What 1 Autism Mom Learned About Patience and Humanity From a Total Stranger

Kemrey Taylor happens to have an incredibly creative daughter. Her 5-year-old little girl, who has autism, absolutely loves to create works of art — and has an affinity toward using the walls in her house as her canvases.

Seeing the joy that this outlet brings her daughter, Kemrey doesn't mind the mess, and instead embraces her child's passion. "She is sneaky and somehow magically produces markers/various writing tools and makes some seriously awesome murals for us," she wrote on Facebook. "My method for dealing with this has evolved into just let her do her thing, let her explore her creativity, she's going to find a way anyways, and once the walls are full of drawings, wash them and paint over it."

Kemrey explained that they are often repainting over "mischievous" little Kemzey's art, so it wasn't a big deal when she had to take a trip to the store for a fresh gallon of paint. However, on this night, the store happened to be busy, plus an employee informed her that they were training someone new, so it was taking much longer than usual. "I have a lot of patience, but after an hour, I was starting to get a wee-bit grumpy," she wrote. "When they finally came over to mix my paint, I immediately realized the trainee had autism."

This perceptive mom noticed that he was very particular about each step and had "mini hand stims" in-between each task. "It was so subtle, others might not even notice it," she explained. "After I let the guilt wash over me for being annoyed, my heart just swelled for this kid."

Not only was this parent grateful to the incredibly patient guy who was training him, but she couldn't help but feel beyond proud for this employee who was a complete stranger to her. "It was such a good reminder that we should always give people the benefit of the doubt, we have no idea what they are going through or how difficult things are for them," she wrote. "Don't jump to conclusions or judgments, just let those impatient feelings float on by."

But in addition to teaching her an important lesson, this guy also gave her hope for her daughter. "Watching him also made me wonder if Kemz will be able to communicate and have a job someday," she wrote. "I have no idea what the future holds for her, but I have a lot of hope that she will be able to find her way in this world."