The Evolution of the Sibling Perspective
Nov 5 · 4 min read
A reflection on how my brother’s autism has shaped me
“What planet is Mark from?” I asked, wide-eyed and curious. Mark’s sporadic hand movements that my parents called “stims” made it seem to me that he was phoning home, and his strange noises might have been his native language. My parents tried to assure me that Mark was not an alien but that he had autism. I believed my extraterrestrial theory had more merit.
Like many kids, Mark used to climb trees. Unlike many, he climbed them during my softball games and screamed when he was too…

