6 Articles You Should Read for Autism Acceptance Month

April is Autism Awareness Month, which has historically not celebrated autistic people and been a month that has unintentionally ableist implications. The autistic community advocates instead for Autism Acceptance Month. As an autistic woman, Mindshare’s Rachel Lowenstein, Global Managing Director, Inclusive Innovation, reflects on this month and shares resources around language, workplace behaviors, leadership, labeling, and more. 

We have now entered April, which is Autism Acceptance month. I am autistic and despite the intention, the month is hardly something the autistic community looks forward to. It’s a month-long demonstration of how little disability is centered in advocacy and DE&I in 2022. Imagine if men spoke for and over women all of Women’s History Month – that’s basically what April is for us with (well-meaning but sometimes misguided) parents, caregivers, and non-autistic people centering their perspectives over ours.  

I’m sharing a few introduction articles that you should read if you’re interested in learning more about #actuallyautistic advocacy – but a good first step would be to follow creators who are autistic since legacy media has historically excluded and misrepresented us. 

• Language is extremely important and varied for the disability community – here’s a good overview on why the majority (but not all) of the autistic community prefers IFL (identity-first language) over PFL (person-first language). Just like pronouns, it’s super okay and encouraged to ask us what language we want you to use because there’s diverse perspectives on it in the larger disability community. 
• Both of the following research summaries are good intros to the nuances of being autistic at work, overviewing management needs and communication differences negatively affecting us. These studies give a very 101 but critical view in to how to be more inclusive to coworkers on the spectrum given that 80% of us are unemployed. 
• I like this Fast Company article about why neurodivergent people make great leaders because we often get positioned as being great subordinates or only working in highly technical roles (and as someone who is the least technical person – it’s a silly stereotype). 
• This essay is necessary reading on the harms of labeling through functioning labels, the invalidation people with invisible disabilities face, and the consequences of viewing disability solely through the context of deficits. 
• An easy way we first understand if someone is an ally is the symbols they use – the puzzle piece is offensive and you shouldn’t use it. You should use the rainbow infinity symbol instead, which reflects the endlessly diverse experiences of being on the spectrum and neurodiversity (a movement started by an autistic woman!). 
• Most of the  representation you’ve seen of autism in media probably isn’t accurate – and can be actively harmful. Autistic women and BIPOC are pretty much invisible. Sia’s disastrous Music and her response to the callouts is just one example of many of how far behind disability is in media’s pursuits of inclusion, especially when it comes to intersectional views of disability. 

I encourage you all to take this month and dedicate time to reading and educating yourself. But more importantly, share your new knowledge with those around you, and together we can create a better, more inclusive future.