Hello,

Well, Autism Acceptance/Awareness Month has been interesting.

People who are Autistic are not diseased. We are not broken. We are not a puzzle to be solved.

There are a lot of hurtful comments in the news at the moment which I am sure we have all seen. If you haven’t just spend some time googling it. You’ll find it.

I am aware that Autistic people have different levels of support needs and that is all because Autism is a spectrum. No we are not all a little Autistic.

There has been talk of there being a register made for Autistic people. This alongside the news that there will soon be a reason found for what causes Autism is very concerning. If you can have a register of Autistic people then once you know what causes Autism you can have readily accessible information for where those Autistic people are. I wonder why you would need that information?

Autistic people want understanding and acceptance. I  saw a small video somewhere which said ‘if you’re struggling to understand an Autistic person then they’re probably struggling to understand you too’. This is so important because it points out that Autistic people are trying to communicate in a way that they know how. Just like you as the non Autistic person is trying to communicate in a way that you know how. If we put the emphasis on how hard it is for the non Autistic person and try to get the Autistic person to communicate in a way the non Autistic person wants, then we are not being fare or understanding to the Autistic persons needs.

A lot of the conversation around Autism, from what I have seen is ‘how can we change this Autistic person?’ When it should be about understanding and accepting the Autistic person.

If you are Autistic and are reading or watching the news or seeing articles about the things I have referred to above then know that there are also people out there who are wanting to be accepting who are wanting to understand. There are allies who are there to help.

We need these allies to help us as Autistic people to create space and enact the change we need to be able to live in a world where we can thrive. Whatever our level of support need. 

Thank you for reading.