Awareness of Autism
Promoting awareness can help people understand what autism is,
how it affects people and appreciate that this is a condition
that many people have. If everyone knew the symptoms, the
behaviors and the way it affects others then autistic people
would be treated according to who they are and how they think.
As long as there are people that don't understand autism, there
are still people that stare at autistic people as if they are
strange or don't understand why parents are taking care of their
children in a certain way.
But awareness is not just about teaching the public about what
autism is, it is also for people that don't recognise symptom
behaviors in their children. It is for people that have autistic
children but don't know all the facts or techniques available.
It is for governments to be reminded there is a large population
who have needs that should be respected. It is for schools and
teachers to understand how autistic people think and feel so
that they can talk to them and teach them in a way they can
understand.
And Remember...
The more people are reminded that autism is around then we will
see more things like child friendly places where autistic
children are welcome, special foods that are sold on the
supermarket shelves for autistic children that are on special
diets or schools that have special needs teachers.
How to Promote Awareness - There are many ways to promote autism
awareness in which you can help spread understanding without it
seemingly as if you are preaching.
Display your support - Currently there are several products that
you can buy that let you show your support. These are things
like wristbands, and autism pins or ribbons.
Events - The autistic groups and societies are the best places
to go to see the local events that are happening in your area.
Donate to your national society - The national autistic
societies in your country are on the front line of medical
research, government legislation and so on. Their role is to
represent the entire population of autistic people. For this
reason, donating to your national society groups goes a long way
to advancing research and development and making sure the
governments and all the small government organisations keep
autistic people in mind.
Donate to your local support group - You can donate to your
local group or your national society. Donating to your local
group is a great way to give to the local autism community. It
helps them with raising funds to organise forums, meetings and
events. Helping these groups grow provides a local community of
people that all understand what other parents and carers are
going through.
Talk to people - Also, you can simply talk to people and ask
them what they know and tell them what you know. The community
works in a similar way to many other minority groups, the more
people that are supporting the drive for awareness and
recognition, the more people will take notice and accept their
views.