Day 15: Some Things Everyone Should Know About Autism

Everyone should know:

• Some of the #actuallyautistic community views their condition as a neurological variation - a difference that is neither a disease nor a disability - that is no different that the variations of eye or hair color. 
• Neurodiversity is an emerging term for the tolerance of this variation among some. Not all people have heard of it or agree with it.
• Autistic people have trouble learning social norms, or do not understand them, or even find them puzzlingly irrational.
• Autistic people can have intense interest and encyclopedic knowledge in some subjects, and can have laser-like focus and concentration. 
• Autistic people can excel at pattern recognition and anomaly detection. As such, they can make incredible quality-assurance testers, editors, or programmers.
• The #actuallyautistic community has an expression, "Nothing about us, without us," and many are advocating that they have a say about what is done for them. John Elder Robison - an author, inventor, and autistic - is a strong proponent of this. So are non-autistic people like author Jonathan Silberman ("Neurotribes"). 
• Some autistic people prefer "person first" language to describe them - they like to be called 'a person with autism'; they don't like to be defined by their condition, but speak of it as a part of them. Others prefer identity-first language, asking to be called 'autistic persons' as they feel autism is an intrinsic part of who they are. 
• Many #actuallyautistic persons strongly object to the anti-vaxxer movement because they believe they were born autistic, not made to be. They are fiercely proud of being autistic and resent the idea that they were poisoned or sickened by vaccines and, as a result, became autistic.
• While some autistic people are non-verbal, they can still think and communicate with assistive devices. Witness Carly Fleischmann's hilarious and flirty interviews with celebrities. 
• Many businesses are recognizing the talents of autistic people and hiring them for their skills - not just as a charitable action or community service - places such as Rising Tide Car Wash, The Precisionists, SAP, HP, Microsoft, E&Y, PWC, and other small businesses like Puzzles Bakery and Cafe, and Spectrum Works. You can see a list of many more business like this here. 
• Business can make themselves autism friendly by advertising as much on their hiring portal. This lets autistic people apply for the job unafraid...
• ...but businesses must work hard to change perceptions of autism, training staff and management to make reasonable accommodations to help the autistic hires. 
• Reasonable accommodations include such things as giving clear instructions, helping to manage change, and allowing the use of ear protection or earbuds to cut out distracting noise, changing lighting, or just allowing for different behaviors such as stimming. 
• A meltdown occurs when an autistic person experiences a sensory overload. It is NOT the same as a tantrum. A meltdown is a reaction to external stimuli, a tantrum is a learned behavior and an attempt to manipulate a situation. 
• If you see a child having a meltdown in public, be kind to the parents. They are often afraid to venture in public for just this reason - they fear and feel the glares of others who are well meaning but ignorantly think that the parent is bad. You can politely ignore the situation and walk away or offer to help. 
• Autism affects 1 in 68 children. 
• Autistic people are people and deserve to be treated as such, receiving the same courtesies, kindness and rights as anyone else. 
• Not every autistic person or their family likes Autism Speaks, the puzzle piece, or other iconography and charitable organizations.