The month of April is designated as Autism Awareness Month. It is an excellent opportunity to promote acceptance and understanding for people with autism spectrum disorder and support them and their families. At Watch Me Shine, we’ve dedicated ourselves to providing special education in ME for children and families with all kinds of needs, including those with autism. We know a lot more than we used to about these special kids, but there is still a lot more that we can do.
Here are some ways to help increase awareness about autism and how to support these individuals and their families.
Educate Yourself and Others
Spend some time learning about autism, specifically its symptoms and how it affects people differently. Share your newfound knowledge with friends, family, and coworkers. By doing so, your community can better support people with autism and their families. Autism can look very different from person to person. You may not even know if your life is directly affected by someone with autism.
Support Businesses and Events
Many businesses and events go out of their way to be autism-friendly. Take the time to find these businesses and events in your community and do what you can to support them. You can directly patronize them, thank them for their support, and encourage others to do the same. You can even encourage other businesses to adopt some of the same policies.
Advocate and Wear Blue
Speaking of encouraging others to adopt policies, speak up! It’s one of the best things you can do for people with autism in your community. Advocate for policies that help and support them. Speak to leaders in your community and in the local schools to encourage them to be more supportive and inclusive of individuals with autism. Bring them concrete ideas and suggestions of things they can do to improve the experiences of the autistic individuals in your community. You can also wear blue this month to show your support. That’s the color that the Autism Speaks organization has chosen for their campaign.
Special Ed ME | Watch Me Shine
Watch Me Shine provides special ed in ME to assist children and families with all kinds of challenges and needs, including autism. Each program is crafted and adapted to meet the specific needs of your child so they can reach their full potential.
