Positively Advocating for Autism Awareness

Advocacy used to be a legal term, but today it has new people working for social change. An advocate can be committed to helping, learning and standing up for certain groups of people to accelerate change. 

There are many different types of people that can advocate for autism awareness, including parents, family members, teachers, friends and therapists. Since anyone can be an advocate, however, we must remain aware that there are positive and negative ways to advocate for any cause. This blog will help you understand how you can positively navigate your children’s advocacy to ensure positive results.

The Wrong Way To Advocate For Autism Awareness.

Some harmful behaviours that can negatively affect your autism advocacy efforts are:

• Reinforcing the idea that people with ASD are helpless and dependent.
• Gatekeeping who can advocate for people with Autism and discouraging certain people from being activists.
• Trying to get people to understand your viewpoint with aggression and force instead of education and patience.
• Not allowing your autistic child to speak for themselves and not encouraging self-advocacy. It is not always helpful to speak on behalf of others and make decisions for them (this again reinforces the idea that people with ASD are helpless.)

Negative advocacy can have the opposite effect as the intended goal. It can lead to the reinforcement of negative attitudes and the spread of misinformation, especially in our modern age with social media advocacy. 

Tips For Advocating For Your Autistic Child

Standing up for your child can be difficult, and taking control of a situation where you may need to advocate for your child can be overwhelming. Here are some advocacy tips to help you get the help and attention of others so that your child is better understood and their needs are adequately met:

1.  Take a Leadership Role. Taking charge in your new role as an advocate means that you must be confident in your encounters with doctors, teachers, therapists and other professionals that offer services to your child with autism. Ensure you know what your child needs to ensure these needs are adequately met.
2. Learn as Much as You Can. There is an endless amount of resources available for parents of kids with ASD. The more you know about this condition, the better your chances are of being taken seriously. Ensure you know about the initial diagnosis, educational requirements, laws protecting your child, abbreviations and jargon associated with autism, etc. Make sure you look at the evidence and stay level-headed about the facts.
3. Be Proactive and Prepared. You are the best person to explain your child’s situation with compassion and understanding. Even if you have never been a strong speaker, you can practice and learn to discuss autism in a positive when it is necessary and appropriate. Ensure you work on your advocacy strategies to know how to answer questions and use reliable sources when advocating.
4. Encourage Self-advocacy and for Others To Be Activists. Having a larger support network and autism advocacy group can help you advocate for your child. Work with teachers, specialty physicians, other parents, family, etc. It is also crucial that you help your child advocate for themself in a positive, compassionate and educated way. 
5. Educate Others in the Right Way. You must find appropriate opportunities to educate others about autism. Speak at your local PTA, school board, or city hall meeting. Spread the word but never force others to listen to you. When you are faced with rude and insensitive remarks, make sure that you do not take offence or become aggressive, remain calm and patient and use the opportunity to change things for the better with facts and compassion. Every person that you affect will go out and influence others.

Why is advocacy important? Advocacy work is all about securing, protecting and advancing the rights and inclusion of specific groups of people or individuals. People on the autism spectrum also have rights, a need for inclusion and acceptance. Advocates trying to establish change for children on the autism spectrum must be dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the struggles individuals with ASD face.