6 mistakes that are made during autism awareness month

Written on 24th Mar 2015 by Sylvia Lowery

• Share

April is only a few weeks away and we are all being reminded to raise awareness for autism. This is a worthy and good thing to do because autism is still misunderstood by the general public. However it can be done well or it can be done badly. Here are some things it may be better to avoid.

1.  Lighting it up blue without explaining anything about autism – those of us who know about autism may associate autism with blue. But to Joe or Joanne public it is just a colour. It is a nice gesture for  public building to be lit up blue but it doesn’t provide adults with autism support into employment or stop a child with autism from being bullied in the playground.

2.  Wear a piece of puzzle jewellery – I have always wondered why a puzzle piece is linked to autism. What does it mean I wonder. Is autism more of a puzzle than other conditions? Does it imply that individuals with autism are like a puzzle with a piece missing or does it refer to the way the world may appear puzzling to those on the spectrum. Whatever the reason for the puzzle piece its links with autism are unclear and so should perhaps be avoided.

3. Don’t buy your kids T-shirts with slogans like ‘I am not a brat I have autism’ really if that child grows up and sees a photo of themselves wearing it, they will not thank you, they will be mort4. Don’t buy an autism awareness gift that promises that your purchase will help someone with autism, rather just make a donation to an autism charity like Autism Wishes. This ensures that most of your money will help someone with autism rather than a small percentage.

5. Don’t keep your autism awareness to just one month in the year. There are always opportunities to educate people and help them to have a better understanding of autism. Why only do that for one month.

6. Build an autism awareness bear – well this little guy is cute but unless you take him into a school to talk to children about autism you won’t do a lot of good.

 

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on this page are © Alex Lowery Speaks About Autism. Please do not reproduce, modify or use for any purpose without the prior, written consent of the author. If you are interested in using an article on your blog or in your magazine, please contact us.