By Desiree Kaur
All these matter as we commemorate international observances.
Gone are the days when the puzzle piece represented the autistic community. Granted, back in the day, people with autism were seen as puzzles. We are quite fortunate that we live in a world where we now have autistic self-advocates telling us, they are not puzzles to be solved and how it is a spectrum and no two autistics are alike. We also know that many prefer the rainbow coloured infinity to symbolise autism which is a spectrum represented by the multi-coloured image. The rainbow coloured infinity symbol was first used on Autism Pride Day on 18 June 2005 to symbolise the varied spectrum of autism.
Colour me curious about colours…
In the early days, the colour blue was always associated with autism. It was also during a time when there were more boys than girls diagnosed with autism. Even today, the statistics show higher rates of diagnosis amongst males compared to females. However, this may not necessarily be accurate as the reality is, many females go undiagnosed well into their adulthood. Another association in the United States called Autism Speaks also initiated the “light up blue” initiative which has since been earmarked as controversial since the association itself has been linked to trying to “cure” autism. Autism, as we know it, is a neurological condition which is life long. Therefore, it’s not something to cure. Now that we have the rainbow infinity symbol, autism is best represented by a spectrum of colours, like a rainbow.
Themes are important!
This year’s theme for World Autism Awareness Day by the United Nations is moving from surviving to thriving with the hashtags of #awareness, #acceptance #appreciation. This is inspired by more and more self advocates coming to the forefront of autism awareness, acceptance and appreciation movements. Although we may feel like this is a recent surfacing of self-advocates, rest assured they have always been around. Thanks to the voices of nuerodivergent self-advocates we know that the community wants to thrive and not just survive. The community also wants to thrive on their own terms not on terms set by what society deems appropriate. Isn’t this a basic human right? Another article for another day perhaps.
Another theme that popped up on my Google search for 2024 World Autism Awareness Day was Colours. This thrilled me to my core as I have always embraced rainbow colours in my mind to represent the beauty in my own child who turns 9 this year. When I look at my son, he is as colourful as they come – cheeky, mischievous, happy, grumpy, irritable, curious, and he does get angry, upset, emotional and everything in between. He is my own personal rainbow that never fails for light up every aspect of my life.
Why is 2 April an important day to me?
We can never have too much awareness. This matters to me. I had a message from a dear friend this morning which said, “Good morning! I am wearing blue today, ok.” What a wonderful gesture from a good friend who only knows about autism because of my journey with Haans. Perhaps not everyone agrees with the colour blue to represent autism, but, let’s not deter people from making the effort by always correcting them. Let’s first embrace, accept and appreciate. Isn’t this what most of us with neurodivergent children want for our kids? Hence, let’s walk the talk. Let’s first accept and applaud the kind gesture and embrace that not every moment is a teaching moment.
Some may say, why do we need a day, it should be everyday? In practice, for most of us caregivers and care partners in the community, autism awareness, acceptance and appreciation day is everyday for us. However, as we advocate to break barriers and stigmas, we must first accept that inclusion works both way. If we want people to be aware, we must be willing to repeat ourselves till we are blue in the face. If we want change, we too must be capable of change. After all, what is the point of expecting everything, but giving nothing in return. Fair and square on a two-way street says it all.
Happy World Autism Awareness Day 2024! Here’s hoping that the autistic community will not only survive but thrive on their own terms and live meaningful lives with dignity.
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