by Anna Dubiak, M.S, CCC-SLP
Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC
It is now April which kicks off Autism Acceptance month. This might be a familiar term to some “Autism Awareness” which has slowly started to shift into its newer title of acceptance. Now, I know what you’re thinking. What is the difference and why does it matter? Well, let’s talk about it.
Awareness:
- Often centered on awareness of autism as a negative.
- Can be centered on “fixing” the problem.
- Often discusses autism without letting autistic people have a say.
Acceptance:
- Should be about celebrating autistic voices.
- Embracing strengths and weaknesses of autistic individuals.
- Destigmatizing autism as a negative “condition” or “disease”.
- Building advocacy for the autistic community.
- Increase understanding and inclusion for autism.
In this way, we can move away from negativity and instead start to strengthen and support the Autistic community and advocate for them accordingly.
As we see in many facets of our world, our language and attitudes towards different subjects are always changing. It is possible that in a few years or even less this ideology will change again and we have a whole new title for this topic. However, it is important to remember that ultimately the people who should be setting the tone on this topic are #actuallyautisticpeople.
Want to learn more? Read out past post about our beef with the puzzle piece. Also, check out how Autism Awareness month can be traumatizing for Autistic folks.
