April is upon us and with it comes “Autism Awareness” month — a month dreaded by most of us in the autism community. During this time the media and marketing hits a feverish pace, inundating us all with “facts” about autism, drowning many of us autistics in fear and self-loathing.
“Awareness” is a horrible word. In this usage it simply means “educate and drive fear in the minds of non-autistics of the horrors of autism.” Many “advocacy” groups, which I refuse to mention by name, will no doubt be in top form this year on the heels of the Centers for Disease Control’s new findings that now 1 in 50 children are identified as being on the autism spectrum. We will no doubt hear how this is a tragedy and a sign that “we are losing the war against autism, this American health tragedy.”
The fact is that autism has not waged war on anyone or anything. It is not taking our children, it is not ruining your marriages, as a past PSA has claimed. It has done nothing of the sort. Autism can’t pick and chose who gets its diagnosis. Autism is without a consciousness. It is nothing more than a label for certain people that share cognitive traits. It is not a growing epidemic or crisis facing our country.
But the crisis that is facing the autism community is the growing negative rhetoric spewed against us all under the guise of “awareness.” Imagine if you were inundated with advertising saying that you needed to be cured, or that you weren’t capable of becoming a “normal contributing” member of society? Not only do we face that constantly, but also during the month of April it is kicked into full gear. Autism is as much as a health crisis as someone’s red hair is, or another’s skin color and so on.
We autistics do not need your awareness. We walk these grounds every day. We are your fellow students, professors, friends and so on. We function quite well, and unless we identify ourselves as autistic to you, you will never know that we’re here. What we need is acceptance. Fortunately for me during my time here at the University of Virginia I have been met with open arms and acceptance from all my fellow students and professors.
I have chosen to be open about my being autistic in hopes to change other’s perceptions of what autism really is. We are not to be pitied, or frowned upon. We are like you. We are a part of this community. Become aware that we are here, but in the end accept us. Accept us for the unique gifts that we can bring, the different perspectives we hold, and acceptance of the challenges we face.
Accept us by refusing to take part in any fear campaign against us, any discussions of our being a burden or a health crisis. We are people, not numbers, not blue puzzle pieces, but human beings with the same hopes and dreams as neurotypical and non-autistic people.
Jeremy Moody is a second-year graduate student in Tibetan studies. He serves on the University’s Disability Access Committee.
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