Written by Nishagie Hettiarachchi
Edited by Cassidy Ho
It’s National Autism Acceptance Month. What does that mean? Well, this month aims to promote acceptance for the condition that occurs in one of every 54 children as of 2020 in the United States.
Graphic made by Ori Nguyen, from Arts for Relief
In 1970, the Autism Society launched an ongoing nationwide effort to promote autism awareness and ensure that all affected by autism would be able to achieve the highest quality of education possible. In 1972, the Autism Society stated, “This April, we continue our efforts to spread awareness, promote acceptance, and ignite change.” “The shift in the use of terminology aimed to foster acceptance to ignite change through improved support and opportunities in education, employment, accessible housing, affordable health care, and comprehensive long-term services.” Autism Society describes, explaining the goals they wish to achieve after shifting the annual celebration title.
On March 4, 2021, the Autism Society of America officially announced the shift in terminology from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month. Autism is a complex developmental condition that affects the patient’s ability to interact, communicate and progress due to restricted or repetitive patterns of thought and behavior. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a guide created by the American Psychiatric Association used to diagnose mental disorders, people with ASD have:
Difficulty with communication and interaction with other people
Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors
Symptoms that harm the person’s ability to function properly in school, work, and other areas of life
People with ASD all experience different types of symptoms and display different behaviors and emotions. Many people with ASD have different ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to things. Signs of ASD begin during early childhood and typically last throughout a person’s life.
Some Signs and Symptoms:
Avoiding eye contact and wanting to be alone
Appearing to be unaware when people talk to them
Having trouble expressing their needs using typical words or motions
Having trouble adapting to routine changes
Having trouble understanding people’s feelings or talking about their feelings
Autism is known as a “spectrum” disorder because there is a wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is also said to be called a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. ASD occurs in all ethnic, racial, and economic groups. Although ASD can be a lifelong disorder, treatments and services can improve a person’s symptoms and ability to function.
Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder. It is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of a distinct group of neurological conditions characterized by a greater or lesser degree of impairment in language and communication skills, as well as repetitive or restrictive patterns of thought and behavior. Other ASDs include classic autism, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Unlike children with autism, children with AS retain their early language skills.
What is Autism Speaks?
Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, after their grandson was diagnosed with autism. Bernie Marcus donated $25 million to help financially launch the organization. The home page of the Autism Speaks website states, “Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the lifespan, for the needs of individuals with autism and families.” “The autistic community and supporters have expressed dissatisfaction with the organization because of how it spends its money and the way it represents people with autism,” writes Dani Henkel, the author of the odyssey article “7 Reasons To Not Support Autism Speaks.”
Quincy, an author of the article “Why You Should Not Support Autism Speaks,” from the website Speaking of Autism… argues, “Autism Speaks spends very little money on helping autistic people alive today. Instead, it funds research to identify genetic markers for autism in the hopes that a prenatal test for autism can be developed, and give people the option to abort a baby just because it has autism.” According to Quincy’s article and Autism Speaks’ spending reports, from 2016 to 2019 less than 4% of their budget goes towards “family service” which focuses on aiding parents of children with autism by supplying them with materials, resources, and the money they need to raise and assist their children. 5% of the budget goes towards paying salaries for their board members, some of whom make over $400,000 a year.
Quincy emphasizes that Autism Speaks spends more money on paying its board members than it does on charitable work that could benefit autistic people. The rest of the budget, around 35%, goes towards research that—in the past—has gone towards finding a “cure” despite it being an unreachable goal. “The sole purpose of this research would be to develop a prenatal test for autism so that autistic fetuses can be selectively aborted. This falls under the category of eugenics and is generally considered entirely unethical by society at large except, seemingly, in the case of developmental disabilities,” Quincy implements. Overall, Autism Speaks has lost the support of some members of the autistic community due to dissatisfaction, questionable spending of money, lack of results, etc.
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