Autism Acceptance Month Advocacy Campaign & Photo Narrative
Written April 2017
Advocate autistic voices
Advocate acceptance
Advocate autistic love
Advocate for your autistic self
Advocate autistic opinions
Advocate inclusion
I'm an ADHD parent to an Black Autistic Child. He's a minority within a minority which means he'll be under attack for all the things that make him unique. For all the things ignorant folks won't accept and refuse to understand.
I simply want to share the genuine happiness Knox expresses everyday and my dream is that one day he'll be able to turn the camera on himself and capture his everyday journey.
I do not consider Knox a prisoner of what he can't do, his expressive language is unique in that his entire day is a narrated script from his favorite stories and songs. He relies upon scripts to make communicating easier. Knox often repeats phrases to himself in a singsong voice to concentrate and for sheer enjoyment.
He began reading at 2 years old and now he literally uses the stories of Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, Mercer Mayer, Mo Willems, to cope with everyday life skills. We incorporate those special interest into the learning process, functional play and therapy activities. This works for him so therefore it works for us.
I'm not going to advocate for a cure - Knox is not unwell. He does not have a disease. He is not a BURDEN. He is not in a prison of autism. He is autistic, its not a illness, it is the way he is, the way he experiences the world. It is my privilege and honor as a parent to advocate for him as long as he'll need me to. To make sure he’s understood and appreciated. It's my job to expose and encourage him become an advocate for himself and seek other autistic voices to show him he's perfect just the way he is.
As much as autism awareness is essential for everyone autism acceptance is even more important to #actuallyautistic people.
They deserve the right to be heard in their own voice (speaking or non speaking). Autistic voices should be included not excluded in any public discourse on autism! I encourage all to spend April listening to the actual autistic community. Advocate acceptance!
I hope the autistic community can appreciate my advocacy campaign!
To find out more on Autism Advocacy visit one of our favorite resource pages : https://autisticadvocacy.org/
Autistic Self Advocacy Network - Nothing About Us Without Us
