April is Autism Awareness month, but that title doesn’t sit well with many Autistic people.
Activist Alex Kronstein says two groups claim to represent the Autistic community: actual autistic people and groups like Autism Speaks which is made up of people who aren’t autistic.
Kronstein says Autism Speaks’ traditional “Light it up Blue” awareness campaign was launched by those without autism and is at odds with the aim of the disability rights movement which is, “nothing about us, without us.”
“Some actually autistic people I know have said awareness can not lead to acceptance so, there’s often the question, who are the awareness campaigns really for? They’re for non-autistic people.”
Why my son is awesome #autismacceptance #redinstead #walkinred #DifferentNotLess pic.twitter.com/NUwmjXgR23
— jen meyers (@jennnmeyers) April 1, 2017
Kronstein also takes particular offence to the puzzle piece Autism Speaks uses as a symbol of autism.
“Autistic people aren’t missing pieces, we’re whole people. We simply do things differently from the neurotypical majority. So autistic people need more supports and accommodations because the truth is, the world was not designed for us.”
Kronstein says instead of supporting the “Light it up blue” campaign, people who want to show their acceptance of Autistic people should instead Walk in Red by wearing red clothes or using the red overlay on their social media.
Please help support #RedInstead, add a #Twibbon now! https://t.co/vDSv8VZd3n
— Amaranthe Âû (@RNA_Witch) April 2, 2017