A personal project to celebrate and educate people about autism. It is a subject that I care deeply about. I wish to help end the stigma around this very misunderstood condition. As I am neither a charity nor in anyway seeking to monetise this collection of designs I decided to place the educational message front and central and my message took a back seat.
Post 1 of 3: Intro
As some of you may know, April is #Autismawareness month. Mort of us will already have heard of autism but unfortunately that is usually where the awareness stops. Few people understand much about it and there is a lot of of stigma around the topic. I would like to take this opportunity to share what I know and sign post you to accounts run by people who understand the topic the most; autistic people.
Let’s start by explaining that the best way to learn about any issue is from people who have lived experience. There are many accounts on Instagram, Youtube, TikTok and all across the internet that are run by the Autistic community. They work hard to educate people on the subject. This of course doesn’t give anyone the right to go and bombard them with insensitive questions but it definitely does make it a lot easier to learn and become a better ally to the community.
The following accounts are ones that I follow and that I have found really helpful to learn more about the community. This is by no means an exhaustive list and I absolutely encourage you to comment any accounts you know of that people may find useful especially accounts in different languages that may be useful to our international community.
Make sure you check out on Instagram:
@lifeinautismworld
@the.autisticats
@actuallyautistictiktoks
@autism_sketches
@autism_unmasked
@adulting_with_autism_
@myautisticsoul
@theautisticlife
Post 2 of 3: Mythbusting
A couple of facts:
A large portion of the community has said that prefer the term of “Autistic Person” over “Person with Autism”. Of course it never hurts to ask and then use the term preferred by that individual.
The puzzlepiece symbol, the LightItUpBlue campaign and the Organisation Autism speaks are associated with some really horrible acts against the community and should be avoided. Use the #RedInstead hashtag to show your support.
If a person is non-verbal it means they don’t speak. This doesn’t mean they don’t understand, find ways to communicate with them that works for THEM.
People on the spectrum process the world in a different way from neurotypical people. They can sometimes get overwhelmed by things that don’t bother others, take these struggles seriously and ask what you can do to make the situation more manageable.
Hypo- and Hypersensitivity to certain stimuli can make certain things difficult or even painful to autistic people. This can for example mean noises or smells that you find unremarkable can be experienced as painful by a person on the spectrum.
The term "stimming" is short for self-stimulatory behavior. In a person with autism, stimming usually refers to specific behaviors that include hand-flapping, rocking, spinning, or repeating words and phrases.
Autism presents differently in different people, it is a part of their identity but by no means the only thing that defines them.
Post 3 of 3: Conclusion
This collection of illustrations is aimed at educating people on the fact that Autism is an invisible condition. People don’t “look” autistic and saying an autistic person doesn’t look it can be incredibly invalidating to them. I someone feels they want to share that bit of information with you, it is not helpful to invalidate their experiences. If you have an autistic person in your life treat them with the same kindness and respect that you give your neurotypical friends and family. Educate yourself to be a better friend or ally with the energy same you would cherish and support your friends of colour or your LGBTQ+ friends.
By learning and coming together as a community we will make this world and safer and more inclusive space.
For more of my work check out my Instagram and my other Behance Projects
Project Published on Instagram on April 2nd 2021
