This autism acceptance day, don’t just throw on a blue shirt and tell people that you know someone who is autistic. We are people who are vibrant and colourful and we love so brightly and shouldn’t that be celebrated too?
Sure, we struggle with social interactions and social cues and we’re not too good at making friends with neurotypical people, but we can bring so much vibrancy to life too.
We are people first
My best friend loves Harry Potter and she adores talking about all of her favourite characters. She is autistic but that is not all she is. She’s also the most beautiful and patient girl I’ve ever known. Our other friend Izzy loves Bob’s Burgers and computers. She’s got autism and ADHD but she also has made a beautiful life for herself after she had to deal with a tragedy at a very young age. Sure, she’s autistic but she’s also so much more.
Our other friend Taylor is the kindest woman I’ve ever met. She loves Among Us memes and rude jokes. She’s autistic but you wouldn’t know if she didn’t tell you. The most recent edition to our friend group is Eleanor and she’s also autistic. She’s amazing and sweet and beautiful. In our first conversation outside of an educational environment, she tried to recommend me a vibrator in front of our other friends much to their disgust and my amusement. She’s amazing and autistic and those two words shouldn’t have to exist apart from one another.
Autism acceptance
This autism acceptance day, see the person first and the autism second.
I’m autistic too. Would you have known that if I didn’t tell you? Maybe you would’ve, maybe you wouldn’t. I adore Harry Potter and All For The Game and Red, White and Royal Blue. That’s what I talk about when you first meet me, not my autism diagnosis. My autism diagnosis defines some parts of my life but it doesn’t have to define your perception of me. I’m just as much of a person as a neurotypical person would be.
I am autistic but I’m also queer, vibrant, loud, intelligent and always willing to smile with my friends. See us for our colours, not what you think is our darkness.
