On April 2nd, the autistic community celebrates World Autism Acceptance Day.
The origins of this comes from the United Nations, which in 2008 declared April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day, to ‘highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism, so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an integral part of society’.
Since 2008, the focused has shifted from ‘awareness’ to ‘acceptance’. Our Founder, the late Dame Stephanie Shirley explained the importance of this shift here.
This is an important revision: where awareness tell us about autism as a condition, acceptance shines a light on real autistic people, living real lives – like the people we support below.
Ben cycled 30 laps to celebrate our 30th Anniversary.
He successfully raised £406.25 (including Gift Aid) for Autism at Kingwood.
Susan and Charlotte headed into town to purchase a new broom stick, then, treated themselves to a hot drink in a local coffee shop.
Lucy is a member of the Shadowlight Artists, who are a group of multi-awarding winning learning disabled and autistic artists based at the arts charity Film Oxford. She won an award for her film “My Cameras”, at the Oska Bright Film Festival.
Charlotte makes a wonderful cup of tea. She agrees it is one of the best skills to have!
Neil and Kevin flipped some pancakes on Pancake Day, then, topped them off with some juicy strawberries and Nutella!
Paul heads out to the gym to get those steps up, followed by a trip to the supermarket for some essentials.
According the the British Medical Association, around 1% of children in the UK have an autism diagnosis, and around 700,000 people have a diagnosis. According to the CDC, ‘about 1 in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)’ in the United States. Both of these statistics raise awareness that autistic people make up a huge part of our society, but don’t do a great deal in telling us who autistic people are.
Autistic people are writers, actors, musicians, athletes, advocates, activists, our family and friends, you yourself may be autistic.
Below are some autistic trail-blazers!
Stephen Wiltshire is a London born artist, who has his own gallery on the Royal Opera Arcade in London.
Gary Numan is a British musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. Here he talks about his music and how his Asperger’s gives him resilience.
Hannah Gadsby is an Australian stand-up comedian, who received an autism and ADHD diagnosis as an adult. This video is an interview with an Australian network where she talks about her stand up comedy and how Autistic people can speak for themselves.
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist known for her school climate strike movement and for challenging world leaders to take immediate action against climate change. (Click to enlarge image and quote).
“When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning! I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And – given the right circumstances- being different is a superpower. #aspiepower”
Naoki Higashida is a non-speaking Japanese author and poet. His book, ‘The Reason I jump’ has been translated into 30 languages. (Click on image to enlarge quote.)
“Criticizing people, winding them up, making idiots of them or fooling them doesn’t make people with autism laugh. What makes us smile from the inside is seeing something beautiful.” This is a quote from my book The Reason I Jump make sure you read it ! #TheReasonIJump”
Temple Grandin PhD is an American animal rights scientist and activist, who is also a public speaker who has written many books about autism and being autistic.
“When I was younger I was looking for this magic meaning of life. It’s very simple now. Making the lives of others better, doing something of lasting value. That’s the meaning of life, it’s that simple.”
The best people to explain what autism is are autistic people. But just like every neurotypical person is different, so is every autistic person. To have any real awareness, understanding and acceptance of autism, we need to listen, listen and keep listening. Here are a few autistic autism advocates, but there are thousands of voices out there that can be found on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and in literature. And with over 1% of the world population believed to be autistic, that is over 79,000,000 voices worldwide.
autismacceptance.com is a website created by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). ASAN is a non-profit organisation run by and for autistic people. There are a wealth of resources, including a digital book called ‘Welcome to the Autistic Community’
Chris Bonello has a website, Autistic Not Weird and Facebook page of the same name. He is a writer and international speaker on autism issues and former primary school teacher.
Carley Jones is a keynote speaker , presenter, author, and UK Policy Safeguarding Professional, who has a website and YouTube channel
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu is an educator, writer, public speaker, parent, and global advocater with a website and blog, ‘Just Being Me…Who Needs ‘Normalcy’ Anyway?’
15 Autistic Activists You Should Follow This Autism Acceptance Month is a compilation of 15 autistic activists, put together by Rooted in Rights, a Seattle-based team of disabled video producers, editors, and digital organizers who challenge stigma and redefine narratives around disability, mental health, and chronic illness.
The information on this page has been shared for public interest and to demonstrate the diversity of Autism. Autism at Kingwood does not necessarily share or endorse the personal beliefs or views of the individuals or organisations shared on this page, however we support their right as members of the autistic community to express their views and beliefs.
We provide supported living and outreach support, helping and enabling autistic people to live in their own homes and make their own choices about the lives they want to lead.
Our relationship with the families of those we support is incredibly important to us and we work in partnership with families wherever possible.
All Autism at Kingwood support staff receive our Specialist Autism Training, making us leading care providers in Autism support.
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