I got a phone call a week or so ago from Kaitlyn, my oldest and Sam and Luke’s favorite sitter, “MOM…we have to take the boys to see Horton! Call Angie and see if she’ll let us take them!”

I was not at all surprised when Angie not only gave us permission, but thanked us for even asking!

So we’re planning to take the boys…soon.

In the meantime I decided that we should do some pre-teaching of the story and since Sam had a birthday the perfect gift was naturally THE BOOK!

Years ago, when teaching 1st grade I’d read the book to my students, but today the book seemed somehow different as I read it to Sam. It’s funny how time and experiences can change the way we view things….

The story is simple. Horton, the elephant, hears a voice on a small speck of dust. Nobody else in the jungle can hear it and thinks he’s crazy. Horton sets off to protect the voice and discovers that there is an entire town on the speck of dust. Horton works valiantly to save the town even while others work to cage him and take the speck and hide it in a large field of clover. He brings the town all together to make a loud noise and it is not until EVERY person participates that the other jungle animals finally hear the noise and realize that Horton is not crazy after all.

Horton reminds me of a group of people who have heard the cries of a community in need, have walked away from all that makes sense and have decided to do something to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Horton reminds me of the people who have started AutismSpot. The voices are those of the children and families who deal with autism and are desperately seeking information and the tools they need to survive. The animals represent those who don’t understand autism and the great need.

I can tell you that none of us have been bound or caged physically but there have been moments, days, and weeks when we’ve been bound and caged by our computers and emotions. Emotions that tell us that what we are doing is crazy, emotions that have made us doubt walking away from good paying jobs, and emotions that keep us up late at night trying to make AutismSpot even better. I can also tell you that the “animals” think at times we’re crazy, but that hasn’t stopped us from listening to the voices we know are there.

In the story, the Mayor of the town finds one small Who not participating and helping to make noise. He takes the child from his home and tells him this:

“This,” cried the Mayor, “is your town’s darkest hour!
The time for all WHOS who have blood that is red
To come to the aid of their country!” he said.
“We’ve got to make noises in greater amount!
So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”

The voice of the last child was what made the other animals able to hear them! One little voice and an elephant who cared was all it took to save the whole town!

We have started something here at AutismSpot but we all need to join together to make our voices heard…please don’t think that your comments don’t matter…they do. Please don’t think that your questions on our forums aren’t needed…they are. Your visits here matter not only to us, but to so many people who are hurting and need support. TOGETHER we can empower so many.

The Hortons at AutismSpot care about all the voices, no matter how small.