April is Autism Acceptance Month, and we’re celebrating! At AbleLight, we’re highlighting some of the amazing people with autism that we support while also promoting a more inclusive, accepting, and understanding society.
Acceptance vs. Awareness
For many years, April was known as Autism Awareness Month. In 2020, the Autism Society of America replaced “Awareness” with “Acceptance” for many important reasons.
Awareness campaigns are usually associated with diseases or public health issues, and autism is neither of those things. These campaigns would often portray autism as a problem that needed to be cured, which only creates a negative stigma around autism.
Changing from awareness to acceptance may seem like a subtle change, but it’s an important distinction. Another change in recent years has been the integration of the autism wheel – which has become an accepted way of describing an individual’s experience and replacing the concept of the spectrum.
Celebrating individuals with autism at AbleLight
At AbleLight, we are proud to surround ourselves and provide support for people with autism. We understand that everyone’s experience is unique, and every individual has different abilities and needs.
- Tyler’s story: Last year, Tyler joined our team in Oregon as a Direct Support Professional (DSP). Tyler has autism, and he struggled to find a job for a while. He just needed someone to give him a chance. At AbleLight, we were thrilled to have Tyler join the team as a DSP! We know that everyone has unique abilities and given the right opportunity, we can all shine.
The job has been equally rewarding and life-changing for both Tyler and the people he works with, and he excels at his role. He’s able to understand the individuals he supports, and he provides excellent care for them every day. Read more about Tyler here. - Pam’s story: For most of Pam’s life, her parents were her main source of support. As they got older, they were worried about what would happen to Pam. When her parents came to AbleLight, their goals were for Pam to remain safe, happy, and healthy – but they also wanted her to eventually move into their family home on her own.
Pam has autism, and she receives 24/7 care through our Supported Living Services. The AbleLight team assists Pam with things like meal preparation, personal hygiene, transportation, managing her medications, and much more. The team also worked with Pam to slowly help her feel more comfortable with moving into her family home on her own. Today, Pam is thriving! Read her story here. - Carl’s story: Carl has autism and lives with his grandma, who has been his primary source of support for his whole life. Unfortunately, her health is declining – and she knew that Carl would need extra support to gain skills to become independent.
AbleLight provided Carl with Supported Living Services and helped him with tasks like laundry, errands, meal preparation, and much more. These skills will set Carl up for success as he continues his pursuit for personal independence. Read Carl’s story here. - Griffin’s story: Griffin recently graduated from the AbleLight College program. He had a great college experience and gained many lifelong skills, friendships, and tools for success. Griffin is an extremely talented welder and artist. He promotes, sells and sometimes donates his artwork made from found materials welded into unique and beautiful pieces. We can’t wait to see what he will do next. Read Griffin’s story here.
At AbleLight, we offer services designed to help people with developmental disabilities achieve their full potential, including Enriched Living Services, Supported Living, Employment Supports, Day Programs, and more. We celebrate people with autism this month and always.