04/02/2025
April is Autism Acceptance Month, and I just want to say this:
You don’t have to change to be worthy of love. You don’t have to mask, shrink, or shape-shift for anyone.
Your authentic self is something to celebrate.
As many of you know, I have guardianship of my autistic brother. As a kid, I didn’t have the words for it, but I felt the difference like the stares, the judgment, the quiet exclusion and to avoid that, I think our mom kinda - not hid us away - but maybe tried to shield us? Which lead us to not doing a lot of things out in public. As an adult, I see how much of that was rooted in her fear and worry of misunderstandings. It's hard to go out when acceptance isn’t guaranteed.
The first year I had guardianship of my brother we went to our first movie together because there's nothing to hide. Autistic people deserve to be accepted and welcomed in public spaces (and everywhere). Take. Up. Space.
So here’s to acceptance. Not just for April, but always.
