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World Autism Acceptance Day 2024

– DASCH Inc.

April 2 is World Autism Acceptance Day, also referred to as World Autism Awareness Day, is a time to recognize, celebrate, and learn more about autism in order to continue destigmatizing and nurturing an attitude of inclusion.

Autism Awareness vs. Autism Acceptance

While the United Nations named this a day of awareness, many insightful conversations amongst the autism community say acceptance is much more powerful and meaningful. An article from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network puts it this way: “Awareness is easy. Acceptance requires real work.”

Acceptance means including autistic people in your activities and embracing them for who they are without making them fit into a world that was not designed with them in mind.

However, education and awareness about autism can play a role in our ability to accept. When we understand something, compassion flows! (Psst…more resources at the end of this article)

Meet Adam 

Adam at DASCHWorks

Adam attends DASCHWorks in pursuit of leveling up his vocational skills. He’s currently preparing to get his Food Handlers certificate and hopes to get a job at IKEA.

He came to us a few weeks ago after hearing about our World Down Syndrome Day story, hoping to be a part of a recognition day for autism. Conveniently enough, Autism Acceptance Day was right around the corner, so we started working on a story right away.

One of the things Adam wants people to know about autism is that it can be hard to find and keep relationships.

“You aren’t presented with a lot of opportunities to find a relationship, even people who don’t have autism, but for people that do have autism, it can be very hard,” Adam says.

Adam recalls a past relationship of his and says while parts of it were very nice, in reflection, how he got in and out of the relationship could have been better.

“It was my first time getting into a relationship, so I didn’t really know what I was doing. If you don’t learn those things, you don’t know. I’ve learned now not to move so fast,” Adam says.

While it was a challenging experience, Adam says he looks forward to another chance tobetter navigate a relationship.

Autism and Relationships

As autism influences how people process experiences and interact with the world, their approach to relationships or social interactions may not always make sense to a neurotypical person.

Some autistic people may struggle to read social cues that neurotypical people consider commonplace. For example, they may not maintain eye contact while in conversation, but this doesn’t mean they aren’t listening.

They can be very consious of their sensory environment and benefit from breaks in large crowds or appreciate space if they feel sensitive to physical touch.

Autistic people can also have highly-focused interests, often referred to as special interests. These special interests are understood to be a great source of wellbeing and happiness. However, neurotypical people that don’t understand may feel the interest is prioritized over the relationship, or they may grow frustrated if they don’t feel there’s space in a conversation to talk about their own interests.

Some traits can create challenges for autistic people because the neurotypical world is not accommodating, but they can also opportunities.

Other common austic traits can include:

  • the ability to hyper focus
  • loyalty
  • empathy
  • great memory
  • vibrant imagination
  • attention to detail

While there’s common autistics traits and strengths, it’s important to note that autism lives on a wide and vibrant spectrum and every autistic person is different.

For Adam, there isn’t one particular trait he names as a strength or something he appreciates about being autistic. Instead he says, “I just like who I am, y’know?”

Adam likes sharing his autistic life and he made a video in high school on the topic. He put a lot of work into it, and we highly recommend checking it out.

Adam hopes to make another video soon about his experience at DASCHWorks from the perspective of someone who’s autistic. Stay tuned!

More Resources

About Autism – Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Accommodations for Autistic Individuals – Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Empowering Autistic Parents – Aide Canada

Employer Guide to Supervising Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) – Rochester Institute of Technology

BONUS: one of our favourite disability/autism advocates to follow on social media, the Frost Family!