Mom to Parents Judging Her Son With Autism: "You're Creating Bullies of the Future"

After her child was diagnosed with autism, Nicole Duggan got used to the stares in the supermarket and to her child losing friends. But what this mom can't accept is that much of this negativity is coming from other parents, not just their kids.

In an open letter to the moms and dads who are keeping their children away from her 3-year-old, Riley, the mom from Ireland shared in heartbreaking detail what it has been like since he was diagnosed with autism. "Children with needs are the bravest, most courageous and most amazing little people in this world," she wrote. "They are fighting battles nobody knows and I guarantee not one adult would make it through half of the obstacles they do."

Nicole first set up the Facebook page My Boy Blue to help spread awareness, but since her little boy can't speak, she's now using it to stand up for her child after witnessing adults who have just as much to learn as their kids. Her goal is to make those "judgers" understand.

"My little boy is just like your child, he loves to dance, he loves to be cuddled, he cries when he falls, and he adores Mickey mouse. He is however 'wired differently.' The small things we take for granted every day are the hardest things for him to cope with. Different lights, sounds, smells, or even the look of something can cause an overload that is too hard for an adult to deal with, let alone my little boy. "Normal things" such as going shopping, playing in a kids playzone, or even a haircut can be unbearable for him.

To the people that stare at him because he hums, join in with his little singsong, because in his eyes he is singing the best song in the world.

To the mothers that pull their children away from him, you are creating the bullies of the future. Children don't notice the differences they just want to play, let them.

To the lady that called him bold in the supermarket, try to look at things from his perspective. An overload of colors and sounds. People whizzing past you. You too would cry your eyes out if you could not tell anyone how you are feeling when it all gets too much.

To the friends that have disappeared, I hope this never knocks on your front door. I would not change my small man for the world and if you cannot understand him and how he works, then you do not deserve to be in his life in the first place.

So this year I ask you to think before you judge, live a day in my small man's shoes and you will understand how much of a superhero he really is."