as incapable, ... bombarded with self-fulfilling prophecies as to how unlikely they are to succeed, and never given any reasonable chances in life� millions of bright, creative young minds will be lost. We have a responsibility to these children, as well as to our future, to ensure that we allow them to grow up in a world that values their abilities." - M. Evans
"I wanted to show that people like me can live a normal life and also that we're not what people think. Asperger's syndrome is not a life sentence. It's a blessing, not a curse." - A. Cowan
"Many children with autism are good at drawing, art and computer programming. These talent areas should be encouraged. I think there needs to be much more emphasis on developing the child's talents. Talents can be turned into skills that can be used for future employment." - Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (from "Teaching Tips for Children and Adults with Autism")
"People with autism have a different way of looking at the world, and that should be embraced and celebrated." - Autism Society of America
Quotes about Learning Differences
"That's the real problem with kids who struggle with learning ... Some kids feel like they're stupid. I want them to know that they're not. They just learn differently. Once they understand that and have the tools to learn in their individual way, then they can feel good about themselves." - Charles Schwab
"He told me that his teachers reported that . . . he was mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams." - Hans Albert Einstein, on his father, Albert Einstein
Quotes about ADD/ADHD
"More and more, the concept of ADD as a disorder is being qualified by inclusion of a string of positive qualities - such as creativity, high intelligence, ability to do many things at once, an aptitude for small business entrepreneurship, and a powerful intuitive sense." - Susan Burgess
"Think of an absentminded professor who can find a cure for cancer but not his glasses in the mess on his desk. These are the inventors, creators, poets - the people who think creative thoughts because they don't think like everyone else." - Martha Denckla, M.D.
Quotes about Perception
"Children's reactions to their own physical [differences] are largely a reflection of the way they have been treated by others." - "Exceptional Children" by Daniel Hallahan and James Kauffman
�We want to raise our children so that they can take a sense of pleasure in both their own heritage and the diversity of others.� - Fred Rogers
"The problem never has been the disability; the problem is (and has always been) society's beliefs about disability." - Disability is Natural
"I'm no different from anyone else except I don't see...The thing I find hard to live with is other people's reactions to my blindness. If they'd only behave naturally. Some people want to assume guilt...or they treat me as though I were living in some Greek tragedy, which I assure you I'm not. Just be yourself." - Leonard Gershe, "Butterflies are Free"
"Children with special needs are our gift. They make us think outside the box and when we do, we realize these same strategies work with many other children in the classroom." - Dayle Timmons
"Each of us has his place in the world. If we cannot serve in one way, there is always another. If we do what we are able, a door always opens to something." - "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite De Angeli
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