Posted on June 18, 2019
Acceptance, not cure.
Autistics speak. It's time to listen.
Recognize. Respect. Include.
Celebrate neurodiversity.
These are some of the themes of Autistic Pride Day.
When I was growing up, I never heard about people who were autistic or "on the spectrum." But that doesn't mean that there was no such thing as autism back then.
Apparently, there have been autistic people as long as there have been people. It's part of the gigantic amount of diversity among humans. And, actually, there is a ton of diversity within autistics too.
Autism is often described as a disorder that affects 1 to 2 people out of every 1,000 people, worldwide - a disorder that causes difficulties with social interaction, including understanding social cues and communication. Also, many people with autism deal with the world with limited and/or repetitive behaviors.
Many autistics disagree with that definition. They say that "disorder" is the wrong word. Autism is just a different way of being human, and there is no need to fix or "cure" a person with autism.
That's where Autism Pride Day comes in.
Autism Pride Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of accommodations for and understanding of autistic people, who have a ton to offer if they aren't pushed away from the rest of society. Autistics are unique individuals, and if the public responded to autism with acceptance rather than fear, we would all be able to benefit from the intelligence, creativity, honesty, and focus, among other positive traits, demonstrated by so many people in the autism community.
Autism Pride Day is of course more than just an opportunity to prove autistics' worth to folks not in the autism community. Much more important is building self-acceptance among people with autism. Building pride and self-worth. Celebrating differences and infinite variations and infinite possibilities.
Autism Pride Day was created by autistics, for autistics.
Many people with autism are wary of organizations that say they are trying to help autistic children and adults - but don't include autistic people among the founders or leaders! Autism Speaks is one of those organizations frowned upon by much of the autism community. Some say that this type of organization is cure-oriented and promotes feelings of pity for parents and siblings of people with autism.
"Autistic and proud" is their preferred message!
By the way, since Dustin Hoffman's movie "Rain Man," in 1988, more and more movies, TV shows, and even comics have come out with one or more characters who have autism. One movie, Temple Grandin, is based on a real person: a successful autistic, a woman who is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior.
Note: Some people with autism prefer the "person first" label: "people with autism." Others prefer to use autistic as both an adjective and a noun: "the autistic kids" could also be called, they say, "the autistics." I would love to address each person with autism by their own preferred label, but in a general article like this, I decided to use both in a back-and-forth sort of way.
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