Why red?

Autism Acceptance Begins in Our Homes and Community!

Part of our mission at My Autism Ally is advocacy. We faciltate three groups for autistic adults in our community. We listen to them. We empower them and let them lead. We walk along side them as they navigate their unique autism journey. But most importantly, we accept them for who they are. Guess what, they are funny, creative, loving, brave, imaginative, considerate, adventurous, and intelligent individuals that deserve to be celebrated for their strengths. I think disability advocate Amanda Baggs said it best, “I want to live in a world where I can say I am autistic and not be expected to be a bundle of deficits”

Red Instead is an intitative that was launched in 2015 by autistics to reclaim the narrative regarding autism. They didn’t want to be fixed, because they are not broken. They wanted a positive discussion about autism, led by autistics. They wanted to change the negative connotations they felt were happening because non-autistics we’re dominating the conversation.

Why Light it up Red?

• Blue keeps alive the stereotype that autism affects boys only- FALSE, girls oftentimes present their autism traits differently and in more socially acceptable ways- “she’s shy and a dreamer”.

• Blue is seen as a symbol of sadness- “feeling blue”. Red represents the passion and heart of those on the autism spectrum.

• Almost everyone is “aware” of autism because it is so prevalent in our society. It’s now time to work on ACCEPTANCE! What’s the difference? Awareness is knowing something to be true. Acceptance is taking that knowledge and acting on it. What actions are you taking with your autism knowledge? Do you hire individuals with autism? Are you a friend of someone on the spectrum?

• Blue is a color that was originally chosen by non-autistic people to represent autism. Many people from the Autistic community actually prefer to wear red today, in an effort to support autism ACCEPTANCE, rather than just awareness.

• Light it up RED is about amplifying the voices of autistics and calling attention to their needs. “Listen to us. Let us lead. And, please, accept us for who we are.”

• Let’s not just listen but act when autistics tell you what their needs are. Even the most impacted individual can communicate because behavior is communication. Check out our blog post on this topic https://www.myautismally.org/blog/behavior-is-communication

The Light it up RED campaign allows everyone to show their support for autistics in our community. Whether you light up a room in your home, your front porch, your business or a bridge we invite everyone in our community to participate during April- Autism Acceptance Month. You can join us for a day, week or whole month. We’d love to share your photos so tag us on social media with #LightItUpRedMAA.

If you are a local business interested in participtating in our Light it up RED campaign, we would like to add your logo here on this webpage. See participating partners below. If you have questions, contact Samantha Drudge at sdrudge@myautismally.org

Join us! Let’s light it up RED for Autism ACCEPTANCE this April!