Autistic Pride Day
Autistic Pride Day is a pride celebration for autistic people held on June 18 each year.[1][2] Autistic pride recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.
Although Autistic Pride Day is June 18th, pride events are often held on the weekend of that year for logistical reasons, but can be held at any time during the year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical events impossible, autistic advocates collaborated under the Autistic Pride Alliance to create an Autistic Pride Online Celebration which hosted speakers from four continents.
Origins
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Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies for Freedom, with June 18th picked because it was the birthday of the youngest member of the group at that time.[4] AFF modelled the celebration on the gay pride movement.[5] According to Kabie Brook, the co-founder of Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH), "the most important thing to note about the day is that it is an autistic community event: it originated from and is still led by autistic people ourselves", i.e. it is not a day for other charities or organisations to promote themselves or stifle autistic people. The rainbow infinity symbol is used as the symbol of this day, representing "diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities".[2] New Scientist magazine released an article entitled "Autistic and proud" on the first Autistic Pride Day that discussed the idea.[6]
Organisations around the world celebrate Autistic Pride Day, with events around the world, to connect with one another through autistic events and demonstrate to allistic people (those not on the autism spectrum) that autistic people are unique individuals who should not be seen as cases for treatment.[1] Writing for the Houston Press, Jef Rouner recommended five songs for Autistic Pride Day that celebrate difference and were written by autistic people.[7]
Autistic pride points out that autistic people have always been an important part of human culture. Being autistic is a form of neurodiversity. As with all forms of neurodiversity, most of the challenges autistic people face come from other people's attitudes about autism and a lack of supports and accommodations (ableism), rather than being essential to the autistic condition. For instance, according to Larry Arnold and Gareth Nelson, many autism-related organizations promote feelings of pity for parents, rather than fostering understanding.[5][8] Autistic activists have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from the notion that autism is a deviation from the norm that must be treated or cured. Autistic self-advocacy organizations, which are led and run by autistics, are a key force in the movement for autistic acceptance and autistic pride.[9]
Joseph Redford, an organiser for London Autistic Pride, stated in a speech that the concept of autistic pride is not about a single day or event:
For individuals, Autistic Pride doesn’t necessarily need to take the form of public events. The organiser of Inverness Autistic Pride, Kabie Brook, told me that she celebrated Autistic Pride day by taking a walk in the park with her family. And enjoying herself.
Openly stimming, or vocalising or expressing yourself in your own body language is an example of Autistic Pride in Action.
Standing up and passionately defending your own truth, regardless of convention or tone, or social dynamics even if it goes completely against the grain, or others consider it minor or pedantic, is Autistic Pride in Action.
Seeking knowledge according to your own logic is Autistic Pride in Action.
Completely breaking social rules, if it doesn’t cause harm, is Autistic Pride in Action.
Demanding to be treated with the same respect and dignity as others is Autistic Pride in Action.
Walking away from something if you can’t handle it is Autistic Pride in Action.[4]
As autistic pride has continue to develop, autistic advocates have become increasingly professionalised, with Autistic Pride Reading incorporating as a charity in 2018, and holding a pride event which attracted over 700 people.[10][11]
Themes
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- 2005 - Acceptance not cure — Aspies for Freedom held an online event on their internet forum.[4]
- 2006 - Celebrate Neurodiversity — main events of 2006 were an Autistic Pride Summer Camp in Germany and an event at the Scienceworks Museum in Melbourne, Australia.
- 2007 - Autistics Speak. It's time to listen
- 2008 - No theme
- 2009 - No theme
- 2010 - Perspectives, not fear
- 2011 - Recognize, Respect, Include
- 2012 - No theme - main event of 2012 was in Herzliya Park, in Israel.
- 2013 - No theme - main event of 2013 was in Sacher Park, in Jerusalem, Israel.
- 2015 - No theme - main events were in Reading, UK, Hyde Park in London, UK, and Haifa, Israel. Autistic Pride Reading was opened by the mayor.[12]
- 2016 - No theme - main events were in Reading, UK, Hyde Park in London, UK, Manchester UK, and Ramat HaSharon, Israel, Nebraska.
- 2017 - No theme - main events were in Hyde Park, London, U.K., Reading U.K., Manchester U.K. and Modiin, Israel, and Nebraska.
- 2018 - No theme - Pride events were held in sixteen locations across the UK,[4] as well as in Manchester, U.K., Reading, U.K., Israel and Nebraska.
- 2019 - No theme - pride events were held across Europe, and in the United States, Israel, and Brazil.[13]
- 2020 - No theme - Events held in Galway, Ennis and Dublin, Ireland. The Autistic Pride Alliance collaborated to produce a Autistic Pride Online Celebration event with speakers from the UK, Ireland, France, the United States, and Canada.[14][15][16]
See also
- Autism rights movement
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) - seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement in the world of autism.
- List of autism-related topics
- Neurodiversity
- World Autism Awareness Day
References
- ^ a b "Playlist: All across the autism spectrum". New York: ted.com. June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
- ^ a b "Autistic Pride Day celebrated on June 18". The Scottish Strategy for Autism. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ White, Barrett (August 17, 2016). "A Tale of Two Closets: Twainbow Aids The LGBT+ and Autistic Communities". OutSmart Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Redford, Joseph, "London Autistic Pride 2019", text of speech given at London Autistic Pride in July 2019.
- ^ a b Saner E (2007-08-07). "It is not a disease, it is a way of life". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ Trivedi, Bijal (18 June 2005). "Autistic and proud of it". New Scientist. London. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ^ Rouner, Jef (18 June 2012). "5 Songs for Autistic Pride Day". Houston Press. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ Shapiro, Joseph (June 26, 2006). "Autism Movement Seeks Acceptance, Not Cures". NPR. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
- ^ Baron-Cohen S (2000). "Is Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism necessarily a disability?". Dev Psychopathol. 12 (3): 489–500. doi:10.1017/S0954579400003126. PMID 11014749.
- ^ Reading Chronicle, "MBE recipient will give talk at autism event", 1st June, 2018. Accessed 17th January, 2021.
- ^ Autistic Pride Reading, "1st Annual Newsletter December 2018", 4th December 2018. Accessed 17th January, 2021.
- ^ Fort, Linda, "Reading's first Autistic Pride event in Prospect Park", 12th June, 2015. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
- ^ Autistic Pride Events 2019 (Google Map))
- ^ Munro, Chris, Autistic Pride Aberdeen goes online for third annual event, Evening Express, 18th June, 2020. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
- ^ Wishart, Emma, Autistic Pride – Undaunted by Lockdown, Pembrokeshire Online, 15th June, 2020. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
- ^ Lynam, Ian, Autistic Pride in Ireland, As I Am, 18th June, 2020. Accessed January 17th, 2021.
External links
- Controversial New Movement: Autistic and Proud - Good Morning America - ABC June 10, 2008
- Autism Acceptance blog
- Autistic Pride - General resource on community events
