Eaglehawk parishioner, Kobi Paine, sheds some light on why the world still needs World Autism Awareness Day. “Every day, autistic people battle with a stereotype; ingrained misconceptions about what Autism is and how it presents in people,” writes Kobi.
April 2 is International World Autism Awareness Day. Many wonder what the point of it is – isn’t most of the world aware already of autism? And yet, the day exists, mandated by the United Nations in 2007. For those who are autistic or are active in the community, there would be no question as to why this day exists. Every day, Autistic people battle with a stereotype; ingrained misconceptions about what Autism is and how it presents in people. For most of society, they think of Autism as a line with ‘Can Pass For Normal’ at one end, and ‘Very Much Not Normal’ at the other, with violence, social inadequacies and obsessiveness increasing the more a person gets to the ‘Very Much Not Normal’ end of the scale, along with other ‘characteristics’. But we do not exist on a line and never have. Some of us are better at understanding traditional social cues than others, some are more verbal, some are less. Some are in romantic relationships, some are not interested in them in the slightest. Some enjoy sensory experiences, some do all we can to avoid them. We vary just as much as those who are considered ‘normal’ – and the greater portion of humanity does not exist on a linear scale themselves of ‘Not Human’ to ‘Very Human’, so why should we?
Often, the violence people think of when they think of Autism is because the communication between autistic and those around them has failed, or because their nervous system has been overloaded with sensory information and they have been unable to decompress. It is not an inherent part of Autism, nor should it be expected. It is no different from when a baby cries – that is their way of communicating something, and for we Autistics, if we are ‘exploding’, it is because we have been unable to communicate any other way.
We get labelled as ‘violent’, ‘difficult children’, ‘challenging to employ’, ‘social outcasts’ and a whole host of other things. For me, I was never violent, nor was I difficult as a child – according to my mother, I was a delight to raise. While I can be somewhat awkward socially and on the fringes of a social group,
I have never been a ‘social outcast’ and, as far as I am aware, none of my employers have ever regretted hiring me. And yet here I am, Autistic. I frequently get the ‘No, you’re not!’ argument when people discover that I am autistic, as well as the ‘But you’re so normal!’ Yes, I am, and no, I am as far from what society considers ‘normal’ as you can get, but what I am is very, very, very good at pretending that I’m like everyone else. If I were a professional actor, I’d get every award that existed, and surprisingly, there are many other autistics who would as well.
Every day, autistics get up and arm themselves for a war with a society that often sidelines us. We are present in every community, every religious congregation, every classroom, every industry, and yet, people are constantly surprised and combative when they find out.
This is why we need International World Autism Awareness Day, because we are not a stereotype. We are human, just like every other human on the planet, just with a slightly different nervous system.
In Australia, 1 in every 150 people is autistic, with every 1 in 4 being female. 74% of autistics in Australia are reliant on the Disability Support Pension. (Information accurate as of 2014, sourced from Australia Institute of Health and Welfare).
For more information about Autism, please visit Amaze at www.amaze.org.au.
