Celebrate Autism!: Why "Awareness" Has Got to Go

Let me state right now that I am not against awareness. Quite the opposite, in fact. I'm a big fan of cultivating self-awareness...which is why this month is so utterly baffling.

In case you weren't "aware" (couldn't help myself), April is Autism Acceptance Month! Many Autistics prefer this over Autism Awareness Month, the original name for this advocacy period. Using "Awareness" for autism advocacy has actually done more harm than it has helped. This term has caused a medieval thought process to prevail over research, policy, and society in regards to Autism. So, instead, many (dare I say most) Autistics prefer to call it "Autism Acceptance Month."

You might be wondering how I know this.

...the ultimate square pegs...

“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.”

~ Paul Collins

...then their abilities will shine...

“Do not fear people with Autism, embrace them. Do not spite people with Autism, unite them. Do not deny people with Autism, accept them for then their abilities will shine.”

~ Paul Isaacs

...embracing value...

“Until we create a nation that regularly wants to employ a person with autism, assure for a quality education for each person with autism, and eliminates the far too many unnecessary obstacles placed in the way of success for a person with autism, we really won’t be as successful as we must. We need to get all in our nation to embrace the belief that each person with autism is valued, respected and held to the highest level of dignity and must be provided every opportunity for the highest quality of life each and every day.”

~ ASA President Scott Badesch

...the difference between high-functioning and low-functioning...

“The difference between high-functioning autism and low-functioning is that high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low-functioning means your assets are ignored."

~ Laura Tisoncik

...our duty is...

“Our duty in autism is not to cure but to relieve suffering and to maximize each person's potential.”

~ John Elder Robison

Autism Acceptance Month: 10 Autism Myths That Need to Be Retired

April is Autism Acceptance Month, a time used to educate people about autism in hopes of fostering greater understanding and advocacy. If you have heard of this observed "holiday" but know it by the title Autism "Awareness" Month, you are not alone. It has only been recently that this has changed. This has a lot to do with the myths that pervade autism and the lives of autistic people. But times they definitely are a-changing.

A Quick & Utterly Incomplete History

In the past, Autism education was, sadly, tantamount to spreading fear...fear of what autism is, where it comes from, how it was ruining our society, and how to eliminate it from the population. This shouldn't really come as a surprise. The majority of the population did not know that autism exists until well into the 1990s. I certainly didn't.