Good Morning! Here’s the Monday Morning Blog?
Have you reached out to that teen in your life? Our young adults were helping with log splitting and stacking this weekend. We are getting wood ready to dry out over the summer, so we are ready for next year’s fireplace fires in our home. Some of it will make its way to our summer cabin up north too!
April is Autism Awareness Month I’ll be focusing the posts this month on Autism not only to raise awareness about what Autism is, but also what we can do to accept those who have this disorder.
Like I mentioned last week, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has been referring to April as Autism Acceptance Month in an effort to gain acceptance of those who have Autism. Acceptance is one of the biggest barriers to finding and building support systems for autistic individuals. So, what can we do to accept people with autism?
Acceptance Acceptance is the act of understanding and including something or someone. How can we practice acceptance?
- Nix judgement – see people for who they are not what they are
- Acknowledge always – acknowledge other people by saying hello and making eye contact
- Always give the benefit of the doubt – find the good in other people
What is Autism? Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others. It is also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Challenges with this disorder vary greatly and no two individuals who have it are the same. There is no cure for ASD. People who have autism come to accept who they are and the people who support them accept them for who they are. According to an article about Accepting your Autism on WikiHow.com, learning about the disorder can lead to awareness and acceptance. Some of the traits of this disorder are;
- Having deeply passionate interests which can develop into expertise in a certain area. This can lead to successful careers and hobbies. In the book House Rules I reviewed last week, Jacob Hunt’s expertise was forensic science and he loved to solve crimes.
- Helpfulness – Autistic people have a high sense of social responsibility and like to help others and solve problems. Jacob Hunt wanted to help the police solve crimes. He had a police scanner and would show up at crime scenes to help.
- Precision – Autistic People tend to focus on the small parts and not the big picture. This can make them very detail oriented. Jacob Hunt would focus on the details when he would recreate crime scenes for his mom to try and solve.
If we practice acceptance by using the three steps I mentioned above and we take the time to understand what makes people with autism different from us, we can become aware of what they have and start accepting who they are.
Awareness and Acceptance Being aware of something is a good starting point. Acceptance is an action taken on that awareness. Here’s what we can do to start accepting not only autistic people, but others who are different from us.
Ask questions about the disorder which will lead to understanding what it is. Understanding what it is all about will help us not be afraid of it. Tell a friend and share your understanding with them. Reach out and include those with autism and those who are different from you. Show your support by recognizing Autism Acceptance Month. And, make a difference, be a role model for others to be aware of what autism is and accept those who have the disorder.
What are you going to do? What are you going to do to accept autism? If you took the time to read this post, you now have yourself educated a little bit about what autism is. You understand that people with autism may be different from you, but if you are able to take time to understand them, you can also work towards accepting them and others who are different from you. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Hard Way turns 4 today!
My first book, The Hard Way, was published four years ago today. to celebrate this milestone, I am having a $.99 eBook sale through Amazon.com on April 23-25, 2021. Be sure to pick up a copy so you will be ready to read book two. The announcement of the publication date will be coming soon. So, stay tuned.
If you can’t wait for the sale and are looking to get your copy now, here is a link to my books tab The Hard Way.
Have a great week!
