Autistic Pride Day 2020 - History, Significance, and everything you need to know

Just like people’s physical abilities, people’s mental abilities also vary. Autistic Pride Day is originally a freedom initiative and is a pride celebration for autistic people, held on June 18 every year. Autistic pride recognises importance of confidence and pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about a change in way people look at Autism in society. Read ahead-

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Autistic Pride Day- History and Significance

Aspies For Freedom (AFF) is a campaigning and solidarity group that aims at raising public awareness for  autism rights movement. goal of Aspies For Freedom is to educate people about fact that autism is t always a disability, and that re are advants as well as disadvants of having it. For this purpose, group organizes an annual Autistic Pride Day to be held on June 18. AFF provides support for autistic community and protects attempts to cure autism.

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In 2005, Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated by Aspies for Freedom and it soon became a global event that was being celebrated widely, offline and online. AFF modelled this celebration on gay pride movement. Kabie Brook, co-founder of Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH) said during an interview that, most important thing to te about day is that it is an autistic community event, it originated from and is still led by autistic people mselves. This means that it is t a day for or charities or organisations to promote mselves or stifle autistic people.  

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Autistic pride points towards fact that autistic people have always been an important part of human culture. Being autistic is a form of neurodiversity. As with all forms of neurological related issues, most of challenges autistic people face come from or people's attitudes about autism and a lack of supports and accommodations (ableism), rar than being essential to ir own autistic condition. Many autism-related organizations promote feelings of pity for parents, rar than fostering understanding Autistic activists have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from tion that autism is a deviation from rm that must be treated or cured. Autistic self-advocacy organizations, which are led and run by autistics, are a key force in movement for autistic acceptance and autistic pride

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