April is Autism Acceptance Month, and we’re celebrating! In this week’s blog, we will take a closer look at the history, meaning, and importance of Autism Acceptance Month.
History of Autism Acceptance Month
In 1970, the Autism Society started a campaign called National Autistic Children’s Week, which eventually evolved into month-long observance in April to raise awareness for individuals with autism. In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly declared April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight and advocate the support and care needed in the autism community. Over the last 10 years, several organizations have replaced “Autism Awareness Month” with “Autism Acceptance Month” to promote not just education, but a deeper acceptance and respect for people with autism.
Awareness vs Acceptance
For many years, April was known as Autism Awareness Month. In recent years, there has been a shift to replace “Awareness” with “Acceptance” for many important reasons. While education about the autism community is important, it’s believed that there is a greater awareness of autism than ever before, and we should stive for more than awareness.
Acceptance moves beyond awareness to a greater understanding of autism. Acceptance builds community, support, and inclusion for the autism community. It also promotes a positive change in society and allows for everyone to become advocates for people with autism.
Acceptance also helps to reduce harmful stigma around autism. During Autism Acceptance Month, there should be a focus on sharing accurate information, uplifting the voices of those in the autism community, and advocating for positive change.
The Autism Wheel
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.
The autism wheel is a helpful tool that does a great job of visually representing how autism may appear in different people. While no graphic or tool can ever fully describe a person’s experience, the wheel provides a more in-depth way to understand the unique complexities at the individual level.
At AbleLight, we’re 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.
We offer services that are designed to help individuals with developmental disabilities thrive, including Residential Living Services, Supported Living Services, Employment Supports, Day Programs, and more! We celebrate people with autism this month and always.