Autism Acceptance Month Infographics
Table of Contents:
Intro
“Autism Is Rising”
You Don’t Have to Have a Superpower
Did You Know: Autism Edition
Author’s Note
Intro:
Happy Autism Acceptance/Awareness Month. Okay pause. Why acceptance and awareness? April has been more widespreadly known as Autism Awareness Month, often associated with the puzzle piece logo (read Misconceptions below to find out why the autistic community has moved away from the puzzle piece to an infinity sign). The shift to acceptance has been a part of the shift from deficit based ways of thinking about autism to neurodiversity affirmative ways of thinking. “Awareness” is historically associated with diseases/conditions. It is inaccurate and even dangerous to frame autism within this lens. Language is powerful- it influences our perception of all things. Autism is not a sickness, a problem, a deficit, etc.
However, we do still need awareness (now more than ever) in the sense that there are many misconceptions that need to be cleared up through more accessible and affirming information and education on the autistic experience. Awareness and acceptance must go hand in hand. So in order to redefine “awareness,” take a look at some of the following infographics that shed some light on autism in a more affirmative and accepting way.
*Please note: While the information provided is gathered from multiple autistic perspectives, these infographics by no means fully encompass all of the autistic experience, but rather a small starting point. Everyone’s experience is vastly different.
“Autism is Rising”:
With so much misinformation out there, let’s start with the current hot topic: “autism is rising.” Let’s reframe that, shall we? Understanding of the multitude of ways autism exists is increasing; therefore diagnosing criteria is (slowly) changing; therefore autistic people are being more accurately assessed and diagnosed. Autistic people have always existed. The world is only now becoming more aware.
Autism has repeatedly been (still is?) misunderstood within the medical community and society at large. Autism was first coined in 1911 to describe “a symptom of the most severe cases of schizophrenia,” by Eugen Bleuler (Evans, 2013). It was not added to the DSM until 1980 (Rosen, et al., 2021). However, even then, diagnostic criteria was uninclusive. It was created based on studies made for white cis-males, not accounting for any intersectionality that plays a part in the spectrum of the experience. The year 1993 was when it became law for the NIH to include women and BIPOC folx in studies (Nerenberg, 2020). The emergence of the neurodiversity movement brought about the concept of neurotypes- a natural variation of the human brain/experience, rather than a disorder/disease. With the long history of inconsistent definitions, studies, and perceptions of autism, it only makes sense that diagnoses would increase as knowledge falls into place, no? We are beginning to account for intersecting identities and how that informs the assessment process. We are accounting for/seeing more unmasking. We are exploring different supports to nourish a neuroinclusive world.
Autism diagnoses are increasing, yes. Because we are tiptoeing to a more accepting world that affirms the existence of autistic people. I, for one, am elated that we are seeing this rise, in the hopes that having an answer provides clarity, validation, and support for each individual’s experiences.
You Don’t Have to Have a Superpower to Have Worth
We often hear, “autistic people have super powers!” They are a math genius, or a brilliant scientist, or a bold artist, etc. While this may be true for some folx, this sets a troubling narrative that being autistic is only “good,” because it makes you exceptional, or “more productive” in society. This very capitalistic mindset is deficit-based thinking in disguise. It says if the autistic traits do not make you exceptional in some way, you do not hold as much worth. This is harmful, and simply not true. You can simply be, and that is enough. What would it feel like if productivity pressures were removed? Where would your worth be placed? How do you measure your love for yourself? What if it was just a given? You have worth, because you exist.
You don’t have to have a superpower- you can just be.
Did You Know: Autism Edition
The Symbol for Autism: many groups, such as Autism Speaks, have used the puzzle piece to represent the autistic experience. This symbol is not preferred by many in the autistic community, as it frames autism as a problem to be figured out or “fixed.” The rainbow infinity sign is a more affirming symbol that represents the infinite ways autism can exist, and embraces the natural diversity of identities.
What does the “spectrum” look like? The autism spectrum is not linear. “High and low functioning,” labels are inaccurate and stigmatizing. The color wheel provides a bit of a clearer picture of the range of ways the experiences exist on the spectrum. An infographic created by Easterseals illustrates this beautifully here.
What is PDA: PDA- PDA is a profile of autism (and in recent studies, ADHD as well) that describes the sensitivity to demands that are perceived to challenge a person’s autonomy. Once again, the language we use is powerful. “Pathological Demand Avoidance,” places PDA in a category of having a difficult behavior that needs to be fixed, whereas Persistent Drive for Autonomy, more neutrally describes the internal experience of a PDAer. PDA of North America shares more information and ways to support in affirming ways here.
Resources:
Autistic people to follow
Patrick Casale
Dr. Megan Anna Neff (neurodivergent_insights)
Lived Experience Educator
fidget.and.fries
Easterseals
Books
Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You- Jenara Nerenberg
Unmasking Autism- Devon Price
Podcasts
Divergent Conversations
The Autistic Culture Podcast
The Neurodiversity Podcast
Other Resources/Supports
ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network)
Association for Autism and Neurodiveresity
Neurodivergent Insights
Author’s Note: It breaks my heart to even write that: we are living in a time where it feels unsafe to have your identity publicly and privately known. While your identity will ALWAYS be affirmed, celebrated, and loved at MMT, it will also be protected. We will not share anything you do not want us to with anybody (including but not limited to: family members, insurance companies, other mental health professionals, teachers, etc.) unless specifically provided with your consent. Your physical, mental, and emotional safety is priority.
-Mikaila Vieyra, LPMT, MT-BC
Identity of the author*: white, neurodivergent, queer, able-bodied, cis-woman.
*Why do we include this? Intersectionality is the way that the various identities we hold (race, gender, sexual orientation, dis/ability, etc.) impacts the way that we experience and perceive the world. How/what we take in from the world impacts how/what we put into the world. Though we are committed to consistently engaging in reflexive practices to explore our explicit/implicit biases, we share the identity to be transparent on what perspective this blog post is coming from.
References
Evans B. (2013). How autism became autism: The radical transformation of a central concept of child development in Britain. History of the human sciences, 26(3), 3–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695113484320
Nerenberg, J. (2020). DIVERGENT MIND : thriving in a world that wasn’t designed for you. Harperone
Rosen, N. E., Lord, C., & Volkmar, F. R. (2021). The Diagnosis of Autism: From Kanner to DSM-III to DSM-5 and Beyond. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 51(12), 4253–4270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04904-1