Tomah, Wisconsin – Kara Hollingsworth, 19 is a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse freshman and has Asperger Syndrome. The Tomah Journal reports that Kara believes that having the condition is what makes her different and that she views this as a good thing.
Kara Hollingsworth said:
Do you think that fire or the wheel or vaccines would have been invented if everybody thought the same all the time?
Kara was one of 12 scouts in the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council to receive a Gold Award in March during a ceremony in Prairie du Sac. She chose to do her Gold Award project on autism.
People don’t seem to know that there is a gap between neurotypical and mentally challenged,
She goes on to add that people with autism are unique and are not mentally challenged. They just think differently. She also ads that individuals with autism need to be taught social cues.
We have to learn to understand, like, sarcasm and facial expressions,
As part of her project, Kara helped Tomah’s Jobs for America’s Graduates students with their “Light It Up Blue” fundraiser in April 2013 and made posters to hang up in school, explaining that those with autism are different, but not less.
Kara’s project included 80 hours of community service.
The original article by Jourdan Vian on The Tomah Journal website can be read here