Did you know that today is Autistic Pride Day?
Although June is most recognised for celebrating LGBTQIA+ Pride, this isn’t the only Pride celebration to be found in June. Have you heard of ‘Autistic Pride?’
What is Autistic Pride?
Autistic Pride is a day for autistic people to celebrate their neurodiversity and feel proud of who they are. Autism’s self-advocacy movement is intrinsic to Autistic Pride day, and it is a time where we should step back, and allow ourselves to listen to autistic people and what they have to say. Autistic and proud of it | New Scientist
When is Autistic Pride?
First celebrated by ‘Aspies For Freedom’ in 2005, the 18th June is a day to recognise the importance of pride for autistic people. Autistic Pride is symbolised by a gold flag with a rainbow infinity symbol to represent diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities. The gold background of the autistic pride flag is used as the chemical symbol for gold is Au. Autistic Pride – Autistic Empire
Who runs Autistic Pride Day?
This event was created and is run by the autistic community and is a day of celebration and positivity. Unlike other awareness days, autistic pride is community run, and isn’t controlled by any central organisation. Therefore, the objective of the day is not to promote or fundraise for charities, but to strengthen autistic people’s self-advocacy and encourage support and autism acceptance in the wider community.
Why is there an Autistic Pride?
We should celebrate neurodiversity all year round. However, our neurotypical world can often feel unaccepting and unaccommodating to autistic people (and the entire neurodiverse community). There isn’t often a space opened up for autistic people to just talk about, well, being autistic. Autistic Pride is a day for autistic people to shine, and celebrate being neurodiverse, a time for autistic people to use their voice and share how proud they are of themselves, their differences and their value in spite of many believing autism is something that should be cured, or something to be ashamed of.
Autistic Pride Day celebrated on June 18 | News (archive.org)
Where can I celebrate Autistic Pride?
There are many online spaces for celebrating Autistic Pride, such as blogs and social media platforms. In the UK, Facebook groups such as ‘Autistic Pride Alliance’ can help you to find in-person events across the country, and many autism support groups will be organising their own events such as craft fairs, and picnics with speakers and entertainment. Alternatively, you can use the day to celebrate your uniqueness and individuality with friends and family.
I am not autistic, what can I do?
Even if you aren’t autistic, it shouldn’t stop you from celebrating neurodiversity and helping others to understand and accept the experiences and needs of autistic people. There is a lot of stigma in the world when it comes to autism, and on this day more than ever, it is an opportunity to listen to the voices of autistic people; to hear their stories, experiences, and accomplishments. Gather your friends and family together, reach out to your autistic and neurodiverse friends and ask them about their experiences. Ask how you can support them, ask about their special interests, ask how they feel about being autistic.
Take the time to spend a day with your autistic friends and focus on making adjustments so that they are comfortable and feel safe. It will make the world of difference and strengthen their trust in you, and also encourage the ability to advocate for themselves confidently in the future if they know that they are safe, accepted and celebrated for being themselves with a you as a friend.
Autistic Pride Flag by Autistic Empire is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.autisticempire.com/autistic-pride.
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