Perception of SM

A lot of people find it hard to understand SM. We are often seen as shy or rude.

I have been called all sorts of names by people my own age and teachers, mentors, safe guarders, etc. I remember once a safe guarder from college said to me ‘you’re not a baby’. The way she said it made it sound like she was trying to convince herself, not me. I was hurt that she saw me like that. I am a very sensitive person and I can get emotional and teary as a result. It isn’t my fault. Whenever I saw this safe guarder more often than not I got the impression she was trying to get rid of me as fast as she could so she could help other people. She didn’t seem to take my problems seriously. She wasn’t always like this. When I first met her she was nice and supportive but it changed over time.

This same safe guarder also tried to push me to say thank you to someone. She was telling me ‘say thank you’ over and over again like I was a child who needed to learn manners. What she didn’t realise was I desperately wanted to be able to say thank you but even those two little words were difficult for me. A lot of people with SM also find it hard to say words like please and thank you. It is also hard to say peoples names. We really want to be able to but it is just so hard for us. We are not rude. A lot of us are actually kind and emphatic. We are also good listeners.

We are not bad people but sometimes people label us like we are and we shouldn’t be bothered with.