"Awareness is easy. Acceptance requires actual work. Acceptance comes from a place of understanding.
Understanding isn’t generated by soundbites and poster children. Understanding takes work. To accept us, people first need to acknowledge us as individuals-as three dimensional, growing, developed characters. We are not all the same, and we are not but a collection of deficits.
Acceptance is seeing that-and seeing that one’s distaste for an autistic person is more likely than not because of “autism”. Awareness tells you that anything objectionable about us is “autism”, but that explanation is clear, simple, and wrong." - K.S., Autistic Self Advocacy Network
It's 2021- aren't we past awareness by now? Instead of communicating care or concern through awareness campaigns and "lighting it up blue" this year, consider learning about initiatives led by autistic people such as #RedInstead, Autism Acceptance Month and others.
Here are five things that autistic people have been saying for years that require the attention of those who claim to intervene in the name of autism:
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