Bullies come in small packages

This is my first blog.  I read them all the time, particularly blogs about motherhood, autism, down syndrome, etc.  But I never took the leap to writing my own.  When I was younger, I had a diary where I wrote my most intimate thoughts.  I suppose this is close to that-I tried to actually start a diary again.  First, the old school way where I tried writing longhand in a journal.  After about 2 sentences my hand cramped up and I felt like I had a claw instead of a working hand.  How did we do all those essays back in school?
Then I thought-computer.  Just have a diary on the computer. When I mentioned to my friend my plans, she suggested doing a blog.  Mainly to keep friends and family up to date on how my children are doing, but also to possibly reach other parents dealing with the same issues I am.  So, I thought I would try it out.
I am a 35 year old mother of two children.  Carson, my 7 year old boy, has a dual diagnosis of Autism and Mosaic Down Syndrome.  Cameron, my 5 year old girl, is everything you would expect a 5 year old girl to be-both a princess and a tomboy, a Daddy's girl and always eager to please.  Cameron, my sweet girl, is a blog topic all her own.
What prompted me to write this blog, to share my feelings with the world (or the 2-3 people who will probably read this) is an experience that I had over the holiday break.  We live in Southlake, TX., a great community with lots of families, a great school district and a general sense of safety and well being.  One of my favorite aspects of living in Southlake and Texas in general is the manners and general expectation of kindness and respect that most children here get instilled since birth.  This is where I was first called "Ms. Andi" by my little 2 year old neighbor after we first moved here.  The high school students address us with respect.  I really appreciate those qualities in children-it is so lacking these days (I know I sound like I am 80, sorry about that).  We are also blessed with great weather during the winter, often we are able to open windows and play outside when the rest of the country is cold, damp and snowy.  The kids had been climbing the walls after Christmas wanting to run off some energy, so Daddy and I took them to a local park that they love to play, feed the ducks and just enjoy the beautiful weather.  Cameron and her Daddy ran to the ducks to try to get their attention while Carson went straight to the playground equipment.  He loves the slides and this particular park has great equipment-challenging so he can work on his gross motor skills, but he is still able to work his way to where he needs to go without help from Mom.  I took my usual spot close to the path he takes and watched as he walked the same path over and over again.  Soon, other kids we did not know joined us on the equipment and that is when the problems started.  Two little boys, around 6-7 years old, started imitating and making fun of Carson.  Carson, who is non-verbal, often makes loud noises and strange gestures when he is excited.  It is known in the Autism world as stimming and he does it almost constantly.  We are working on it, but it is a hard battle and often, especially when he is outside and being loud is acceptable, we "pick our battles".  Sometimes these kids need to have an opportunity to let loose and give in to whatever is going on in their bodies to cause the stimming.  So I was letting it go.  The little boys started imitating his sounds, would run up on the equipment when Carson was down and then switch when Carson made his way up.  They would run from him like he was a scary monster ( I actually heard-"run from the scary monster!) and I couldn't help it, I cried.  As I stood there, tears running down my face, one little boy came over and stared at me with a pleased smile on his face.  When I asked him to stop staring at my son and said he is not a zoo animal, he responded, "he sure sounds like one."  And then he laughed and ran away.  I felt my blood run cold realizing that this little boy knew he was being cruel and he just didn't care. 
I knew this was coming.  I am so blessed that the kids at his school are so accepting and many of them love him.  But I knew that the older he gets and the older the kids around him get, the more this will happen.  Right now I am so thankful that he had no idea that the kids were making fun of him-he actually thought they were playing a game when they would run away from him, which only broke my heart more.  I need to develop thicker skin so when he does understand what is happening, I can be strong for him.  But for now I remain sad.  I wish we lived in a world where everyone is accepted for their differences, their unique personalities.  Who decided what "normal" is?  And that it is okay to look down on, make fun of or be cruel to those that do not fit their definition of normal?