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Autism, Awareness,
Acceptance and Allies
By: Jessica Costa
In the previous article, Accepting
Asperger's, I focused on my personal feelings on the diagnosis. The
acceptance from my family, friends and fiancé created the stepping stones that helped
me learn how to accept myself. However, it was challenging due to a large
spread of misinformation and harmful groups posing as allies. They use harmful
language to promote fear mongering and frequently encourage the idea of 'curing
autism'. This kind of language and mentality make the road of acceptance difficult.
It makes it challenging to find good allies for the autistic community.
Autism
is often short for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which "refers to a group
of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and
characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication
and interaction."1 It is important to focus on the term
"spectrum" when talking about autism. It affects everyone
differently, to reiterate if you met one
autistic person, then you have only me one autistic person. The identity of
the individual, child or adult, can sometimes be overshadowed by the diagnosis.
These differences has also led to some difficulty in discussions on topics such
as awareness and acceptance.
According
to the Oxford dictionary, awareness is defined as "knowledge or perception
of a situation or fact." 2 April is known as Autism Awareness
Month and it is a difficult time of the year for various of reasons. The idea
is to spread awareness about autistic individuals and their struggles. The
issue with this idea is that it dismisses the real potential of the successes
of autistic adults and children in the world. Awareness can be good if done
with good intentions.
As the
internet grows, so does misinformation. There are a lot of articles about the
struggles of being autistic, most commonly from the perspective of parents of
autistic children. While these articles are meant well, they can cause a lot of
damage if they are not written carefully. It can be a challenge to sort out
what is helpful advice versus harmful advice. Some groups will take advantage
of that confusion to perpetuate harmful ideas of autistic children and adults.
These articles will have fear mongering language encouraging finding 'cures'.
This
kind of misinformation also hurts progress to switch from awareness into
acceptance. There seems to be an expectation that awareness and acceptance are
similar. However, according to the Oxford Dictionary, acceptance is defined as
"the process or face of being received as adequate, valid, or
suitable."3 It is not
acceptance when autistic voices are spoken over. It is not acceptance to try to
cure someone that is not neurotypical. It is not acceptance when autistic
people are forced to hide their autism or to conform to a stereotype for the
comfort of others. Acceptance is not
lamenting about the tragedy of being autistic either. Acceptance is creating a
welcoming space for autistic people in the general public. Acceptance is
hearing our voices. The realization of this will be an inclusive, neurodiverse society
supportive of all diversity with our different strengths and weaknesses.
Allies are
crucial in moving forward towards being more included in society. A good ally listens
to autistic voices with respect. They avoid spreading harmful misinformation.
They help create a support system for autistic people. Most importantly, a good
ally believes in our potential in the world. Great things have been
accomplished when people have worked together in adversity. Let's start this
April with a step toward a more inclusive future for all.
Endnotes
1.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of complex
neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic
patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and
interaction. The symptoms are present from early childhood and affect daily
functioning...A diagnosis of ASD includes an assessment of intellectual
disability and language impairment.
From National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke entry: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/patient-caregiver-education/fact-sheets/autism-spectrum-disorder-fact-sheet
2.
Awareness (noun): Knowledge or perception of a situation or fact;
Concern about and well-informed interest in a particular situation or
development.
From The Oxford Dictionary entry: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/awareness
3. Acceptance (noun): The action of
consenting to receive or undertake something offered; The process or fact of
being received as adequate, valid, or suitable; Agreement with or belief in an
idea or explanation; Willingness to tolerate a difficult situation.
From the Oxford Dictionary entry: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/acceptance
beautiful, really enjoyed this piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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