6-Year-Old’s Letter in Defense of Her Autistic Brother Goes Viral

A 6-year-old girl is drawing applause after sticking up for her autistic brother.

After learning that her brother had been referred to as “weird” by a classmate, Lex Camilleri drafted a letter to her student council that called for disability education to be a priority in schools.

According to the girl’s father, the inspiration came from the fact that she was taken aback more so by the lack of knowledge exhibited by other students than the insult itself. He explained, “The fact is, she has lived and breathed autism for the first six years of her life. Ultimately, she was taken aback by the lack of understanding.”

“I would like it if we could learn about all disabilities in schools,” she wrote. “So that everybody understands that some people are different, but we should all be treated the same.”

Moved by her daughter’s words, Camilleri’s mother Sophie posted a photo of the letter on her Facebook page. Her caption partially read, “I’m so very proud that Lex has this view and wants to change the way other children view others with disabilities…. Can I ask a favour (sic) of my Facebook friends to share this post to help Lex raise Disability Awareness in schools?”

The post took off quickly, going viral within days. As of press time it has over 26,000 reactions and 30,700 shares.

In addition to the original post, the letter has been picked up by numerous other organizations. For example, the National Autistic Society’s version of the post has garnered over 12,000 reactions of its own.

The Camilleri’s are currently attempting to decide how to use the outpouring of publicity around the letter as a way to promote disability education on a national level in the U.K. Until then, they’re content to simply be proud of their daughter.

“I am bursting with pride. To know that Lex’s letter has touched so many people around the world is wonderful. She is my little superstar,” her mother told Today.