My son is funny and bright
My son is loving and kind
My son shines like the brightest light
My son has a different mind
Not everyone can comprehend
The challenges our children face
Or that a child who has SEND
May struggle to find their place
They slip on their mask every day
Trying to blend into the crowd
Mimicking how other kids play
While inside a voice screams so loud
‘This isn’t right, this isn’t me’
But to let the mask slip is scary
‘Can you accept me and just let me be free?’
But they continue to feel wary
As, to let the mask go will make them stand out
What will others think when they know
That they want to jump, flap, spin and shout
It’s not ‘acceptable’ for this to show
But one day the choice is taken away
They no longer have the ability
To hold up their mask every day
They are now plagued with a fragility
Because the strength that was needed
To hide the bits that don’t fit
Had gradually receded
Now they have to admit
“It’s too much … it’s too hard
Leave me alone … go away
I can’t speak, it’s too hard
No I don’t want to play
Just leave me alone
Stop bothering me
I want to be on my own
I just want to be free
I can’t go to school
I hate it there
They are too cruel
They really don’t care”
I wish I had seen how hard it was for him
I wish I had listened more to what he was saying
I didn’t realise that it was so grim
I didn’t recognise the price he was paying
My son is funny and bright
But the light inside him dimmed
The day he hit fight or flight
If only he could have stimmed
I cannot change the past
But it will not defeat my boy
This feeling he has will not last
He will one day feel joy
Because together we are finding a way out
Where he can be his authentic self
He can jump, flap, spin and shout
He can leave the mask on the shelf