Autistic Pride Day, originally an Aspies for Freedom initiative, is a pride celebration for autistic people held on June 18 each year. Autistic pride recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.
Autistic pride
On June 18 every year, organisations around the world celebrate Autistic Pride Day, with events around the world, to connect with one another through autistic events and demonstrate to allistic people that autistic people are unique individuals who should not be seen as cases for treatment. Writing for the Houston Press, Jef Rouner recommended five songs for Autistic Pride Day that celebrate difference and were written by autistic people. Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies for Freedom and it quickly became a global event which is celebrated widely online and offline. 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". During gay pride and other LGBTQ events, a rainbow flag is used featuring a white infinity symbol on a tri-colour background. LGBT+ autistic charity Twainbow oversaw the selection and online voting in 2015. Due to various reasons a rainbow infinity symbol is sometimes used. Autistic pride points out that autistic people have always been an important part of human culture. 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, rather than being essential to the autistic condition. For instance, according to Larry Arnold and Gareth 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 autistics, are a key force in the movement for autistic acceptance and autistic pride. New Scientist magazine released an article entitled "Autistic and proud" on the first Autistic Pride Day that discussed the idea.
