Dear 50 Cent

Dear 50 Cent,

your recent tweet of "Yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic" in response to a person who was rude to you makes me want to ask you a question.

Which of my children looks Autistic to you?

I'll give you a hint- you can choose two of them. Yep, that's right. Two of my five children are Autistic. And since you know what Autistic looks like, I'll bet you can tell which ones, right?

Oh, and in response to the comment you made about not wanting special ed kids on your timeline.....  I thought you should know that neither of my Autistic kids are in "special ed" classes. They do need a bit of extra support socially and for sensory issues, but they are both bright kids who are progressing very well academically.

Can you see why your comments were so offensive? Just in case you can't, I'll explain.

You see, in a society where governments think it's ok to take away the funding that supports our kids in their education, and in which juries acquit parents who are known to have caged their Autistic children, our kids could use the help of celebrities like you. But instead of help you gave them small minded, incorrect, stereotype based criticism. In front of more than 6 million twitter followers.

I am glad you have removed the comments. But you know what? All removing them does is make it look like you want the whole situation to go away. I think Autistic people deserve better than that. While your comments are in no way a reflection on them, they are an insult and an offence. Whether you realised it or not when you made them, your comments were hurtful. I teach my children that when they hurt someone they need to apologise in order to restore the trust in the relationship. I'd like to suggest that you should do this too.

Sincerely,
Michelle