It’s April which means that it’s Autism Awareness or newly known as Autism Acceptance month. Autism is a chronic developmental disorder. It causes those with Autism to learn, communicate, and learn differently than others. Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder has a wide range of severity, meaning that it is different for every person who is living with it. Every April, our community amplifies the voices of Autistic people and spreads acceptance through our communities.

Autism is important to recognize because it affects many people, and those who don’t have it may not understand how it affects the person with it. Additionally Autism has been demonized in the past partially because of the way non-Autistic people have treated Autistic people, and because stereotypes have been raised over the truth. These reasons make it important to raise awareness and acceptance for those with Autism.

Recently there has been a change in the name of the month from “Autism Awareness Month” to “Autism Acceptance Month.” The shift is to encourage acceptance among society. This change hopes to focus on the challenge of finding acceptance within communities so Autistic people can access support systems easier. Acceptance has been known to be a big challenge due to the stigmas society has created.

To learn more about why Autism Acceptance Month is important, students can talk to Autistic people. The most important part about celebrating Autism Acceptance Month is having the community understand the struggles that Autistic people face, both with their Autism and with people who treat them differently because of their disorder. Another way is by doing research on different organizations that help and support Autistic people.

Autism Acceptance Month is a perfect time to change the way stereotypes dictate how people perceive certain people. Now that April is ending, finding ways to change the perspective people have created on those with disabilities isn’t something that should only happen during one month of the year. No matter the time, all individuals can take steps to be kinder to those around them, especially to those who have a disability like Autism. Change does not have to take place during one month, it is something that can be happening all year round.