From our Team:
Oh hey ~ it's May.
Dim the light...close the curtain...pack up the props and the posterboard and the donation jars.
April is over. Autism is over.
???
I know...I know...you're thinking "Wait, weren't they just complaining about April and all the emphasis on autism all month long? Shouldn't they be glad it's over?". So much YES and so much NO, all wrapped up in the ongoing and exhausting life-work of true advocacy.
April is a harsh spotlight on all the things that don't work the way they are intended. It uncovers the dirt and grime of for-profit agencies, the victim/saint/saviour narrative of the "warrior mom/dad", and the drowning out of actually-autistic voices. It serves as the shady producer that allows all the actors in our lives to ask intrusive questions and make inappropriate (and usually false) generalizations about autistics, and pay lip service to our asks and truths. It is the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on, without first cleansing the wound and applying an antibiotic to kill the infection.
April is hard.
We tire of the same old rigamarole: the money grab, the empty promises, the good intentions, and the dismissal. We tire of the obligations to teach: both the obligatory, implied social one, and the self-inflicted one that we steel ourselves for, brushing aside our discomfort and disgust.
April is hard.
Our very existence is turned into a month-long meme. A series of feel-good stories to force-feed guilt and open wallets. Our diagnosis is weaponized, in the hands of the public, and our words turned against us as "proof" of our difference...our deficiency. Organizations spend huge budget dollars making our personal struggles into fodder for the public, using our very private challenges to increase their bankroll. We're put on display at "autism-friendly events" where volunteer hours coincide with photo "opportunities" where our unique communication is assumed as permission.
April is hard.
When we are lumped into a caricature...
When we are reduced to a stereotype...
When we are feared or pitied as an epidemic...
April is hard.
But so is May...and the months that follow, until April looms on the horizon once more.
Because May 1st - the day after April - the day after Autism Awareness Month- is when the real work begins. May 1st is when, if we're lucky, our message gets through the static that April created. May 1st is when the bright, shiny distractions of awareness are boxed up and our words and art and expression have the tiniest chance of finding space on the playing field.
It's May, and autism is still here.
It's May, and autistics are still here.
It's May, and we're asking the same questions.
Do you hear us?
Do you see us?
Will you be our allies?
Will you help us work toward an April 2023 that doesn't damage our community?
Will you help us spread our expert knowledge/experience/advice so that the autistics that come after us will be better equipped?
It's May. We're waiting and watching and listening. We're hoping you learned something.
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