Celebrating Autism Acceptance Month
This is a special post written by Charles Warren, Curriculum Developer at Triangle. Charlie is also a member of Triangle’s Racial Equity Committee. As part of our commitment to the work of our Racial Equity Committee, we will be sharing more information with you on subjects related to racial equity and disability justice. This post continues our series dedicated to calling attention to the contributions of people with disabilities to American history.
As we celebrate Autism Acceptance Month, we affirm our commitment to sharing the stories of autistic people, their advocacy, and accomplishments. Additionally, it is important to acknowledge there remains a persistent gap in rates of diagnosis between individuals who are white and individuals who are BIPOC. This inequity not only has an impact on the individual and family and level; since a diagnosis is key to obtaining supports, there is a broader impact on the community as a whole. For example, funding cannot be accurately apportioned to meet the needs of the community, well-matched supports are more difficult to determine without a diagnosis, the opportunity to build community is delayed, and more. Increasing awareness of autism is important for acceptance, and acceptance is key to celebration.
Tiffany Hammond
Tiffany Hammond is an autistic speaker, autism consultant and advocate, and parent of two teen boys who are autistic. Her work informs audiences about the issues that matter most to this community, with an emphasis on the Black Autistic experience. Tiffany is an incredible storyteller who her uses her lived experiences to challenge inaccurate perceptions of autism. Her work seeks to increase understanding of the concept of intersectionality and autism, and “disrupt supremacist systems one story at a time.”
She is the author of A Day with No Words, which reached number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list. She has appeared on the Behavior Speaks podcast, and written articles for Yahoo!, TripAdvisor, and Love What Matters, and is also voice behind the popular social media account Fidgets and Fries.