Autistic Boy’s Poem He Was Afraid To Read In Class Will Be Made Into A Children’s Book
By kncipat on April 17, 2020
Benjamin Giroux was afraid he’d be laughed at. It had happened before. The 10 year old who has autism was given an assignment in school to write a poem. While communicating through spoken word is sometimes difficult that’s not what was bothering Benjamin. He told his dad he didn’t feel the poem was good enough and that everybody would make fun of him. So Benjamin’s dad decided to keep him home from school. That’s when Benjamin handed his dad his poem. Here’s what he wrote.
I am odd, I am new
I wonder if you are too
I hear voices in the air
I see you don’t, and that’s not fair
I want to not feel blue
I am odd, I am new
I pretend that you are too
I feel like a boy in outerspace
I touch the stars and feel out of place
I worry what others might think
I cry when people laugh, it makes me shrink
I am odd, I am new
I understand now that so are you
I say I, “feel like a castaway”
I dream of a day that that’s okay
I try to fit in
I hope that someday I do
I am odd, I am new.
Benjamin’s dad was so moved that he posted it on facebook. That poem has now been read by millions of people and translated into 21 languages. And now Shiffer Publishing is turning Benjamin’s poem into a children’s book.
When asked about it Benjamin said, “I’m really excited. I’m mostly excited to see if it gets into my school library.’ Benjamin’s book will be out in the fall of 2021.
