We’re proud to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month at the Autistic People of Color Fund. Every April, we celebrate being autistic and what being autistic means for us.
What does autism acceptance mean? Autism acceptance means that it’s OK to be autistic. It’s OK to be disabled. It’s OK to get help when you need it.
If you’re not autistic, here are some ways you can support your autistic family, friends, coworkers, and community members during Autism Acceptance Month—and all year round.
- Treat us like real people with real ideas, needs, and feelings. Sometimes people don’t listen to us because we’re autistic. They think that autistic people can’t make our own choices or tell others how we feel. But that’s not true. We can talk about ourselves or get help.
- Know that there are a lot of ways to be autistic. If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. We’re good at different things. Some of us are good at math. Others are good at English or history. Some people are good at cleaning, but cleaning can be difficult for others. Some of us may need help to communicate, but others can talk without a lot of help. People’s skills can change over time, too.
- Learn more about autistic people. A lot of us write books and blogs about what it means to be autistic. There are a lot of nonautistic people who write about autism, too, but you should listen to us first. After all, it’s our lives we’re talking about.
- Let us make choices about our lives. Sometimes we may need help to make those choices. This is called “supported decision-making.” We can get family, friends, and community members to help us make important choices about healthcare, food, housing, jobs, and more.
- Let us share our autistic joy. Some parts of autism are happy for us. For example, a lot of us have deep interests that we like to talk about. They are fun and exciting to share, and we enjoy having people listen to us when we talk about them. Some of us also like to stim. Stimming is a way to show that we’re happy. It’s also a way for us to calm down when we are under stress. Some autistic people flap their hands when they are stimming. Some of us rock back and forth. Some of us rub smooth stones. Some of us listen to the same song over and over again. These are all different kinds of stimming!
- Listen to us when we are having a hard time with something. Autism is a disability. When you’re disabled, it can be harder to do things that people without disabilities can do. Some of us have a hard time with loud noises. Sometimes it’s hard for us to stay on task without being distracted. Some of us may not be able to eat certain kinds of food because the texture is wrong.
- Protect us from abuse and mistreatment. A lot of autistic people are mistreated or abused because of our disabilities. This is unfair and wrong. For example, some teachers use a therapy called “Applied Behavior Analysis” (ABA). ABA is bad because you learn that it is bad to be autistic. You are told to stop doing things because they show that you’re autistic. Many people have been hurt or even died because of these treatments. Other people support a place called the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). The JRC is a dangerous place where disabled people are punished with painful electric shocks. Most of them are disabled people of color. We have been trying to shut the JRC down for many years.
Support organizations run by autistic people. For example, you can support us! We give money to autistic people of color to help them in a lot of different ways. We help them pay their rent, buy interview clothes, pay for art projects, and go to the doctor. There are other organizations you can support, too, like the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. You might have an autistic-led group near you, too.
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