Acceptance Means Action: Celebrating Neurodiversity

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What is Autism Acceptance Month

What is Autism?

What Autism Support Services Does Easterseals Offer?

Why is Early Intervention Important?

Autism Myths vs. Truths

How Can I Take Action Towards Autism Acceptance?

What is Autism Acceptance Month?

Since the 1970’s, April has been a time to recognize and support people on the autism spectrum. What began as a call for awareness has evolved into something even more meaningful: acceptance. 

Paula C. Durbin-Westby, the founder of Autism Acceptance Month shares why this shift from awareness to acceptance was critical in an interview with AssistiveWare, “Acceptance is: pro-neurodiversity, a focus on supports and services tailored to the needs of the Autistic individual, rejection of cure-oriented projects.”

What is Autism?

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is defined as a developmental disorder that affects communication, behavior, and social interaction. Symptoms can vary widely but often include challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and difficulties in speech and nonverbal communication.

Autism is a spectrum, and presents differently in every individual, with a variety of skills strengths, as well as varying needs of support.

What Autism Support Services Does Easterseals Offer?

Across our programs, we support people on the autism spectrum through, employment support, early childhood education and care, Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy, summer camp experiences, and enriching adult day services. 

At Easterseals Olympic Peninsula Autism Center, we serve children on the autism spectrum through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA therapy is a way of helping people learn new skills and improve behavior by focusing on understanding what causes the behaviors to occur and what happens after they occur. That knowledge is used to teach new behaviors and reduce conduct that may be harmful or disruptive to the individual’s life, by breaking big skills into smaller, more manageable skills, using reinforcement to encourage new behaviors, and practicing the skills in a structured and supportive way until the individual is able to do it on their own.

When people hear ‘ABA therapy’, I wish they understood that the goal of ABA is not to mold the individual’s behavior into societal standards of behavior, but to teach and empower the individual to get their wants and needs met via functional communication, decrease unsafe behavior and/or behavior that interfere with their life (not because it is inconvenient or ‘annoying’ to others), and empower an individual via independence.  

-Lexi A., BCBA, Olympic Peninsula Autism Center

I was 6 months into working at OPAC and I began working with a client who was minimally vocal, engaged in severe self-injury, tantrums, and aggression, and had the most adorable smile and infectious giggle.They were participants for 11 years, and I got the honor of being with them for the entire journey. I cheered as they learned to write and then type their name and cried tears of joy when I saw them cut their cheese sandwich in half independently for the first time. This client is now an adult and doing what their parents were scared to dream was possible when they first started with ESW. They are happy and thriving and living in an assisted living facility, in an apartment with roommates... I’m so incredibly proud of all of the work from everyone involved that went into helping them live their best life. 

-Allison R., BCBA, Olympic Peninsula Autism Center

Why is Early Intervention Important?

Early intervention helps infants, toddlers, and young children with developmental delays or other disabilities achieve cognitive, social, emotional, communicative, and physical development.

When support is received early in development, communication skills improve, frustration decreases, and families can understand each other more deeply. "There is more confidence, more connection, and more hope. Watching that transformation is one of the greatest joys of this work," Maria, BCBA at Olympic Peninsula Autism Center shares. 

Autism Myths vs. Truths

Myth: They don’t look autistic, therefore, they must not be.

Truth: There is no way to ‘tell’ if someone is on the spectrum just by looking at them, this thought process can be really harmful to individuals, especially those that present with subtler traits, such as girls and women.

Myth: Vaccines cause autism

Truth: There is no scientific evidence to support a link between vaccines and autism. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate this claim, and all have found no connection between vaccination and the development of autism. 

For more information please check out the Easterseals FAQ on Autism & Vaccines

Myth: Autism is solely a male condition

Truth: Autism affects individuals of all genders, not just males. 

Myth: Individuals with autism are anti-social

Truth: Autistic individuals may socialize differently, but this does not mean they are anti-social.

How Can I Take Action Towards Autism Acceptance?

Here are some powerful ways that families, educators, and community members can better support autistic individuals:

• Make an effort to include them, even if it may seem like they don’t want to be included
• Invite them to social events and make an effort to get to know and learn more about them
• Be flexible and understanding that they might have a different way of doing something. Just because it’s not the way you would do it, doesn’t mean it’s ‘wrong’