Moving from Awareness to Acceptance

Day 2 of a 30-day series originally written for Facebook April 2021

I wasn’t going to start here, but a conversation came up a few days ago that made me realize this is exactly where we need to start.

A few days ago someone reached out to my husband on his campaign page and expressed that they didn’t like that my husband was sharing about our son’s Autism. They didn’t think it was a “good look.” After some back and forth (and a very cordial conversation, this individual was definitely not trying to be hostile in any way, but the underlying message was that disability/disorder shouldn’t be openly talked about, it’s revealing too much, it’s using people) the conversation ended with my husband basically saying “Look, I’m a husband and father above anything else. This is my life. I won’t hide my family because it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

We talked about the interaction afterward and likened it to the racial education journey many people in our city and nation are on right now. So many people have been taught to follow a “colorblind” model... because to recognize color is “rude.” The thought model has a hidden bias though... by “not seeing” color, you are saying there is something bad about it and you should avoid seeing it. And that’s not ok.

Autism Awareness VS Autism Acceptance is actually pretty similar. Awareness focuses on problems and difficulties. We need breast cancer awareness, suicide awareness. Acceptance is rooted in understanding. It focuses on strengths and finding commonalities. It goes beyond a surface recognition of autism. Breast cancer is not good. We want to be aware, so we can support those with it, and find a cure so we can eradicate it. Autism is a neurological processing difference. It is permanent and lifelong. There is no shame in autism. It’s not rude or dirty to talk about it. The adult autistic community is vocal. Autism is part of who they are. They own it! And we should too.

As a side note... the longtime symbol for autism has been the puzzle piece. I actually like this symbol because it makes me think of all M’s special gifts and how he could be that piece that completes a puzzle. But the adult autistic community does not feel that way. They view the puzzle symbol as something negative, that their brain is missing something that must be put back together. So they have created a new symbol to recognize and celebrate neurodiversity and have asked that we all shift to using that instead. So we listen to the voices of neurodiversity and respond with support.