Autistic Pride Flag

Autistic Pride Day is a pride celebration for autistic people held annually on June 18. Autistic pride recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.

Concept

Organisations around the world celebrate Autistic Pride Day with events to connect with one another, and demonstrate to allistic (non-autistic) people that autistic people are not in need of a cure.

Autistic pride points out that autistic people have always been an important part of human society. Being autistic is a form of neurodiversity. As with all forms of neurodiversity, most of the challenges autistic people face come from other people's attitudes about autism and a lack of supports and accommodations (ableism), rather than being essential to the autistic condition. For instance, according to Larry Arnold and Gwen Nelson, many autism-related organizations promote feelings of pity for parents, rather than fostering understanding. Autistic activists have contributed to a shift in attitudes away from the notion that autism is a deviation from the norm that must be treated or cured. Autistic self-advocacy organizations, which are led and run by autistic people, are a key force in the movement for autistic acceptance and autistic pride.

Joseph Redford, an organiser for Autistic Pride at London's Hyde Park, stated in a speech that the concept of autistic pride is not about a single day or event:

Origin

Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies For Freedom (AFF), who selected 18 June because it was the birthday of the youngest member of the group at that time.Redford, Joseph,
London Autistic Pride 2019
", text of speech given at London Autistic Pride in July 2019. AFF modelled the celebration on the gay pride movement. According to Kabie Brook, the co-founder of Autism Rights Group Highland, "the most important thing to note about the day is that it is an autistic community event: it originated from and is still led by autistic people ourselves", i.e. it is not a day for other charities or organisations to promote themselves or stifle autistic people. The rainbow infinity symbol is used as the symbol of this day, representing "diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities". ''New Scientist'' magazine released an article entitled "Autistic and proud" on the first Autistic Pride Day that discussed the idea.

Development

As autistic pride has continued to develop, autistic advocates have become increasingly professionalised, with Autistic Pride Reading incorporating as a charity in 2018, and holding a pride event which attracted over 700 people.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with physical events impossible, autistic advocates collaborated under the Autistic Pride Alliance to create an Autistic Pride Online Celebration which hosted speakers from four continents. Autistic Pride Day 2020 was an eleven-hour marathon that was hosted on YouTube and the event was repeated in 2021.

In Australia, an official Autistic Pride Day organization was created in 2023 in partnership with the City of Sydney. The organization released an official logo for the event, featuring three concentric infinity symbols, which are coloured with a gradient of red and green, intentionally avoiding the blue that is associated with Autism Speaks.

Events

There have been a number of Autistic Pride Day events hosted over the years to promote the self-affirmation, identity, dignity and equality of autistic people around the world. Most events happen during the summer months between June and August.

See also

*Autism rights movement
*Autistic Self Advocacy Network – seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement in the world of autism
*Autism Sunday
* List of autism-related topics

References

External links

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{{Autism resources

Autism activism
Unofficial observances
Disability observances
Autism rights movement
June observances
International observances
Neurodiversity
Disability pride