#AutismUpside
Those of us living on the Autistic spectrum, as well as those of us loving someone on the spectrum, are quite aware of autism; so much so that an entire month of “awareness” doesn’t seem to fully touch upon the needs of our community. Therefore, during the month of April, AWN will be turning its focus toward Paula Durbin-Westby’s initiative, Autism ACCEPTANCE, an aspect too often missing from the conversation about autism.
AWN has the utmost respect for the very real challenges, and lack of life-affirming resources that many individuals within our community are experiencing. We are committed to supporting all Autistic individuals, with a focus on women and girls, along with their families, friends and loved ones. Though we recognize and respect the challenges many people in our community face, we applaud access, inclusion, and the meaningful services, supports, etc. that our community needs in order to thrive and reach a higher level of sustainability. AWN would like to share in Disability Rights’ advocate and activist Justin Dart’s famous words and say that we rededicate ourselves to united advocacy, “Lead on! Together we shall overcome!”
For Autism ACCEPTANCE month, we want to help bring the attention and focus toward the positive aspects of autism, the “upsides” if you will. These upsides are just as real as the challenges we experience, however, they are often lost in the worldwide discussion about us.
As AWN’s contribution to Autism ACCEPTANCE Month, we are initiating a Twitter hashtag campaign, #AutismUpside. We’re asking that our readers and supporters spend time this month thinking, talking and tweeting about the upsides of autism.
To participate, simply tweet what you feel is an upside, a positive aspect of being Autistic, or what you see as an upside for your friend or loved one who is on the Autistic spectrum. Next, continue checking out the hashtag to see what others are saying, and don’t forget to retweet the ones you like!
Follow @Autism_Women on Twitter for daily retweets of the #AutismUpside posts during April. So, let’s get started!
Nothing About Us Without Us!