Awareness to Acceptance
Seeing as April is Autism Acceptance Month, it's clear we’ve made some great strides forward in the realm of acceptance and inclusion. Although there is still a long way to go, it’s always nice to take a moment and take note of the progress we’ve made, especially in the professional and corporate industry.
Businesses are finally putting in the work necessary to change the way autistic people interact with the public, by providing safe spaces and opportunities. For example, Chuck E. Cheese is one of the first companies offering Sensory Sensitive Sundays as a way to make families with autistic members feel more welcome! In their statement to the press, they mention select locations nationwide will be opening two hours early to offer a quieter dining room, as well as “sensory friendly arcade experience”. While they are one of the only larger companies taking on this mission, we hope their first step marks the first in a new level of acceptance!
Speaking of sensory friendly environments, Beaches Resorts is also taking a big step forward this year by ensuring their Advanced Certified Autism Center accreditation, so that all families can enjoy a resort vacation experience! Their certification extensions ensure the ASD community that they are dedicated to their sensory sensitivities. This includes advanced training on kids camps, new protocols addressing various needs, modified check-in and more. Read more about what they’re doing here!
Picture courtesy of: Microsoft.
Besides making vacations and arcades accessible, opening doors for work opportunities to the neurodiverse community is an important step in acceptance and inclusion. In support of this mission, Microsoft launched a Neurodiversity pilot program in 2015 that has developed into a full-fledged hiring program! Our hope is that seeing a large company like Microsoft accept the various abilities of the neurodiverse community will help inspire others to do the same. As Neil Barnett, Microsoft's director of Inclusive Hiring and Accessibility, said on World Autism Day 2020: 'The value proposition for diversity and inclusion within Microsoft is increasingly clear - a diverse and inclusive workforce will yield better products and solutions for our customers, and better experiences for our employees.' Opening doors for job opportunities is the first step in creating an inclusive and accepting world for the neurodiverse community. Read more about their efforts and how this can help the neurodiverse community here.
Picture courtesy of: PBS
Finally, we can’t end this post without mentioning the PBS Autism Acceptance Month special! The days of ASD media stereotypes are beginning to end, with the help of Dr. Temple Grandin, the renowned CSU professor and ASD spokesperson. She worked with PBS to introduce herself on the show “Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum” in honor of Autism Acceptance Month. In the episode, her unique way of thinking helps the group of kids discover a new and better way to fly a kite, as well as introduce them to someone different. Their acceptance and appreciation for her new way of thinking is a wonderful message as we strive for not just awareness, but acceptance of the ASD community. In an interview with the LA Times she talks about how this feature, however small, is a great step in the right direction and hopes we continue making these steps forward in accepting those who are different from us! We look forward to seeing updates like these from more businesses and media outlets in the future.