Autism Acceptance Campaign — One Stop Shop Aberdeen
Acceptance vs Awareness
Throughout April each year it can be hard to miss the messages of Autism Awareness peppering our social media feeds, in shops, newspapers and TV. While this may seem like a good thing at first glance, the autistic community has largely rejected the notion of Autism Awareness in favour of Autism Acceptance. And why would we do that you may ask? There are several reasons for this, which we will explore today.
First up — the world is already aware that autism exists. We pretty much all know that autism is a thing. Research done on behalf of the Scottish Government in 2019 revealed that 99% of the population had heard of autism. Their knowledge and understanding of autism was largely based on out of date information and myths, but they were aware that autistic people existed.
Secondly — think about the other things we raise awareness of — cancer, heart disease, life threatening conditions. Very rarely is awareness raised for things which are not negative. Being autistic is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not all bad either as we hope to show this month.
Next up — Autism Awareness campaigns are often run by non autistic-led organisations and are generally designed to elicit sympathy for autistic people, or sympathy for those who care for us. They often focus on our challenges without looking at our strengths or at solutions to the barriers we face. There is talk of “living with autism” or the “cost of autism”. Make no mistake, we face many barriers and obstacles — but many of these can be overcome with knowledge, understanding and a willingness of all parties to make adaptations. That’s the part often missing from awareness campaigns.
So, what is Autism acceptance all about then? Many autistic people and autistic led organisations advocate for Autism Acceptance as a natural progression from awareness. Acceptance is not just about helping parents to accept their child’s diagnosis. It is also about helping autistic adults to accept their own too.
Acceptance is about acknowledging both the challenges and joys that come with being autistic. It’s all to do with finding solutions to our challenges and the barriers we face with empathy and understanding. Acceptance encompasses embracing the joyful aspects of being autistic.
Acceptance is not about giving up and accepting defeat. Acceptance is not about stopping trying to have a good life. It’s about working with the fact that you or a loved one is autistic rather than fighting against it. It’s about stopping trying to “fix” or “cure” autism.
Acceptance is about fostering a deeper knowledge and understanding from autism. Check in with us throughout this month as we explore what autism is, share information members of the autistic community want you to know and help develop support strategies.
Marion@OSSAberdeen
hello@oss-aberdeen.co.uk