#red for autism acceptance

[paperboy-pb]

THIS JUST IN: AUTISM SPEAKS... APOLOGIZES? 🤨

In an old comment of mine from 2024 on Aut2ask's page regarding the closure of Canada's branch this year, I alleged that Autism Speaks had no remorse for any of the material they released (IE: The ableist "I Am Autism" ad.) Somebody replied to me saying that I was spreading misinformation. I doubted it, as I'm normally on-top of these things, but gave research a spin anyway.

The commentor was actually right-- they HAD released an apology I hadn't seen! The 5th or 6th result on Google, right on the blog's main page.

I've already shared my thoughts on the apology (check my page/Autism Speaks tag for it; I don't post about Autism Speaks very much, it should be relatively easy to find); but I also shared that I had a hunch that this was recent, since I hadn't seen or heard any mentions of it before.

Thanks to the Wayback machine and a friend of mine, I've been able to get at least a rough answer to my question!

2024.

They released the ad on YouTube in 2009; got slammed for it almost immediately, even then; went radio silent for 15 years, and then released one article of apology in mid-2024. And it proceeded to get so little visibility that I didn't see a single Autism-focused page (including Autism Speaks' social media!) push it into the limelight. On top of that, it was only saved 12 times between May 2024 and now (February 22nd, 2025.)

Is it better than nothing? Yes. But do with that what you will.

I'm not a fan of the company. Never will be. I find them to be more trouble than they're worth. But only one thing irks me more than their existence, and it's an inaccurate argument. I'd like to see more Autistic people posting about this. Hopefully I can get a ball rolling.

SOURCES:

Wayback Machine page:

Proof of Autism Speaks getting backlash in 2009:

[itsaspectrumcomic]

Every month is autism month for me!

[ID: A comic titled "April is Autism Acceptance Month!"

The narrator, a light skinned person with brown hair, says "You might see some places "lighting it up blue" or sharing puzzle piece imagery this month, but a lot of autistic people prefer to avoid that due to its association with Autism Speaks." Within the speech bubble is a blue puzzle piece with a red cross next to it. The narrator continues, "Autism Speaks sees autism as a disease that needs to be cured and eradicated, which it isn't. So to avoid that, we generally prefer RED instead!" The words "red instead" are shown on the narrator's shirt.

The narrator continues, "or the golden infinity symbol: (it's gold because au is the symbol for gold in the periodic table." There are illustrations of a gold infinity symbol and the periodic table symbol for gold, made to say "autism", next to the text.

Text continues "Not every autistic person celebrates autism acceptance month which is fine! It's optional :)

At the bottom, the narrator wears a red shirt with the gold infinity symbol on it and says "whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a lovely month." End ID]

Thank you @teatual for the description!

[paperboy-pb]

🔴 SMALL UPDATE REGARDING THIS! Keep reading for a sec, will ya?

Sorry to flood our pages with an even longer post. I'll try to be quick!

Just correcting some SLIGHT misinformation, but even then, I need help verifying something & Google isn't giving me the answer I need. Autism Speaks, apparently, actually DID release an apology for I Am Autism. I see a lot of people saying they didn't, but it does exist now if you do some digging.

It's... ehh? It could be a lot worse. They mostly take accountability. But they also semi-excuse it as saying they have a "deeper understanding of Autism now"; implying/admitting that they, as an ORGANIZATION, did not have a deep understanding of Autism as a condition even after 4 years of operation...?

They also claim that they are working with Autistic employees, again? And it's been a while since any have publicly walked out on them. But it's not clear how many are on board exactly. Which, in a way, is fair, as no one really has to disclose their disability to an employer or the public for any reason. But do with that information what you will. Just know that working in tandem with the community you aim to serve is vital, and that other Autistics have bailed on them for justified reasons even in the 2010s; I'm kind of surprised they don't have a PUBLIC team of Autistic people specifically employed to overlook everything. That's what I would do if I led this.

Don't get anxious now, though. I'm not warming up to Autism Speaks anytime soon, and these further facts are why.

1: This ad was NEVER "a product of its time," as it was considered offensive even upon release. That's literally why it was pulled & swept under the rug in the first place a few weeks later. Even for 2009, it was deplorable! This isn't comparable to, say, animated cartoons being racist in the 1900s, especially seeing as Autism Speaks were the professionals here. The people with researchers "educating" & spreading awareness for the public. I'll always shit on Disney, but at least it WASN'T their literal *job* to help a minority group back then, now was it? Autism Speaks, though? That's their whole purpose.

2: (See above.) IMDB says that it was was never meant to be distributed publicly. Which I find shady given that

I 100% saw the beginning part of this ad as a small child. Because, upon seeing it re-uploaded to YouTube again at 13 (early 2017,) I recognized the visuals immediately. While it WAS actually shown in my state (NYC,) my family had no business attending the event mentioned. So it couldn't have been there. If it *didn't* air on TV, then I likely saw it floating around on YouTube. Thankfully, I didn't actually retain any of the statements that were made and forgot most of it. But if I (a VERY young Autistic elementary schooler at the time) could've accessed it, I'm sure other children did, too.

Disability Scoop claimed in TWO articles written shortly after it debuted (2009) that it was on Autism Speaks' YouTube channel. Meaning that it WAS, indeed, publicly distributed, IE: uploaded by the company. It's also cited as having been on their website.

And now, 3: Again, I've paid close attention to Autism Speaks as a brand since 2017, even when Sia first mentioned her movie (which released in 2021; yeah, I learned about that back then, I was DEEP in the rabbit hole.) And yet I've never seen this apology. You'd think they'd push it more to the forefront if they took it so seriously, no? Especially they've been getting heat for I Am Autism SINCE 2009.

Something tells me this wasn't posted until AFTER 2020. OVER A DECADE OF TIME. There's no date on this article & I cannot find one. But can somebody PLEASE let me know if they can verify and/or find out when this apology was published? While it's better late than never, there is NO REASON it should've taken that long other than damage control now that the Autistic community has risen up.

Any help is appreciated. Please let me know what you find.

The fact that I even need to say this astounds me.

I understand times change, but 2005-12 was not the fucking dark ages. Let alone some other offenses they've gathered up past that. People knew better. It wasn't okay then OR now. If Autism Speaks was SO dedicated to providing resources, maybe they should've focused their material more on that than fear-mongering. Or at least owned up to it with their whole chest w/ an apology & promise to be better. But you know. Corporate's gonna corporate. 😐

[pistolenprinz]

PRIDE ICONS SERIES (Credit Appreciated!)

VAN DER LINDE GANG, Red Dead Redemption 2

Flag: Autism Spectrum Pride Flag! Made by intervex on Tumblr.

🌈 HAPPY AUTISM ACCEPTANCE MONTH!! 🌈

[existennialmemes]

Reminders for Autistic "Awareness" Month

Beware the Autistics. We live among you. We look like you. We could be your friends, your family, your neighbors, your coworkers. We could even be you.

The Average Autistic is 18 feet tall, has purple skin, and has 2 watt lasers for eyes, however many of us may mask our appearance with Occult Rituals

The Big Light is Bad!! Turn off The Big Light!!! Except for when it's Good. Turn on the Big Light!!

We are not Moths. I don't know who told you that but they're lying.

[chinelacanta]

at risk of losing his ‘red haired’ title from how green jealousy makes him

[mitamicah]

*boops you* >:3

Yes, this is what I see everytime the little paws comes up on my screen x'D

[loxli]

It’s Autism acceptance month again! So here’s a Chu Wanning with his lovely red haitang and golden willow vine

[autiebiographical]

We're coming up to Autism Acceptance Month!

Remember! Don't light it up blue!

Let's #LightItUpGold or #RedInstead

You can check out my shop for this shirt and many other autism themed items designed by yours truly at https://www.autiebiographical.com/store

[boingodigitalart]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🧩♾🌈 Happy Autism Awareness day and Autism Acceptance Month 2025!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🧩♾🌈

[artsyaech]

responses i've gotten when i tell people i'm autistic

"everyone's on the spectrum" if that were true, the world wouldn't be so difficult for us to live in.

"no, you're not" wow, i went through a lengthy diagnostic process when i could've just asked you! /sarc

"you're nothing like *insert 2-8-year-old boy this person knows*" hmmm, i wonder why. it's almost as if i'm not a 2-8-year-old boy. you're nothing like my allistic nephew!

*proceeds to re-enact a stereotype of autism in front of me, rocking back and forth and making noises* honestly, the fact that this has happened to me TWO SEPERATE times by TWO SEPERATE people is ludicrous to me. so you're saying that autistic people that act somewhat like that (not exactly, because they're portraying a stereotype) are inferior? of course that's what they're saying! and, in turn, they either think i'm faking it or that i'm inherently inferior...

"you're not that autistic" elaborate on that, please. so just because i'm not completely non-verbal and try my best to mask because i'm afraid of being bullied or harassed in public, that means i'm "less autistic". the fact that i've gotten this one more times than i can count. this one is so minimizing to the real and difficult experience i face every single day, but alright, i guess.

"do you have asperger's?" i was technically diagnosed with that at the age of twelve, but i feel like this question is essentially saying "oh, you seem 'high functioning', which, in turn, means you have a disorder not as 'severe' as 'real autism'" i won't even get into the problems with the term asperger's syndrome, i'll let you google that one...

"have you seen rain man?" no, and i don't want to.

"autism is not a disability, it's a different ability" i will bite you.

"oh, i see..." (in a condescending tone) what

responses i wish i got more often:

"oh, alright" simple, you can ask follow-up questions if you want to, but a simple acknowledgement in a sincere tone is enough for me, personally. because then we can keep talking about our interests.

"okay, how can i accommodate you / do you have any needs that i can make sure you meet?" never get this one, but, damn, i wish i did.

"oh, cool, can you tell me more about that?" my friends call me autism squared for a reason, i have a special interest in autism, so asking me non-rude questions is always a plus.

yeah, this was a rant, but whatever lol. just don't be a dick towards autistic people

[ill-kidnap-all-the-stars]

L'Autiste I

[ image description: a digital drawing of a dark-skinned woman standing in front of an orange and red sunset. She has pink hair tied in bubble braids and is wearing a red jacket and shoes with blue jeans. She has a cream and pink bag over her arm and is drinking bubble tea ]

prints ✨ commissions

Bubble braids are so good for sneaking infinity signs into drawings ♾️ an autistic cutie for Autism Acceptance Month

[skrunklydoo]

happy autism acceptance day!!

[chelledoggo]

I am NOT a puzzle to be "solved." I am NOT a problem to be "eradicated." I am NOT a sickness to be "cured." I AM an extraordinary being. I AM created in the image of the divine. I AM exactly who I am meant to be. I AM... infinite.

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! ♾ ❤

#RedInstead version:

[aeonsofstars]

normalize sensory supports for adults *and* children

Normalize noise canceling headphones

Normalize chewy jewelry

Normalize stim toys

Normalize plushies and weighted things

[yumeyuyumeyume]

🌈 happy autism acceptance ✨️

this infinity symbol is made of rubber and it's sparkly, no wonder Yuga (and most of the class) likes to play with it!

💬: do you have a character you headcanon as autistic?