I saw the signs all over campus the weekend before. They said to wear blue Monday, April 4th for Autism Awareness Day, all printed over a cute little puzzle piece. Looking at them, and knowing what I know about autism, I knew I had to write this article.
That Monday, the day I started writing this article, I did not wear a speck of blue. Well, save for the blue on the lanyard where I keep my room key and student ID, but it wasn't worth it to switch out. I doubt people noticed me not-wearing blue, but I definitely noticed a few people, most notably my RA, dressed entirely in blue; they were probably members of the Action for Autism club on campus sponsoring this whole affair.
But why are you doing this, you ask. Don't you want to help the poor children with autism who can't speak or care for themselves? Don't you want there to be a cure? Well, I say, if you already know all this information about people with autism, then Autism Awareness Day has done its job. Organizations like Autism Speaks, which sponsor events such as Autism Awareness Day, spends a whole lot of time and energy making people aware of autism.
Would you like me to make you aware of something?
I have autism.
Officially, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome back when I was 8, but they've recently lumped that in with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Still, it's always been autism nonetheless. Back when I was diagnosed, I was completely detached from the real world and social relationships, to the bane of all my peers. I had been formally kicked out of the private elementary school where I was attending at the time, I was that bad. My parents were told I wouldn't be able to finish high school.
But here I am. After years of therapy and aides, I am attending a fairly good university and doing quite well with my classes(apparently you aren't supposed to get a 4.0 in college?). I can feed myself, get dressed, and be hygienic on par with most college students. The only real problem my condition has given me is less of a social life than I want, but I can work through and around that. I have never thought of the way my brain works as "broken" or "different". I don't know how other people's brains work/think: I'm not telepathic. I probably wouldn't take up an offer to be "normal": for me, this is normal. I'm about as aware of autism as you probably are of your conciousness.
A few other things to be aware of: I think it's a little odd for an organization claiming to speak for people with autism to have more corporate representatives on their board of directors than autistic ones. I'm also not fond of the words they put in its mouth. There are many other people with autism who disagree with Autism Speaks' policies and actions; a quick Google search can show you that.
Well, now that that's over with, I can go back to wearing all my neat blue clothing without any unwanted connotations...wait, it's Autism Awareness MONTH all April? This is going to be fun.
