I have reached the final day of this marathon! Phew! I'm pretty exhausted so I'm going to allow myself some time to recover next month. I'll still be pretty active, but don't expect anything like a new post every single day! I'm making plans for future blog posts and I'm always happy to take suggestions and requests, whether for a one-off post or for a series (the best way is contacting me via private message on the AoW Facebook page). The seemingly-random capitalisation of some words is intentional - it denotes specific posts I have made throughout the month, and the links to those posts are embedded within.
This month has been all about Autism Acceptance, taking it back and claiming it for ourselves as an Autistic Community, myself and many other autistics. We kicked it off by bracing and preparing for the onslaught of blue, puzzle pieces, blue puzzle pieces, "awareness" and Warrior Parents™ on April 2nd. We need all the Resilience we can get, which we have developed over many years.
Everywhere I look on Social Media, people have been going Red Instead or Gold for autism acceptance, embracing and celebrating Neurodiversity in a variety of manners, including sharing autism acceptance memes, sharing autism acceptance articles and raising funds for autistic-led organisations. This blog has been shared by friends and strangers alike, by individuals and Facebook pages. I have discovered new Blogs and read new posts on ones I already followed, those of friends, acquaintances and strangers, many of which are written by autistic Women. During this month I have strengthened existing Friendships and created new ones through the autistic community. I encourage you to read blogs written by those of us who are #actuallyautistic because we are the ones who have the first-hand Experience of living the autistic life, the ones to whom you need to come to gain the best Knowledge of autism; we are the Xenagogues to the autistic world.
Join us in celebrating the fact that each autistic person is Unique, even though we share a neurology and certain Mannerisms. Appreciate that we tend to think Out-of-the-Box and can offer different and valid perspectives. Respect and accept our Zones.
And all this is possible because of the advances in Technology, some of which were developed by my neurosiblings! There is so much Love, of all kinds and all expressions, in the autistic community, which has done wonders for the acceptance and embracing of an autistic Identity for many of us, both those with a Diagnosis and those who are not (for whatever reason).
As many of you know, I have been heavily involved in the creation and promotion of the petition against the Judge Rotenberg Center in the US, calling for an end to the barbaric, inhumane, torturous electric-shock practices there. The creation of it came about through social media, autistic Hyperfocus and strong sense of Justice, and has certainly become one of my Passionate interests. The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has taken control of it now, from The Autistic Advocate, Cal Montgomery and myself, and when I checked it just now it had just passed the 273,200 signatures mark, which is amazing! The fight is not over yet, not until we #StopTheShock. Please sign and share if you have yet to do so, and if you have done, please share again! Let's count this amongst the autistic community's Victories!
And why do we do all this? It's partly for ourselves, but also for autistic Youth, in the hope that they will not be misunderstood or have to struggle or fight the battles like we have had to. Let us build a better future for all of us.
And on that note, I am going to sign off from Autism Acceptance Month 2018 by having some well-earned and well-needed Quiet. Probably with something Harry Potter-related.
Thank you for all your support, input and encouragement throughout this month. I value and appreciate it more than I can say. Keep on being Âûsome!
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