Every year, June 18 is celebrated as the Autistic Pride Day across the globe. Not only does it give the people with autism a chance to laud their own achievements as individuals but also spread awareness about the condition.
Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 in Brazil by NGO Aspies For Freedom (AFF), choosing the date because it was the birthday of the youngest member of the group. On the day, groups of autistic people march through the streets on the day and organize other events. The special thing about the celebration is that it is entirely handled by people with autism, not by allies or activists.
As the theme for this year’s Autism Awareness Day was chosen by the United Nations to be “Inclusion in the workplace”, the topic was discussed on the Pride Day as well. Due to the covid pandemic, most events were held online this year as well.
All across social media as well #AutismPrideDay was trending on Friday. Parents took the occasion to reiterate that their children with autism were perfect. NGO Autism at Warwick, a student body from Warwick University declared, “Autistic people are not broken or wrong. We do not need to be ‘fixed’. We are proud of who we are.” on their Twitter page.
