Being aware of what something is, is really important, but understanding and accepting that something is just as important. Whatever that ‘something’ happens to be.

April is National Autism Awareness month and April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. It is a time when we (The Autism Community) generally emphasize to you our views on autism, share our stories how autism has affected us, how we have become better people because of autism, and how we want you to be understanding, and accepting of autism.

But none of this will mean anything to you unless you are willing to care. To most, this month will go by like every other month. They will never Google the word ‘autism’ or it will be in one ear, and out the other. And that is your choice.

It is a cold-hearted fact that most people, not all people, but most, doesn’t care about things that do not affect them. We are all guilty of not caring about something that doesn’t affect us at one time or another. However, this is where that fact becomes flawed.

It will affect you. By the time you have read up until this part of our message, give or take a minute, one person has been diagnosed with autism. One more person added to the millions of people across the world that has been diagnosed with autism. And that’s only the ones that have been officially diagnosed. A lot are still waiting diagnoses, or have been misdiagnosed. But that’s a whole other story. With the numbers rising each and every single day, chances are you will know at least one person with autism in your lifetime. And we promise you, it will change who you are, the type of person you will become, for either the good, or the bad. Again, your choice.

While we can’t make you listen, we will still have something to say.

We invite you to follow our blogs as we share our lives and experiences as people who love someone with autism.

Awareness is not enough.

We (The Autism Community) need for you to know what Autism is.

We can only achieve that through Autism Understanding and Acceptance.

Awareness of autism has risen dramatically in the past few years, and awareness is certainly a good place to start. Increased awareness has helped parents get earlier diagnoses for their children, and it has helped secure funding for research. However, it hasn’t done much to change public perception of what autism really is.

This is a call out to the world to understand the people and the disorder.
This is a call out to the world to accept the people and the disorder.

You can not understand or accept the people until you understand and accept the Autism they have.

Autism is a part of who they are.

The media has focused almost entirely on children with autism – but children grow up. In a society where one in 110 children is diagnosed with autism (the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control), no one can afford to ignore the significance of this disability. People with autism are children, teenagers, adults, men, women, scientists, programmers, engineers, unemployed, in care homes … too many of them continue to be bullied, to be judged, or to just be ignored.

Each person is unique. Each person has their own unique set of strengths and weaknesses just like you or I.

The charities, the organizations, the groups, the parents, the people with Autism themselves... we ask you... no, we need you to know what Autism really is.

Today, and everyday, we ask for your Autism Understanding and Acceptance.