In 2007, the United Nations (UN) called for one day each year to be designated as World Autism Day (which is April 2nd), and assigned the month of April as Autism Awareness Month. As we continue to learn and grow as a community, it's important to acknowledge that "awareness" may not be the best phrasing for this important month. We are aware that autism exists. "Acceptance" can also be deemed as too "othering"; our autistic friends shouldn't have to revolve their existence to being accepted. Rather, the focus should be on the appreciation and respect that is more than deserved.
Understanding and learning the importance of the language and symbolism used around autism is a great way to begin.
As our understanding of autism has evolved, we’ve learned that it’s a spectrum of completely different needs and experiences for each autistic individual. Dr. Stephen Shore, a professor of Special Education who is autistic himself, once said “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met ONE person with autism.”
Autism is an infinite number of people presenting an endless number of different lived experiences. And as of 2022, an estimated 15-20% of the world's population exhibits some form of neurodivergence, which equates to about 5.5 million people in the United States. The more we all learn, the better!
Please take time this month to explore the resources below.
Understanding and learning the importance of the language and symbolism used around autism is a great way to begin.
As our understanding of autism has evolved, we’ve learned that it’s a spectrum of completely different needs and experiences for each autistic individual. Dr. Stephen Shore, a professor of Special Education who is autistic himself, once said “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met ONE person with autism.”
Autism is an infinite number of people presenting an endless number of different lived experiences. And as of 2022, an estimated 15-20% of the world's population exhibits some form of neurodivergence, which equates to about 5.5 million people in the United States. The more we all learn, the better!
Please take time this month to explore the resources below.
What to Watch
• Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood
On April 5, 2021 Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood welcomed a new character, a young boy named Max, who has Autism.
Max is Teacher Harriet's nephew, and like many kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder, he is sensitive to overwhelming stimuli like loud sounds, bright flashing lights and uncomfortable fabrics. Daniel Tiger and his friends will learn what they can do to help make situations calmer so Max can play, too.
Max is voiced by Israel Thomas-Bruce, a 13-year- old eighth-grader who was diagnosed with ASD when he was 4. Israel is an active, smart and ambitious teenager who is very social and loves to tell jokes, play basketball and video games and hang out with his friends.
On April 5, 2021 Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood welcomed a new character, a young boy named Max, who has Autism.
Max is Teacher Harriet's nephew, and like many kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder, he is sensitive to overwhelming stimuli like loud sounds, bright flashing lights and uncomfortable fabrics. Daniel Tiger and his friends will learn what they can do to help make situations calmer so Max can play, too.
Max is voiced by Israel Thomas-Bruce, a 13-year- old eighth-grader who was diagnosed with ASD when he was 4. Israel is an active, smart and ambitious teenager who is very social and loves to tell jokes, play basketball and video games and hang out with his friends.
• Sesame Street: Meet Julia
Meet Julia, an old buddy of Elmo’s and the newest friend on Sesame Street. Julia is autistic, and she and Elmo share an amazing friendship.
(full episode available here: YouTube)
• Loop on Disney+
This Disney/Pixar Spark Short gives audiences the company’s first non-verbal autistic leading lady.
In a world where disability is often presented in the simplest ways possible, “Loop” takes the idea of miscommunication and let's the audience confront everything from ableism to the need for human connection, in a nine-minute short.
This Disney/Pixar Spark Short gives audiences the company’s first non-verbal autistic leading lady.
In a world where disability is often presented in the simplest ways possible, “Loop” takes the idea of miscommunication and let's the audience confront everything from ableism to the need for human connection, in a nine-minute short.
• The Reason I Jump
Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.
(Available to rent/purchase on iTunes and GooglePlay)
Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.
(Available to rent/purchase on iTunes and GooglePlay)
What to Read
• Daniel and Max Play Together
Daniel Tiger meets an autistic boy named Max in this 8x8 storybook that celebrates inclusivity and people's differences! Daniel has a new friend at school! His name is Max, and he loves buses and bugs. Max is autistic, so sometimes he needs different things than Daniel. Max and Daniel might be different in some ways, but they always have fun playing together!
Daniel Tiger meets an autistic boy named Max in this 8x8 storybook that celebrates inclusivity and people's differences! Daniel has a new friend at school! His name is Max, and he loves buses and bugs. Max is autistic, so sometimes he needs different things than Daniel. Max and Daniel might be different in some ways, but they always have fun playing together!
•The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism
The thirteen-year-old author of this book invites you, his reader, to imagine a daily life in which your faculty of speech is taken away. Explaining that you’re hungry, or tired, or in pain, is now as beyond your powers as a chat with a friend. I’d like to push the thought-experiment a little further. Now imagine that after you lose your ability to communicate, the editor-in-residence who orders your thoughts walks out without notice. The chances are that you never knew this mind-editor existed, but now that he or she has gone, you realize too late how the editor allowed your mind to function for all these years. A dam-burst of ideas, memories, impulses and thoughts is cascading over you, unstoppably. Your editor controlled this flow, diverting the vast majority away, and recommending just a tiny number for your conscious consideration.
But now you’re on your own.
The thirteen-year-old author of this book invites you, his reader, to imagine a daily life in which your faculty of speech is taken away. Explaining that you’re hungry, or tired, or in pain, is now as beyond your powers as a chat with a friend. I’d like to push the thought-experiment a little further. Now imagine that after you lose your ability to communicate, the editor-in-residence who orders your thoughts walks out without notice. The chances are that you never knew this mind-editor existed, but now that he or she has gone, you realize too late how the editor allowed your mind to function for all these years. A dam-burst of ideas, memories, impulses and thoughts is cascading over you, unstoppably. Your editor controlled this flow, diverting the vast majority away, and recommending just a tiny number for your conscious consideration.
But now you’re on your own.
•Uniquely Human: Updated and Expanded: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Dr. Barry M. Prizant
Autism is not an illness. It’s a different way of being human. Autistic children and adults progress through developmental stages as we all do. To help them, we don’t need to “fix” them. We need to understand them and then change ourselves — our beliefs, attitudes, and actions.
Autism is not an illness. It’s a different way of being human. Autistic children and adults progress through developmental stages as we all do. To help them, we don’t need to “fix” them. We need to understand them and then change ourselves — our beliefs, attitudes, and actions.
What to Listen To
Uniquely Human: The Podcast is hosted by Barry M. Prizant, PHD author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism, and co-hosted by Dave Finch, author of The Journal of Best Practices which marks his personal journey to an Autism Diagnosis as an adult.
Noteworthy episodes:
synopsis: Barry and Dave share important insights into the benefits of stimming as we reframe this classic behavior for parents, educators and clinicians.
synopsis: Barry and Dave examine the potentially damaging dichotomy of so-called “high-functioning” and “low-functioning” autistic individuals. The hosts make a compelling case for eliminating these terms from our conversations about autism and autistic people.
synopsis: Challenges in emotional regulation, and appropriate supports and plans to address those challenges are among the most important aspects of the autistic experience. Barry and Dave discuss critical issues in emotional regulation, and levels of support appropriate for persons of different abilities.••
Noteworthy episodes:
- Episode 2: Stimming Rocks! Why This Classic Behavior is So Important:
synopsis: Barry and Dave share important insights into the benefits of stimming as we reframe this classic behavior for parents, educators and clinicians.
- Episode 5: The Harmful Myth of High-Functioning and Low-Functioning Autism:
synopsis: Barry and Dave examine the potentially damaging dichotomy of so-called “high-functioning” and “low-functioning” autistic individuals. The hosts make a compelling case for eliminating these terms from our conversations about autism and autistic people.
- Episode 23: Emotional Regulation: A Key to Understanding the Autistic Experience:
synopsis: Challenges in emotional regulation, and appropriate supports and plans to address those challenges are among the most important aspects of the autistic experience. Barry and Dave discuss critical issues in emotional regulation, and levels of support appropriate for persons of different abilities.••