Table of Diversity Weekly: Autism Acceptance Month

The first cohort of Infuse DEI is underway and one of the topics we discussed was Cultural Humility- the notion that we are on a journey of continuous improvement and learning, even about ourselves. As leaders, it is our responsibility to recognize when we need to learn, where to go to learn, and doing so in a timely manner. I'm practicing what I preach and hope that it inspires you, too!

When was the last time you updated your brain's library on the latest information about autism? I recently realized that the information I relied on to better understand autistic people was out of date and possibly harmful. Over the past decade, the mainstream information on autism has changed, in many ways, because the voices of those with autism have risen to the forefront.

My level of knowledge about people with autism is no where near 'expert' level. I don't have anyone in my immediate family or circle who has been diagnosed with autism, and because my knowledge is so out of date, I'm not sure if I've created the safest space for someone with autism to disclose that information to me. I also recognize that a huge number of people are undiagnosed, so the likelihood of me working alongside autistic people is high.

For the longest, my reservoir of information about autistic people has relied on the mainstream, medical description of autism where words like 'Aspergers', 'high functioning', 'anti-social', 'spectrum', and more have dominated. To properly update myself, I turned to the autistic community. Who better to learn from than those in the community who want to teach! In an effort to unlearn those harmful words, phrases, and concepts, and learn from people experiencing autism, this issue of A Healthy Dose of DEI is focusing on autism in 2023.

In addition to the articles, podcasts, and videos, I hope you take some time to review the image from @Autism_Sketches on Instagram. When I saw this image along with an informative post from @The Occuplaytional Therapist on Facebook, I knew I needed an update.

For subscribers- let's take a cue from this year's Autism Acceptance Month and go a step further in our learning. Let's focus on moving our team and colleagues towards acceptance through discussions, activities, and healthy challenges.

Read. Watch. Listen

It's Autism Acceptance Month! Here's what autistic advocates want you to know, and do.- USA Today

"Autism is a developmental disability that affects the way people experience the world. This may include differences in processing senses, thinking, physically moving, communicating, socializing and going about daily living.

'We're born autistic and we're autistic our whole lives,' says Zoe Gross, the director of advocacy at Autistic Self Advocacy Network. 'It affects everything about the way we interact with and perceive the world.'

Autism affects every autistic person differently, and there isn't one way to be autistic. Gross describes it as an ice cream sundae bar: rather than there being set characteristics, the traits of autism can be mixed and matched from person to person.

Here's what autism isn't, Gross says- something to be scared of or pity.

'In truth, autism is just a neutral fact about us, it's not necessarily a good or a bad things,' she says. 'It's just the way our brains are.'"

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I Am Autistic, Here's What I Wish You'd Do To Help My Day-To-Day Life- Huffington Post

"It's not hard to make some really meaningful tweaks that would improve the lives of a lot of autistic people.

And before you begin to wonder why this would ever be relevant to your life, consider that recent data suggests that at least 1 in 36 people are autistic, and that a huge number of people are undiagnosed, and autistic people suffer disproportionately from anxiety and depression in part due to how they are treated by non-autistic people.

So, what can you do to make the lives of autistic people better in your day to day life? Here's just a small selection of ideas."

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What is autism? An expert explains- CNN

"About a decade ago, the term 'autism spectrum disorder' was adopted to encompass everything that we called autism into one rubric. The intent was simply to describe the variability in how people with autism act and behave biomedically. There are some autistic individuals who just need accommodations and don't need treatment. There are other autistic individuals who need a lot of treatment. The spectrum was intended to include them all.

Over time, non-autistic people began referring to the spectrum in a linear fashion: high to low. That means some autistic individuals were categorized as 'high-functioning,' while others were categorized as 'low-functioning.' For many, the notion of a spectrum is now a loaded term. Many believe that instead of talking about autism in a linear fashion, we should talk about it as a wheel or pie, where each slice represents a different trait and every individual has different strengths and weaknesses."

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Autism Awareness or Acceptance Month

"April has historically been called Autism Awareness Month. But, now you might be hearing that it is now called Autism Acceptance Month. Why was that change made? Why is the puzzle piece now replaced with the infinity symbol? How has the definition of autism changed and how has the prevalence of autism increased over the past 20 years? In this episode, you will learn: autism awareness vs acceptance; what the puzzle piece is out and what symbol replaced it; history of the definition and diagnosis of autism; prevalence of autism over the past 23 years; identity-first vs person-first language."

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Autism Acceptance Month: Newly Diagnosed at Age Forty-Something

"It's common today for people to be diagnosed as neurodivergent as an adult, having survived childhood without the recognition or support that may have come along with a diagnosis. Our guest lived that experience. Carolyn Kiel is the host of the Beyond 6 Seconds podcast, and she joins Emily to talk about her life as an autistic woman. What are the hurdles and barriers to getting an autism diagnosis? Does a diagnosis even matter once you're an adult? How can looking back at your childhood from that new perspective change the way you think about the world?"

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What we can learn from people with autism

"Treating neurodivergent people as actual human beings benefits us all. As a late diagnosed Black woman on the autism spectrum, Chanel Matil Lodik shares 4 pieces of advice that will help you treat autistic people better and make life easier for you and those around you.

Chanel Matil Lodik is a mother, an autistic female, a girlfriend, an author, an entrepreneur and an educator who entertains and enlightens over 20,3 k Instagram followers on a daily base by just living her life and sharing her truth. Chanel shares her life as a Black, autistic woman and the struggles that she faces due to the way society treats Black people, disabled people and women. After expressing what she endures she always shows ways in which people could reflect on their own behaviour and how they can change for the better."

Watch Now

Weekly Activities

Activity 1: Leaders often rely on requests for accommodation before adjusting the workplace to meet the needs of neurodivergent employees.

Considering that 1 in 36 people have autism, and many of them go undiagnosed, how can you take a proactive approach to creating a physically and psychologically safe work environment?

The Job Accommodations Network (JAN) lists accommodation ideas for creating an inclusive workplace. What accommodations can you incorporate into your organization's day-to-day work environment that will be necessary for autistic people, but beneficial for everyone?

Activity 2: One of the biggest shifts in how people talk about the autistic community from describing the deficits associated autism to also recognizing the uniqueness of autism.

The host of The Autism Little Learners Podcast mentioned that this shift has had an unintended consequences- hiring professionals are seeking autistic people for very specific roles around data analytics or repetitive tasks. The generalization of the autistic community has pigeon-holed autistic people into these roles, which may or may not utilize their strengths.

If your organization has a recruitment, hiring, or retention strategy for autistic people, is the strategy rooted in the deficits or the positives? Have you, either intentionally or unintentionally, created a pipeline of autistic people into certain roles?

If your organization doesn't have a recruitment, hiring, or retention strategy for autistic people, this is the perfect time to consider it!