By: Cristina Martínez
M.B.A, M.S, BCBA, LBA
Coauthor: Ariadna Martin,
MS
Light It Up Blue
A few days ago, I was reading an article about Paula C. Durbin-Westby, a disability rights activist who has Autism Spectrum Disorder. She writes articles on her blog and other media and participates in speaking engagements on autism and disability rights. In 2011, Paula founded Autism Acceptance Day and Month **
When we approach Autism and its meaning, and it is discussed from the perspective of an autistic person, we always discover a more genuine, more real dimension of the matter... that is why I think it is worthwhile to take up some of her reflections.
Paula insists on not romanticizing acceptance or awareness, but to assume that diversity is part of our existence, that "normality" is an absurd term and that every individual that inhabits this planet has the right to live a story of success.
She comments:
“Acceptance does not mean "I accept you, but I don't accept your autism", but rather supporting our neurodiversity, focusing efforts on offering assistance and services adapted to the needs of people with autism and opposing projects focused on finding cures.”
“Acceptance should not have limits imposed on it by people who do not have autism. Although there is no real method to avoid "misuse" of the original meaning that the words "autism" and "acceptance" have together, people who promote such an idea of acceptance of autism can be true to their original meaning simply by listening to people with autism.”
And continues with concrete examples in order to move forward in terms of autism acceptance:
The world should…
- “Pay experts with autism for their participation commensurate with the fees paid to experts who don’t have autism (…). Expand the ways in which we can contribute. It is not enough that we are asked to explain our inspirational story and that's it.”
- “Rely on the input of people with autism when it comes to developing ideas and projects for them. We have a lot of real contributions to make in the area of consulting, development and implementation of initiatives.”
- “Make autism acceptance not just limited to the month of April, but an inherent part of everyone's lives, both people with autism and people without autism, (…) we must all work towards a reality that fully accepts all people with autism and other disabilities.”
Diversity is the real normality of the society in which we live. Abandoning the self-centered mentality of those who do not understand difference is fundamental to building a truly inclusive world of rights. And to those who still don't understand it, let's light it up blue.
** Paula initiated the movement known as Autism Acceptance. Unlike previous awareness campaigns, which often focused on “awareness” and sometimes perpetuated negative stereotypes, Paula chose the path of acceptance. She felt that awareness campaigns had become repetitive and often missed the mark. Acceptance, on the other hand, emphasized understanding, empathy, and embracing neurodiversity.
