Autistic Pride Day 2020: Marked every year on June 18, to celebrate neurodiversity

New Delhi:

Autistic Pride Day is a celebration held each year for people with autism. Every year on June 18, Autistic Pride Day is observed to respect the rights of persons with autism.

“We have been trying to create awareness for over 20 years now and we have achieved a great degree of success. Our effort has been to reach out to people as best as we can and create a close-knit support group,” Chitra Iyer, Forum for Autism, Mumbai told NDTV.

The coronavirus lockdown has been harsh on everyone and parents are going all out to keep children engaged at home.

“During the lockdown we have been conducting webinars to empower parents so that they don’t feel alone. We encourage parents to participate and engage children as much as possible,” Ms Iyer said.

“Today on Autistic Pride Day, children will dress up and join an online programme. They will perform one at a time. We have done rehearsals and the children are really taking great pride. 24 of them will participate today, the youngest one is 8 and the oldest one is 27, said Ms Iyer.

Autism begins during childhood and tends to persist into adolescence and adulthood, say experts. It refers to a range of conditions which are characterised by some degree of impaired social behaviour, communication and language, and a narrow range of interests and activities that are unique to the individual and are carried out repetitively. 

People with autism are often subject to human rights violations, discrimination and stigma. World Day For Autism Awareness and Autistic Pride Days are marked to stop such discrimination.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in 160 children have Autism Spectrum Disorder. WHO encourages families to set up an environment, which supports children with autism. Treating them as equals and engaging them in routine activities like cooking, shopping and cleaning go a long way in giving children with autism a happy life, says the top health body.