This blog post delves into why World Autism Awareness Day is so important.
During the month of April each year, there is a special time when the world comes together to highlight the awareness of autism and to increase understanding of this condition and those who are diagnosed with it.
Why was World Autism Awareness Day created?
This very well-known public holiday was made by the United Nations (U.N) in 2007. The first ever commemoration of World Autism Awareness Day was held on the 2nd of April 2008. Some individuals prefer to use the term “Autism Acceptance Day” or “Autism Acceptance Month” rather than World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month. (Wikipedia contributors, 2024)
Why is autism awareness needed?
Understanding the role of autism is crucial for eliminating misunderstandings and inaccuracies regarding this complex disorder. This helps in educating other individuals on autism and how it may affect individuals who have it. Raising awareness about autism can help to decrease shame and unfairness towards how individuals on the autism spectrum and their families are perceived. (Liau, 2023)
Here are some ideas for how to make life easier for individuals diagnosed with this condition and raising autism awareness:
- Educating about the disorder in schools and universities. 🏫
- Having policies in schools, universities and the workplace, to promote autism-friendly environments.
- Educate on the differences between individuals with and without autism, to gain understanding regarding behavioural patterns and why these occur. 🧠
- A great way for reducing sensory overload is lowering the volume of sound. From my experience, I have found that white noise can help me sleep at times. 🔉
- Extending disability support services for adults & children with autism to cover all states, territories and their rural areas (In Australia).
- Creating therapies that are autism friendly which focus on the social aspects of life. This would include interpersonal skills training, and teaching social skills required for interaction with the broader community.
- Educating others to not stigmatise or stereotype individuals with autism.
- Specially trained service animals for autism. These animals are usually dogs that have been specifically trained to help with meltdowns and emotional distress and can provide beneficial support in terms of companionship and comfort and safety in young children. Cats have therapeutic qualities which can be beneficial to individuals with autism and everyone, thus making them excellent emotional support animals. This is also why I bought a Ragdoll cat in 2011 known as Lilli.
- Donating to charities and joining organisations who help autism and which try to spread awareness.
- Using technology and visual learning to help those with autism.
- Increasing awareness about the comorbidities that come with autism, like OCD and ADHD/ADD, epilepsy, anxiety, DSPD (and other sleep disorders), etc.
- Providing autism-friendly care and support for individuals with autism who are in later stages of life, such as seniors for example.
- Showing more compassion and empathy towards individuals with autism.
Raising awareness and support for severe autism
There are currently fewer options of support available for individuals diagnosed on the severe end of the autism spectrum.
Raising awareness can be done in much the same way for normal autism awareness as outlined in the above list but with a few additions such as:
- Expanding our research and understanding of autism to include severe autism (level 3). (DSM-5, 2013).
- Providing care and more practical day-to-day assistance for those who have severe autism (level 3).
- Raising knowledge and skillset of care providers around strategies for severe autism.
How symbols play a role in autism awareness and recognition
While there is no universally single recognised symbol for autism, there are 4 symbols which are used to represent autism’s neurodiversity. The puzzle pieces remain the most widely recognised symbol for autism today. Shades of blue are also symbolic of autism awareness and are also part of the Light It Up Blue Campaign. The interlocking puzzle pieces below is an example of the most commonly used symbol for autism:
Rainbow Infinity Symbol Animation (Feline Pawprint Version)
This video clip is an animated visual representation of the rainbow infinity symbol (in feline paw prints) that was made with the 3D modelling software, Blender (version 4.0.2):
Princess Lilli Lilac
Princess Lilli Lilac forms an important part of keeping my anxiety levels low and she was originally bought for me as a therapy cat. Cats have been shown to provide therapeutic benefits (Cleary et al, 2023), to people like me due to their oscillating purr, soft fluff, and calming presence. 💜😺
Conclusion
Hopefully you have learnt why I consider April to be an important month of the year for me. See you on the next blog post. 📰
References
Liau, A. (2023, September 5). Understanding the importance of autism awareness & acceptance. Nurture Pods. https://www.nurturepods.com/understanding-the-importance-of-autism-awareness-and-acceptance/
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, June 3). Autism-friendly. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:35, July 4, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Autism-friendly&oldid=1227109469
Wikipedia contributors. (2024, May 27). World Autism Awareness Day. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:36, July 4, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Autism_Awareness_Day&oldid=1225848262
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Cleary, M., West, S., Thapa, D. K., & Kornhaber, R. (2023). Putting cats on the spectrum: A scoping review of the role of cats in therapy and companionship for autistic adults and children. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 44(6), 505–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2023.2195509