Acknowledgment and Appreciation During Autism Awareness Month

Each of us has our respective abilities which come naturally, and we also experience challenges to continuously work on. One person's strength may be someone else's struggle and vice versa, so we all work together to complement one another and create the best outcomes possible. While it is true that people with autism often need everyone's support to navigate through their unique challenges, they simultaneously have valuable abilities to contribute to society which sometimes are not acknowledged.
Some people with autism are very visual and attend to detail, so they welcome tasks that others might find tedious such as pattern recognition or identifying minor irregularities. Along with their good auditory and/or visual memory, some are very systematic and skilled in mechanics such as math, music, or puzzles. Some detail-oriented people with autism tend to have deep knowledge in areas of their interest, making them the "go-to" person for information. Because some people with autism tend to be logical rather emotional, they advantageously can better make rational decisions. Further, these people communicate directly and honestly and are loyal to anyone who will listen to them without judgement. Given that some with autism are very early readers, they serve as good role models by encouraging others to read or electing to read to non-readers.
Acknowledgment and appreciation of the unique abilities of people with autism advances our society for the benefit of all during Autism Awareness Month…and always.
-KKS