Last year, the Autism Society of America announced that Autism Awareness Month would be renamed Autism Acceptance Month. The move was intended to encourage more inclusive language about how to better communicate with people with autism and others with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
This week, the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders hosted a virtual event for community members called “Inspiring Autism Acceptance Through Action.” Tuesday’s Zoom event featured Haley Moss, who became Florida’s first openly autistic attorney at age 24 and is an author and neurodivergent acceptance activist.
“When I came to law school at the orientation, a professor told me I was taking the seat of someone with more life experience,” Moss said.
Moss explained how people diagnosed with neurological disorders are generally not accepted as “normal” members of society.
“It’s rooted in ableism, which really comes from this belief that neurodivergent people are broken and need to be fixed to act more neurotypically,” Moss said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2021 that approximately one in 44 8-year-olds will be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. It is estimated that one in seven people are neurodivergent, which is more common than ever, according to a Thompson Center press release linked to Moss’ speech.
“A lot of different people other than autistic people are neurodivergent,” Moss said. “There are so many different ways to be neurodivergent, and when we talk about acceptance, I want to make sure that we accept all different types of people.”
She said being neurodivergent basically comes down to a different way of thinking and solving cognitive problems. Many people don’t even realize they may have undiagnosed symptoms of a neurological disorder, she says.
“Neurodiversity is a really cool thing, because we all have different brains, and it’s something we should celebrate – whether you’re neurotypical and your brain acts in a ‘normal’ way, or you’re neurodivergent and whether you’re out of – box type thinker,” Moss said.
People with autism tend to put on a “mask” to protect themselves from being seen as too different, she said.
“For some groups of people and some people with autism, masking is really a survival skill,” Moss said. “You can’t teach people how to ‘not survive.’ You just have to teach the world to be more tolerant or acknowledge that it happened.
Moss said that with a little more acceptance and inclusion, she would have felt more open to being true and honest herself at a younger age.
“I masked up a lot, especially as a youngster. I didn’t want to be treated differently or be bullied,” she said. “Once I started to be more open, I felt it was a little easier and people would be a little more understanding. For me, being openly autistic means I don’t have to hide or hide, and that’s the freedom to be who I am.
Moss said she was tired of being one of the few voices defending autism acceptance over awareness. “We need more of us, to be quite honest, and it’s up to you, our allies, to help make that happen,” she told the several dozen people who were watching the presentation.
“There’s so much you can do, whether it’s at a political, individual, school or organizational level, and I encourage you to take action somewhere,” she said. “Even if it’s just about changing a person’s mind and rethinking their perception of autism, it’s ‘in action’.”
Moss concluded with words of encouragement that she hopes will inspire action.
“Once we are more understanding, we can truly accept… So I encourage you to take action, celebrate neurodiversity and realize that autism acceptance, after all, is something we do together. “
