Teachers, thank you for all you do for our kids and for the ways you build them up. This past year our family navigated several challenges. One of them being an autism diagnosis. 

School proved especially hard for our little girl. There were tears several mornings and trouble making friends. This was the year we received a formal autism diagnosis for her, which made sense. Her brain works differently. We saw it. You saw it. And you work every day to help her succeed.

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One day, as my little girl hopped into the car after school, her mood brightened as she described how you, her teacher, had called her brave. Those few simple words built her up. They held far more weight than all the transition charts and technical aspects of autism that have infiltrated our lives as we work to help prepare her for her days.

“Mommy, I’m brave!” she told me anytime she did something scary. 

As her mom, I see her bravery every single day. And I tell her over and over again how much I love her and how proud I am of her. But coming from you, those words carried more weight. They meant something more and became a part of her. 

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In the weeks that followed, she told me she could go to school because she was brave. She described playing with a peer because she was brave. And months later, the fact that she is brave has become our mantra.

So thank you, teachers. Thank you for all you do for our kids. I see you go above and beyond every day to build our kids up and help them believe in themselves. 

Know that your words matter and that you are making a difference in the lives of our kids—sometimes with just a few simple words like “you are brave.”