April is Autism Awareness month. As this month comes to a close I want to take time to reflect on why this month is important to me and is important in general. I have heard people ask the question “why do we need to keep having Autism awareness stuff? It’s not like not everyone has heard of Autism by now”. Is that all that awareness is? Just because we know poverty, illness and violence exist does that mean we really understand it? Can you say that just because you have a vague understanding of what a word means that you are truly aware?
To me Autism awareness is more that just having people know the word or knowing what the definition of it is. To be aware is to know what it means to live with it, to understand what struggles an individual faces, to know what society is lacking in terms of supports for those that need them and much more.
If you feel like you know what Autism is because you watched a tv show or a movie than you probably know one version of Autism. If you feel like you know what Autism is because you have met a kid before than you know one kid with one kind of Autism. You do not know fully what Autism is. I have worked in this field for most of my professional career, I have two Autistic brothers, and I have met a wide range of individuals both young and old with diagnoses all over the spectrum. I still feel that Autism Awareness is important for me to continue to strive for.
As Autism is becoming more prevalent in the media, both in progressive and in damaging ways, I think it is become even more important that we all try and take the time to have a critical understanding of what Autism truly means. Perhaps then we will not be quick to jump to conclusions or to place stereotypes upon anyone. We cannot claim that we are aware just because we might think we know what something “looks” like. If you see a character on a show who has Autism try and remember that it is an actor’s portrayal of what a writer thinks Autism should look like. If you read an article of a person with an Autism diagnosis who has done something violent stop and consider that the person is not violent because they have Autism but instead they are a person who commited a violent act and though they have Autism that doesn’t make it the cause.
How “aware” do you feel that you are? In your daily life do you ever take a second to think of how what you are doing might be affecting someone else with a developmental disorder? How you may be contributing to someone having trouble processing or adding stress on an already sensory overloaded person’s brain? Do you scoff when you hear a movie theater or a store is having an “Autism friendly” day or showing because you think it is unnecessary or just some sort of PR stunt? When you see an adult who is doing something like plugging their ears or flapping their hands or are being led around by another adult at the store do you just think they are just weird? How about if a kid is having a meltdown? Do you automatically assume they are spoiled or have bad parents? What about when you hear about violence in schools? Do you assume it is solely because there are kids with disabilities? Or when you hear about the government shutting down sheltered programming do you stop and wonder what that is and how it might be affecting those involved? If you do or don’t do these things can you truly claim that you are aware?
I can say I feel more aware than some, I guess, but I still have a lot to learn. In the end, and perhaps most importantly, I personally do not have Autism. Just as I cannot claim to truly know the struggles, or the triumphs of someone of a different race, religion or in a different country, I cannot claim to know how an individual with an Autism diagnosis feels . I can read about it, study it, even listen to people talk about it but in the end I am not inside their brain so I cannot feel it. This is why I feel that we need Autism Awareness month. Not only to know what the disorder is but to know who the people are. We need to stop and listen to the people around us who are telling us that they need more. More help, more support, more compassion,. Perhaps if we do we can start to truly understand.
Of course this doesn’t only apply to Autism in any way shape or form, but as Autism awareness month comes to a close I hope we don’t forget about it until next April.
Thank you for reading and in turn for caring and wanting to understand,
Danielle