how do you spread autism awareness?

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Mostly I use Justin my therapy bear. How about you guys? I love Justin his fur is so soft and he.is so calming to me.

Generally speaking, I don't. If I've known someone for a long time, it generally has come up in conversation at some point that I'm autistic (Usually I explain it after being asked something like "Why do you do that?" or "Why do you know how to do [insert something that pertains to special interest here]?")

The most recent time that happened, I was hanging out with a couple girls in the parking lot of an apartment complex. I knew one of them pretty well, but the other was just a very casual aquaintance. We were talking about some things that involved some operational security concerns (mainly that the operation was too easy to observe) and after explaining what I'd do to improve the situation, she asked something along the lines of "Why do you know so much about this stuff?". I basically explained my diagnosis and how special interests generally work. She thought I was joking with her when I told her I was autistic. She said something along the lines of "You're way too smart to be autistic", but the other girl (who I later learned was quite familiar with the autism spectrum & suspected that I had AS) explained to her that not all autistic people are what she thought of when she heard the word.

I don't go out of my way to spread awareness. I just bring it up when it seems relevant. Nothing more.

I don't get it. What do you mean? How do you spread autism awareness with your bear?

I also only really talk about it when it's relevant. Such as, when someone was talking about the word "autistic" because they accidentally said it instead of "artistic," they began discussing it, and someone said, "I'm not really sure, but autism is a disability to learn." I at that time told them that it's not that and explained it. Another time I talked about it is when someone gave me a link to a YouTube video that was about Pokemon and the creator, and I learned that the creator of Pokemon has Asperger's syndrome, and I then discussed autism kind of then, because I got excited about the creator of one of my obsessions having the same kind of brain as me.

I'm like that too, except that since autism is my main special interest and is the basis for what I'm studying in college, it's often relevant to the conversation. If it comes up in conversation then I tell them. I want people to know what autism can look like. I want people to know what autism really is and what it is like to live with it. Although I do describe my experiences in words, I also people to learn about autism from who I am and what I do as a person, and not just what I tell them.

Over the past six months or so, I have started writing about autism and my experience with it. I continue to write because people who read what I have written are often amazed to learn what autism can be like and they want to know more. I have also discovered that writing can be an outlet for me and that writing about something provides a sense of relief. There was one situation that I wrote about that I had never been able to think about it without starting to relive it. But after I wrote it all down, describing the situation as well as the emotions that I felt during it, I am now able to think about the event and remember it without experiencing it again.

I try to spread acceptance and understanding for autism, ussually through chalk. Writing facts and info about autism, what it's like ect. Then I draw pictures next to my writings


I also refuse to light it up blue and I hag Christmas lights instead

I end up disclosing my autism to everyone I meet. Not out a deliberate attempt to spread awareness, but a complete lack of any sense of 'personal information'.

With a knife....preferably on top of peanut butter...the smooth kind, not the crunchy which tears apart the bread.

Autism is my special interest. I also have been an activist for a variety of causes all of my life. In addition, I am a nurturing old woman who views pretty much any autistic suffering as one of her babies being hurt. Plus I have that mama bear thing going on, big-time. So,yeah, I talk about it constantly. I carry the books. I wear the t-shirts. I educate as much as possible. I do not, and will not stop

I lack keeping things personal as well, because I don't really know what to keep personal what to not and why. I know to not tell people where I live on the internet, but that's really all. The only reason that I don't tell a lot of people randomly about ASD is because really most people I know likely couldn't handle it or understand it.

There are very few things that upset me as much as bread being torn in the process of butter/pb spreading.

Last edited by perpetual_padawan on 05 Jun 2014, 11:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I find it sort of ironic that blue lights agrivate my sensory issues.

In April, I post articles and memes on Facebook. I start out with anti-Autism Speaks info to counteract the initial flurry of puzzle pieces and blue light crap that other people post. During the rest of the year, I'll post research articles if they're particularly interesting.

I've written a few emails to businesses to comment on their policies toward the ASD community. I even got a call back from Home Depot thanking me for bringing my opinion about Autism Speaks to their attention.

In everyday life, I bring it up if it's a natural part of the conversation. Like, if I need to put in my earplugs or ask someone to turn down the background music so I can interpret their words, I may or may not mention why. If someone questions if I'm OK with my husband traveling for work a lot, I say, "Meh, I'm an only child, and I'm a bit autistic, so having some hermit time to myself actually works out really well."

I put my pants on my head and run down the street otherwise naked, while constantly screaming and drooling.

I write letters to the editors of my local newspapers.