Once there was a young girl named Babbs. She was a bright, quirky, and special child. She lived happily with her family in a lovely big apartment on Maurice Ave, 30th Street in New Yorbany.
But what makes Babbs so special is her autism. Babbs was diagnosed with autism when she was three years old. Since then, it was hard for her to interact with her family, which made communication very difficult for her.
Babbs' parents sent her to speech therapy when she was four years old, where she can learn how to speak again. The only thing that Babbs could say was her own name.
Every time Babbs meets or greets someone, she would say her name to say hello, like this. "Babbs." At first, the children would be like, Why does she always say her name? It's WEEEIIIRRRD!!! Thus they would bully Babbs every day throughout preschool and kindergarten for only saying her name. They would often pull her hair, lift her skirt, and call her names, and she would cry all the way home to her parents for emotional support.
"What's wrong, Babbs?" said her mother, worried "Why are you crying? Did you get bullied again?" said her father, who was also worried. As Babbs cried, she then used body language and movement to describe her day and how the bullies would pick on her a lot at school.
Babbs' parents were concerned for their daughter and her well-being. The two thought for a second and finally came up with a solution. Over the next two weeks, Babbs' mother and father finally transferred their daughter to a school for kids with disabilities when she was six years old.
Babbs was very nervous about going to her new school. But her mother said, "There's nothing to be nervous about, sweetie."
"Babbs?" asked Babbs, tilting her head in confusion. "Your mother's right. We believe you'll do fine, okay?" explained her father. "Now give mommy and daddy kisses and huggies goodbye. We'll return to pick you up in a few hours, okay?" Babbs nodded with a smile as she gave her parents some kisses and huggies before going inside her new school.
Babbs happily waved goodbye to her mother and father, then walked to the building of her new school, and she didn't look back. As Babbs ran to her classroom, she saw a boy her age getting bullied by another boy about three years their senior. She then started to remember being bullied as well when she was young too. Babbs decided to help the boy her age in the best way possible.
"Babbs!" shouted Babbs, as she got the bully's attention. He let go of the younger boy's shirt and stomped toward where Babbs was. Babbs gulped with fear, knowing that she couldn't beat up a kid who was twice her size. The boy her age saw this, and wanted to help Babbs. However, he knew that she could stand up for herself even if she was scared.
"Whaddya want, little roach!!" the bully exclaimed. Babbs determinedly used non-verbal cues to fully explain to the bully that picking on a boy her age is WRONG!!! And he shouldn't do it, AT ALL!!! Babbs demonstrated the situation as she pointed at the bully, then the boy her age, grabbed her shirt, and shook her head to the bully knowing that it's wrong to pick on someone smaller than him. The bully's face softened, as he understood Babbs' body language skills completely. He put his hands in his pockets, then walked away. The boy Babbs' age was amazed by her bravery and gave a shy smile at her.
Babbs turned to the boy her age and smiled at him back. The boy her age nervously walks in her direction. He then spoke, "Wooow… that was amazing! How did you know the situation?" "Babbs," smiled Babbs. At first, the boy her age is confused, but then he realizes that Babbs was bullied too. The boy her age is dumbfounded and gives her a nice smile to Babbs. He is lucky to have someone standing up for him.
"Th-Th-Thank you… my name is Jackson. Jackson Perez. What's your name?"
"BABBS!" Cried Babbs smiling. "Your name is Babbs?" Babbs nodded. "And you can only say your name when you meet or greet people?" Babbs nodded again. "And you also use non-verbal cues to communicate with people, too?" Babbs nodded again for the third time. "That's so AWESOME!! You're really brave, and you didn't let that bully hurt you. I think you're cool. Do you want to be my friend?"
"B-Babbs?" Said Babbs confusingly, as she did not know what a friend was. Back then, the kids at Babbs' preschool and kindergarten would never be her friends. They bullied her for only saying her name. And it really broke Babbs' heart. Now in her new school, she finally has a friend who understands her, and how she communicates.
This has become the best first day of school in Babbs' young life. Babbs and Jackson decide to walk to class together, and the rest is history.