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In 2007, the United Nations marked 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day, highlighting the need to improve the lives of people on the autism spectrum. No doubt this is beneficial, but understanding of autism in the wider public has not risen comparative to diagnoses, leaving many Autistic people with a lack of required support.
After listening to the experiences of Autistic people, in 2022 Aspect boldly declared the day as World Autism Understanding Day, to foster greater acceptance of autism and Autistic people through education and better understanding.
To acknowledge the day, we are once again supporting you, our Autistic community, giving you a voice to share your experiences. But sharing alone isn’t enough. This year, Autistic staff, individuals and parents, as well as parents of Autistic children have told us what Actionable Change would make them feel more included, supported, empowered and understood.
Simple things a colleague or friend could say or do, such as:
“Be patient and kind, don’t judge me.”
“Don’t insist on eye contact.”
“Work with me to structure my day with the things that give me energy.”
“Ask me how you can support me or if I need assistance.”
“Our Autistic community have told us neuro-typical people often have pre-conceived notions of autism, and don’t know what to do or say if someone discloses they are Autistic,” states Jacqui Borland, CEO of Aspect.
In fact, Aspect research shows only 13 percent of Autistic people disclose their diagnosis for fear of how it will be received.
In the coming weeks, we will be providing downloadable resource materials. And on 23 March, we will be launching the World Autism Understanding Day 2024 (WAUD2024) campaign. Autistic advocates such as Michael Theo, Tim Dormer, Ben Taylor and Jean-Christophe Novelli will be sharing their experiences and suggestions for making the world more autism-friendly.
Last year’s campaign achieved great success, reaching more than 2.4 million Australians in just a few days, and was recognised nationally by the Australian Marketing Institute receiving two awards. But we need your help to reach even more people.
If you would like to support our campaign, either by sharing our stories on social media, reading the stories and watching the videos, educating staff or being a partner to spread the word even further, please go to www.aspect.org.au/waud to sign up.
And make sure to check back and help us celebrate World Autism Understanding Day on 2 April!
