Change is good. Listen to Autistic people.
I’m going to be honest. I didn’t know then what I know now. I think that probably rings true for a lot of people. We learn, we make changes. Before I knew otherwise, I would wear blue in the month of April, I owned items with primary colored puzzle pieces on them, and I even donated small amounts of money to/went on “awareness” walks with a popular American organization. I also used “person first” language, so for years I would’ve said “person with Autism” rather Autistic person.
Now, I don’t. I’ve learned that April and phrases like “Autism Awareness” or even “Autism Acceptance” can be triggering for some people. As for allistic (or non-Autistic) people like myself? There isn’t really a need for me to be wearing any specific colors or symbols at all. Wearing blue or donning puzzle pieces is not something the Autistic population ever requested or said represented them. Many find puzzle pieces infantilizing and they don’t want to be viewed as a puzzle that needs to be put together. They are not “broken” and do not need “solving.” As for the organization I referenced, I no longer look to them for answers or donate to them, given that they largely fund research that looks to eliminate Autism or its presentations, for most of its history have not had Autistic members on its board, and don’t support research by or recognize the lived experiences of Autistic people. As for the person-first language I used to use, I was taught to do so by my non-disabled/allistic teachers. If an individual wanted me to use person-first language when referring to them, I would of course honor their request, but most Autistic people see Autism as part of their identity that they cannot be separated from, so I now default to using identity-first language.
It is okay to change and it is okay to re-evaluate what you’ve been taught. I have learned by listening and not insisting that what I was taught is the “right” way. If you haven’t listened to the Autistic community before, I invite you to do so, not just in the month of April, but as often as you can.
Check out some of the organizations, social media groups, studies, and articles that have inspired changes I’ve made:
Results and Analysis of the Autistic Not Weird 2022 Autism Survey - Autistic Not Weird
The Problem With the Autism Puzzle Piece (themighty.com)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (autisticadvocacy.org)
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) (awnnetwork.org)
NeuroClastic » The Autism Spectrum According to Autistic People
Reframing Autism | Celebrating & nurturing Autistic identity
