“I wish to live in a world where acceptance is not just the goal, but the reality. I want to live in a world where someone talking in the deficit model of awareness is regarded as uncomfortably out of touch with how things should be. This is my world too, and I want it to be filled with people who know that I am autistic and fantastic, not that I “have autism” and that is tragic. In my ideal world, flapping will be just as acceptable as smiling, earplugs will be a normal sight, AAC devices (Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices) will be common and everyone will know how to converse with AAC users. In that world, neuro-diversity will be just another way that people are unique, and everyone will agree that diversity is part of what makes the world so beautiful”.
This is from a blog post of Kassiane S, an autistic rights activist, who herself is autistic. Kassiane was improperly diagnosed before discovering the autism spectrum at the age of 18. The words come from the heart. That’s what we want to achieve to make the world so beautiful.
All along, the month of April is being celebrated as World Autism Awareness day. United Nations has declared April 2021 as the month of Autism Acceptance. Yes, awareness is the first step towards acceptance. Why is it critical now to have this shift? In United States of America, prevalence of Autism has risen from 1 in 125 children in 2010 to 1 in 54 in 2020. The prevalence could be more or less similar in our country too, may be with few percentage difference here and there.
People with differences are born different. Are they not equal citizens of this world? The way the world evolved, and the way the majority in this world look at people who are ‘different’ is sad. Come on, let us accept them as part of our society. Not just lip service, but be part of the movement.
It is a fact that, unless there is someone affected in the family, “why should I” attitude prevails. First be AWARE of the ‘difference’ and then ACCEPT it as part of society and be part of the process that enables ‘inclusion’.
Awareness is easy, but acceptance requires hard work.
Acceptance and awareness comes from vastly different mindsets.
Those who are aware “Tolerate”, but those who accept “Embrace”.
Becoming awareness is more or less one time thing. But acceptance is a continuous process.
Awareness and acceptance can become reality, only when everyone interact with the ‘different’ ones and understand how they react to situations and how they lead their life. In spite of knowing about opportunities, not many are willing to get to know about the ‘different’ ones. That’s the sad state of affairs in our world.
Humble request.. We vociferously discuss ‘political differences’ and ‘religious differences’.. We don’t even miss an opportunity to judge / accuse even friends who think different politically and do different religious practices. Why don’t we find some time to think about people who are born different and struggle to live in this world, make use of opportunities to interact with them and accept them as part of this beautiful, diverse and inclusive world.
[Most of these quotes are taken from Kassiane’s post].
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