Austism Awareness might benefit from broader recognition
First Person is a forum for personal musings and reflections from readers.
In 1970, the year I was born, April was first recognized in the United States as Autism Awareness Month. As the rate of autism diagnoses at that time has been estimated to have been about 2 to 4 cases per 10,000 children, awareness was perhaps a worthy goal. At that time, most people would not have known someone with autism.
At the beginning of this century, when my son, who is autistic, was born, autism was diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 150, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
In the most recent statistics offered by the Centers for Disease Control, the prevalence of autism among children born in 2016 has been calculated at 1 in 54. Some of this increase could be the result of greater awareness among parents and medical providers. How
ever, at this point, with about 2% of children being diagnosed with autism, many, if not most people, likely know an individual or family affected by the diagnosis. At this point, perhaps April needs to stand for something more.
If you take the phrase “April is Autism _____ Month”, how would you fill in the blank? For some autistic people (by and large, many autistics have claimed this label and rejected person-first language and I honor their decision in my word choice), April is now being dubbed Autism Acceptance Month. They seek a world that accepts them as they are, with their own strengths and challenges, and welcomes their contributions.
Others have suggested autonomy should be a focus. If April were Autism Autonomy Month, communities and individuals could focus on engagement, housing availability, and more that would allow autistic adults to live independent lives.
Autism Employment Month might support that autonomy. Currently, 80-85% of autistic adults are unemployed, according to Marketwatch, a website that provides financial and business news. This statistic holds true even for autistic adults with college degrees. Why is this not a crisis? Imagine 30 days in which more businesses were encouraged to move from selling autism-themed merchandise to employing a neurodiverse workforce. Imagine the impact that would have on these adults and their families.
Perhaps Autism Action Month or Autism Advocacy Month is needed. Imagine 30 days in which lawmakers were offered daily encouragement to increase consideration of the needs of autistic people and their families and to listen to them even more often when crafting legislation. Organizations such as the Autistic Self-advocacy Network are doing this work year-round, yet they still seek support from neurotypical allies to ensure that their input is heard.
I am the mother of an autistic young man, and I work with autistic teens and young adults as a speech-language pathologist at Bridgeway Academy. I understand the great breadth of the autism spectrum, and I have the joy of learning from my son and my students every day.
For me, every day of April might mean something different — Autism Inspiration, Autism Opportunity, Autism Respect, Autism Amazement. I created a bulletin board at my workplace showing an April calendar, and have been having my students fill in what word they would use to complete the “April is Autism ____ Month” phrase. They have offered words such as caring, compassion, greatness and celebration. What would our world look like if we followed their suggestions?
This month, I ask you to move beyond awareness. Move to acceptance as the autistic community asks. Then take that phrase “April is Autism ______ Month” and make it your own. How you choose to fill in the blank is how you can make a real and lasting difference all 12 months of the year.
Alexa Reck, 50, lives in Columbus.