The girl who bullied you mercilessly throughout primary school has clarified that it had nothing to do with your autism.
Neurodiversity champion Niamh Callaghan, 30, decided to set the record straight when she realised you were in front of her in the queue at the Post Office. Callaghan loudly called your name, forcing you to turn around and come face-to-face with the “Be Kind” slogan on her t-shirt.
Once everyone in the shop was staring at you, Callaghan said: “Oh my God, is that you? Wow, you look exactly the same! I heard you got diagnosed with autism…? Wow, yeah, that’s so sad. Aww, but you look well, though, hun. I’ll never forget the way you used to flinch whenever I pretended to try and hit you.”
“Obviously, I was just having a bit of fun with you back then. Just harmless jokes and teasing and a bit of physical violence, the way kids do. It had nothing to do with you being… y’know. Your condition. It was more because you didn’t like the same things as everyone else did, you didn’t talk as much as I thought you should, and you got better grades than me. As someone who identifies as loud, annoying and extremely generic, that was really hurtful to me.”
“So I accept your apology. Let’s move on, eh? Someone’s just pulled out of my baby shower if you want to come. I’ll send you the gift list.”
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