Facebook and Pinterest have been full of posts about World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd. April is Autism Awareness Month. Can you believe I’ve seen people arguing about what to do on the 2nd?
Many people want to “Light it up Blue” for autism on that day. Others say they will “Color the World.” And they are arguing about labeling people with one or the other. This makes absolutely no sense to me. Who cares which way you feel as long as you are spreading the awareness our families need?
What do you plan to do to help spread awareness? My flag is ready to go on the porch (Actually, I put it out year round!) and I have tons of 12 x 18″ blue flags that I put out in the yard. I painted a quilt block board that is puzzle pieces that I will be sitting on the porch soon. We all have autism t-shirts to wear, but we wear them all year, too. Puzzle piece ribbons are ready to be pinned on.
But, really, the best thing you can do to spread awareness is to share your children! Take them out to eat or to the zoo. Take them shopping. Take them to the library. Sure – you may get some odd looks, but you may also open the eyes of people who refuse to see. And those same people may be the ones who help another autism family. It’s just like when you throw a rock into the water – the tiniest ripples will grow and grow. That’s what we need to do!
Start those little ripples and watch them grow! Light it up Blue or Color your World and spread autism awareness everywhere!