#autism acceptance month

[itspakko]

[missnatzooie]

Autistic Marina Ida prompts for Autism Acceptance Month

Marina has a special weighted blanket that is also soft, since she is sensitive to certain textures, Pearl had it specifically made for her.

She has a chew necklace in the shape of an octopus that she will chew on while working on new songs, the chew necklace also helped when Marina was designing her Dramatic Days in Orderland idea.

For her birthday, Pearl got Marina a new version of the Pearlie Plushie that was designed with a more softer texture and could warm up if Marina was cold, this helps her to sleep during the cold nights.

Marina will play with one of her tentacles as a form of stimming.

Pearl lets Marina play around with her rings, sometimes even when the rings are still on Pearl's fingers.

Marina loves watching and listening to ASMR (especially if Pearl's making them!)

She enjoys humming various parts of her songs with Pearl, she may hum a part of Ebb & Flow and another part of We're So Back.

Marina loves looking at anything sparkly, so Pearl will put teal green and pink glitter in a jar and will lightly shake it for her, she loves how Marina's eyes will twinkle as she watches, it also helps if she's had a meltdown.

Pearl will hold Marina close and will gently soothe her if she's had a meltdown, she'll wipe Marina's tears and will gently rub one of her ears to help her to calm down.

Marina enjoys drawing Pearl a lot, if she's feeling inspired, she'll draw ship art of herself and Pearl, such as Pearl the Knight rescuing Princess Marina!

Pearl will kiss Marina's tentacles while Marina holds Pearl's crown, she loves her girlfriend's kisses while holding her sparkly crown.

Marina wears loose comfortable clothing when she's relaxing at home, sometimes wearing tight clothing may overwhelm her.

[the-firefly-system1]

Also this autism acceptance and awareness month please stop using the term going Nonverbal or going nonspeaking when you are having a temporary loss of speech. Use a term like verbal shutdown or speech loss episode instead. As a Nonverbal autistic I am tired of speaking people using the term Nonverbal or nonspeaking to describe their verbal shutdowns

[autiebiographical]

I grew up in the 90s where I constantly was told to "Be Weird!" Apparently I was supposed to be neurotypical weird, not autistic weird.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autism is a Spectrum, but Not Like This

Lil Penguin Studios/Autism Happy Place

[spectrumgarden]

This autism month please remember those of us who:

need verbal prompting (someone telling us each single, small step to a task) or hands on help for things like showering, getting dressed, cooking simple meals, using a toilet ....

who struggle to go outside alone or cant do it all, not out of fear or no motivation or anything but because we keep getting lost and cant find our way back, because the outside world is like a blurry maze that never becomes more logical no matter how many times we have walked that street, because we need help with mobility aids, or can not understand that cars are dangerous, other people can be dangerous, ...

whose bodies dont listen to what our brains tell it to do. Whose bodies throw things when we didnt tell it to, told it to stop. Who hit our head against the walls while wishing we could stop. Whose bodies freeze when we tell it to move. Not just for a task we are unable to start, but any movement at all. I dont mean when i'm stuck scrolling through my phone thinking about how much i should do that task but cant, I mean when im sitting on the kitchen floor and staring into space for an hour unable to even lift my hand to scratch my nose.

Those of us that will never work a job outside of sheltered workshops, if at all.

Who drool and scream and jump and hum and rock in the waiting room at the doctors office, on public transport, ...

[gayvampyr]

oh i almost forgot! since it’s both autism acceptance month and lesbian visibility week i just want to give a shout out to all my fellow autistic lesbians! we’re super cool and i appreciate all of you, you make the world better ❤️

[todayontumblr]

Tuesday April 11.

Autism Acceptance Month.

Today is Tuesday, April 11, which means we are eleven days into the 30 blessed days of #autism acceptance month, 2023 (previously known as #autism awareness month). April is the month and April 2nd is the day—World Autism Day, to be precise—and these first weeks of spring are a time for uplifting autistic voices of all identities, advocating for acceptance, progress, and sharing in the community's joy. It began back in 1972, as National Autistic Children’s Week, and was founded by The Autism Society to raise awareness and campaign for change in communities, schools, medical facilities, and businesses. And this same vital, wonderful work continues today, and not just for the month of April, of course—but every day of every year. The lived reality is that every day of every month is Autism Acceptance Month, and it is on all of us to do better.

Progress has been made, but there is still so much to be done in the struggle for equality and justice for all those living under the broad church of autism. And if these words sound hollow, then simply read the moving story of Debra Vines, of The Answer Inc., and of her autistic son Jason. She articulates everyday struggles that families can face, and the many joys they experience, too. Her message is simple, but powerful: don't give up on milestones.  

Want to know more, get involved, or donate? Here is just some of an impressive selection of charities sourced by the fine people at the Applied Behavior Analysis Programs Guide, where you can find the complete list of 20 charities and organizations:

The Asperger/Autism Network

The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network

Autism Research Institute

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network

The Autism National Committee

Happy Tuesday, folks, and here's to better.

[solspurv]

“The focus on cis white male presentations of autism creates a massive diagnosis barrier for marginalised people. Our actions are viewed differently depending on our race / gender etc. We need better representation in media and we need academics to understand and embed cultural nuance, not seek to further restrict diagnosis.” (@girl_unleeshed on Twitter)

Here’s the second comic I worked on for Autism Acceptance month! This comic is a collaboration with Leesha (@girl_unleeshed). Please check out her Twitter to read more of her awesome and thoughtful writing!

[cadaverkeys]

A comic for the new Sensory 2023 comic takeover! About special interests and how they intersect with being societally valued and the job market.

[azuremist]

Okay, the fact that autism week / autism acceptance month has BARELY started, and we have not one, but TWO canonically autistic characters calling themselves autistic on-screen???? THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME LIKE????

[autism-affirmations]

[zebulontheplanet]

For this autism awareness/acceptance month, let’s listen and support nonspeaking, nonverbal, and mute autistic people.

Let’s listen to them, interact with them, and support them. Let’s educate others on their terms that verbal people shouldn’t be using. Let’s uplift their voices. Let’s celebrate and center them. Let’s talk about those who can’t communicate via AAC and alternative communication. Let’s talk about the more marginalized nonspeaking/nonverbal/mute autistic people. The POC nonspeaking/nonverbal/mute people. The trans nonspeaking/nonverbal/mute people. The queer nonspeaking/nonverbal/mute people. The high support needs nonspeaking/nonverbal/mute people.

Let’s center them, talk about them, and celebrate their achievements, accomplishments, and just for being here and being them.

[autball]

I saw a funny post by @emergentdivergence and just HAD to do something with it.

I’m sure most of my followers at least will be just fine. 😉

[Image description:

A 4 panel cartoon by Autball, done in collaboration with David Gray-Hammond.

1: A Red/Purple figure with gray glasses and a lip ring says, “April is Autism Acceptance Month, and you know what that means…”

2: A bunch of NT and ND figures stand all together (some looking happy, some looking not bothered, and some looking quite bothered indeed) while Red/Purple continues offscreen with, “Anyone not accepted by an Autistic person before April 30th will be yeeted into the sun.”

3: Close up of Red/Purple who says, “But don’t worry…”

4: Red/Purple continues, “We’ll only make you work as hard for our acceptance as we’ve had to work for yours.” To the left is a yellow/gold figure holding three heavy books entitled Autistic Communication, Unlearning Ableism, and Masking. To the right is a light blue/blue figure holding three more heavy books entitled Stimming, Autistic Social Skills, and Neurodiversity 101.]

[autiebiographical]

Autism has long been synonymous with "struggle". If you don't struggle, if you're successful or you're just happy with life people are less likely to recognize you as autistic, except for other autistic people.

I swear, we have an autism radar. Autie-radar? Autie-dar?