The month of April has become centered on focusing on the condition known as autism.

Initially, the term was known as Autism Awareness Month, but it has been changed (for the better) to its now official name, National Autism Acceptance Month.

What is autism? According to AP, autism, officially known as autism spectrum disorder, is an “Umbrella term for a broad range of developmental disorders that can involve widely varying degrees.” The CDC calls it a “developmental disability caused by differences in the brain.” 

People who have autism, who are referred to as autistic people, are born with it and develop a lot slower than most as they unfortunately experience mental issues at a young age. These mainly include issues dealing with communication, emotions and behaviors that people consider unusual.

The CDC has an extended list of the many characteristics autistic people express. These are also what causes the diagnosis as many of these behaviors can be noticed at a young age. With autism, there are also a lot of misconceptions about this condition. The reason why it is called the autism spectrum is not because there is some simple line between what others consider “less autistic vs more autistic,” but rather an actual color spectrum wheel listing the different strengths and weaknesses an autistic individual may have.

Some more misconceptions include the rumor that vaccines cause autism, which is not true. A puzzle piece and the color blue has also been represented for the condition, but it has been met with controversy. A more popular and accepted method is wearing red and symbolizing with a gold or rainbow-colored infinity ribbon. The biggest one, however, is trying to interpret autism as a disease and to find a cure for it. Autism is not a disease and there will be no cure for it and that is alright.

But what can be done for autistic people? It is not about trying to force them to quickly change into what people call a “normal person,” but rather to learn about them first and adapt to their needs. For example, many of these individuals like to follow an easy slow-paced routine during their daily lives. Unfortunately, even a small deviation from this routine can cause panic and lead to an emotional and mental meltdown. Another example is autistic individuals tend to gravitate towards a specific topic of interest and become extremely obsessed with that, but not really on the outside world and lack other communication ideas outside of their interests.

Caretakers of autistic people can also take them to different forms of therapy to continue to develop and nurture them. Many times, it will take a lot of time and patience to really connect and get to know an autistic person, but it will all be worth it. Although they may be late bloomers, autistic people are just like the rest of society. They want to fit in and be accepted into the world. Thankfully, there are now more increasing resources to include all individuals. 

FGCU’s Adaptive Services helps students with disabilities by establishing accommodations between them and their professors if these students may have trouble in the normal classroom environment. Many clubs and workplace environments also strive to have acceptance and inclusion for all, regardless of any disability. They may also be encouraged to hire autistic individuals, but these people are also free to refrain from listing any conditions in their applications.

More importantly, though, it is about how people view autistic individuals. Initially, most might be confused or sometimes weirded out by the different characteristics these people show but most people will learn to adapt to the needs of these people. Even if they do not initially show it, autistic people want to be included too. Many of these individuals tend to mask their behavior if they are aware that what is normal to them may be unusual for others. Masking, however, can sometimes stress out the individual too as their normal behaviors are also meant to calm them down but they refrain from using it.

Regardless, no matter the topics these individuals may be obsessed with, no matter the behaviors they may or may not exhibit and no matter all the talk about this condition, autistic people just want to be loved. Many of these individuals show an extreme sense of kindness and empathy toward others as they develop the knowledge of other’s emotional needs. A strong focus on a topic of interest might also help them plan their life working in this desired field. If certain behaviors are exhibited that may seem unusual to others, sometimes it takes some extra nurturing and encouragement to change them.

Or simply, people can also accept an autistic individual just the way he or she is regardless. There is a unique world from every person’s perspective, including those of an autistic person. No matter what differences there may be, everyone wants to showcase love and acceptance for one another.