There’s a quote stamped on Jenell Theobald’s contact cards, which she hands out to new connections: “We are all unique, and have our own special place in the puzzle of the universe,” it says, a nugget of wisdom attributed to the musician Rod Williams.
Theobald, 15, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism when she was 5, always felt “different” from her peers. But she has gradually realized there’s nothing wrong with that. “Everybody kind of has their place,” says the ninth-grader from Beaverton, Oregon. “If you’re different from someone else, then you have a role to fulfill that no one else can fulfill.”
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Theobald has many roles: She’s a budding graphic designer; a Potterhead; an older sister—and a staunch advocate for people with developmental and physical disabilities. “When people say diversity, they often think of racial diversity, because that’s what gets talked about the most,” she says. “But there are other kinds of diversity, and one I focus on in particular is neurodiversity and the diversity of different mental conditions. I think that in a way they make people unique, and I would consider that an important part of diversity.”
When she was younger, Theobald bounced from school to school in search of the right fit. She had tried out seven options by the time she reached fifth grade, which made bonding with one group of friends impossible. Throughout her childhood, she went to Camp Meadowood Springs in Weston, Oregon, an outdoor summer camp for kids with social and communication difficulties. It was the best week of her year. “I often struggled socially when I was a kid, and I kind of still do to an extent,” she says. “Camp Meadowood was a very unique place because the girls felt like kids who were like me, and I felt like they could understand me.”
There, Theobald met members of the Oregon State Elks Association, a fraternal organization that sponsors the camp. She realized the Elks lacked the resources to…
Source : time
