28 March 2022
For some years April has been Autism Awareness Month. However, the name and emphasis have changed as a number of organisations, including the National Autistic Society, join forces to celebrate Autism Acceptance. The change is subtle, but important, because awareness and acceptance aren’t quite the same thing.
We encourage communities across the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys area to:
- get involved
- listen to autistic voices
- learn about autism
- share information and start conversations.
Thinking about the words we use
This World Autism Acceptance Week Karolina Kalisz, a Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust higher assistant psychologist who is autistic explains why she’d like everybody to think carefully about the words they choose.
She says: “Having recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of my autism diagnosis, that I call my ‘autismversary’, I’ve got my own, very autistic request to everyone. We all encounter autistic people at work and in our private lives, even if we don’t know that some of them are autistic, so, please, mind your language.”
“Words are powerful”
Karolina feels strongly about the power of words. She explains: “With words, we can build relationships and destroy them. With words, we make peace or war. With words, we can express acceptance and inclusion, but we can also use them to stigmatise, discriminate against, or exclude others. Words are powerful, and all of us use that power every day.”
Questions to ask yourself
“Think about the language you use when talking about autism and autistic people,” says Karolina. “Right through April and then hopefully long afterwards, too. Everybody can do this by asking themselves a few questions:”
“Do you talk about autism spectrum disorder – pathology, or autism spectrum condition – the way someone is? Do you propose therapy and intervention – mending someone who’s apparently ‘broken’ or ‘messed up’, or offer support services?
“Do you refer to autism as a ‘problem’? Have you heard of ‘challenging behaviours’ from autistic people? Some would include lack of eye contact, stimming and other self-stimulatory behaviours as problems.
“Every word we choose can help to strengthen or weaken the climate of psychological safety for those around us.
“One way everybody can show their support for Autism Acceptance is by minding their language – starting with April, but ideally for good.”
Building acceptance in our communities
We recommend taking time to learn more about autism.
There are lots of videos and links where you can learn more. Watch the one below or click the links for more.
- National Autistic Society – Too much information anxiety in social situations – young adults talking (3mins 59secs)
- National Autistic Society – Too much information – Sensory Overload – young adults talking (4mins 4secs)
- National Autistic Society – Too much information – Meltdowns (3mins 46secs)
- National Autistic Society – Too Much Information – Unexpected Change (4mins 4secs)
- National Autistic Society – Too Much Information – Childrens Sensory Distress (1min 29secs)
- Explaining Autism – Young People (4mins)