In one of my social groups at the Chicagoland Spelling Center, we learned about altruism. Altruism means caring about other people and wanting to help them, even when you don’t get anything in return. It’s when someone does something kind because they want to make someone else’s life better, not because they expect a reward or recognition. I was thinking about how to do this more as someone with higher support needs that requires help with most things myself. To help someone else, I would need help myself in most cases.

Just because I need help too does not mean I don’t want to do things for others, especially spellers and people I care about. I try to do that with my blog and advocacy work. I do wish I had more ways to help in-person because most of my opportunities are online. I am learning about how different each autistic person is in my advocacy, so there are probably many more ways to help.

I recently did a school project that allowed me to help in the community. This project really motivated me and helped me realize how much helping others helps me too. It can be hard to stay motivated when you are mostly dependent on other people for help. I was somewhat surprised by how much more I looked forward to working when I knew someone could benefit from it.

My experience taught me how important it is to help even if you need help yourself. I would definitely like to continue to help in the community however I can. I think all spellers should try this if they are ready to and need a motivation boost.