Autism Acceptance Month
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[Image description: Text that reads "Autism Acceptance Month: Acceptance is Action" next to multi-colored stars]
Thumbnail retrieved from here
Autism Acceptance in name originated in the mid 2000s. The Autism Acceptance Project started by Estée Klar popularized it. People began celebrating Autism Acceptance Month in the early 2010s. It is a counter to Autism Awareness Month. It was coined by Paula Durbin-Westby. Several colors also represent autism acceptance. They are protests to Light it Up Blue. Light it Up Blue is a campaign started by Autism Speaks. You can find out more about Autism Acceptance Month below.
Estée Klar started The Autism Acceptance Project (TAAP) in 2006. It featured many resources that were counter to what Autism Awareness campaigns had. Some of these resources included blog posts, videos, and art. They worked with Autism National Committee and Autistic Self Advocacy Network. The project has now moved to Dis Assembly. There is a video that mentions the project from CBC here.
#RedInstead
#RedInstead is a response to Autism Speaks' Light it Up Blue Campaign. Red was chosen for several reasons. One of them being that red is the opposite of blue. It was also chosen to represent love. There is plenty of content on the Red Instead hashtag on all social media. In 2015, a campaign known as #WalkInRed was started, where people would wear red to protest the blue.
Tone it Down Taupe is a parody of Light it Up Blue. The "tone down" part calling for a toning down of fear-based rhetoric. Instead of Autism Awareness, it is "Allism Bewareness". Allism meaning not being autistic. The project was started by Menelly Martin and Kassianne Asasumasu. It is symbolized by a taupe ribbon with googly eyes. This is because non-autistic people in Western cultures like to emphasize eye contact. Many autistic people prefer not to make eye contact. They gave several communication devices and apps to autistic adults who needed them.
Another color used for autism acceptance is gold. This is because the chemical symbol for gold is Au. The earliest instance of lighting it up gold that has been found was in the year 2014.