April is Autism Awareness Month!

In case you hadn’t heard, April is Autism Awareness Month!  According to the Autism Society, Autism Awareness Month is “a nationwide effort to promote autism awareness, inclusion, and self-determination for all, and assure that each person with ASD is provided the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life”.   Autism Awareness Day was officially declared on April 2nd in 2007 as a global initiative to bring awareness and advocacy to the often under-recognized and misunderstood community of autistic individuals.  Since the 1970s however, the Autism Society has been taking it to the next level and dedicating the entire month of April to support inclusivity for those with ASD, as well as to recommit to better understanding ASD.  Many organizations have actively partnered, including Apple with their now-viral video (link HERE) and this is helping the movement gather steam.  

But why is this important?  It seems like there is a day or month for everything now, wacky ‘national’ holidays like “Be Kind to Lawyers Day”, and “Grilled Cheese Day”, both of which are today, by the way (so make sure to give your favorite lawyer a grilled cheese to celebrate).  What difference does seemingly minor recognition actually make?   

We tend to hear about autism quite a bit in the news already, but as a collective issue, a disorder.  People speculate about what causes it, debate treatments and their effectiveness, argue about whether or not vaccines cause it (spoiler alert, THEY DON’T) but rarely are the individuals themselves recognized for what they are, as human beings.  As with most mental illnesses, disorders, and disabilities, the condition becomes the identifier for the afflicted, and the focus shifts from their merits as an individual to their condition and how they can be cured, treated, or managed.   People don’t think to look past the outward symptoms and seek to get to know the person inside.  As human beings, this is our general nature, to generalize and make quick judgments about people.  We meet someone who expressed outward symptoms of a condition and assume that they align with all of the generalized facts we hold about that condition.  It’s an evolved tactic to assist us in processing the constant stimulation we experience in day to day life, but can prove limiting when we allow our immediate perceptions of others to be our only perceptions of them.

For example, when meeting an autistic individual for the first time, we might assume they are incapable of normal interaction or emotion, or any other assumption we might have picked up from watching TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, a terribly inaccurate representation of autism.  Because of this, we might not make an effort to have normal interaction with them, and miss out on recognizing their unique and positive attributes, which they possess just as any other human would.  This is why days (or better yet, months) of recognition are important; they provide the space and stimulus to start conversations about stigmas surrounding conditions like ASD, and learn more about them.  With knowledge comes the confidence to overcome the intimidation that we are sometimes faced with when interacting with someone whose behavior we might not completely understand.  It is incredibly important for us to challenge ourselves to catch ourselves making these generalizations and strive to look past them.   

So what else can we do?  Aside from the above, more introspective practices, you can find opportunities to volunteer to work with people in this community (maybe at an organization like We Care Arts! *hint hint*, or donate to an organization like Autism Society. 

Looking to make a difference in the Dayton area?  HERE is the Autism Society of Dayton’s website and HERE Is their Facebook page.  Browse to find events, information, and all sorts of resources to get you excited about autism advocacy!

Are you not a Daytonian?  That’s OK too! Just take a quick trip over to your favorite search engine and look up your local Autism Society chapter to learn more about programming, advocacy, and ASD in general!