18 June 2017: Autistic Pride Day

Autistic Pride Day is celebrated annually on 18 June. This observance celebrates neurodiversity of people and recognizes that autistic people have a unique set of characteristics.

Autism is not a disability, but a condition that requires treatment.

Events are conducted around the world to persuade neurotypicals, people not on the autism spectrum, that autistic people are unique individuals who should not be seen as cases for treatment.

Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies for Freedom, and it quickly became a global event which is still celebrated widely online. According to Kabie Brook, the co-founder of Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH), “the most important thing to note about the day is that it is an autistic community event: it originated from and is still led by autistic people ourselves. The rainbow infinity symbol is used as the symbol of this day, representing “diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities.”

Although autism is an expression of neurodiversity, some people promoting autistic pride believe that some of the difficulties that they experience are as the result of societal issues. For instance, according to Gareth Nelson, campaigns to gain funding for autism related organizations promote feelings of pity. Researchers and autistic activists have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from the notion that autism is a deviation from the norm that must be treated or cured, and towards the view that autism is a difference rather than a disability.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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