We present guest author John Wennberg’s blog From Surviving to Thriving: What Autism Acceptance Means to a Self-Advocate in celebration of Autism Month.
What does autism acceptance mean to me? For me, it means finally accepting my diagnosis at the age of 40. It also means to stop masking (the act of trying to hide one’s autistic characteristics), because masking is denying.
The first time I heard the word ‘masking’ was when I was watching an Autism 200 Series video and I realized I was doing it, but I didn’t know what it is. Masking is a strategy that autistic people use for learning neurotypical behaviors and doing our best to copy them in social settings. I did it as a kid because I wanted to fit in with everybody, but now I know there’s a name. I was an honor student, so I was known for getting my work done perfectly and on time. I was involved in many school activities and sports, and I got my Letterman’s jacket. I loved choir, but I did these activities to fit in. Read full post »
First, when the pandemic began I was in a Toastmasters meeting and then I got home and found out that we have a pandemic going on from my Dad. At this point we did not know what that meant and everything was closed down for a couple of weeks. Then we got used to working virtually with Zoom, Facetime, Teams and other resources. As we were going through this I got really anxious about the unknown and what was going to happen during the pandemic and how long it was going to last. I know this. Because of my condition I did not want to get sick. I started watching local media coverage to figure out what was going on and as I was doing my research I found out that individuals with developmental disabilities are able to get the vaccine as soon as it became available after doing the vaccine research and trials. My first shot was at a mass vaccination site on the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe. We were in the car and I felt weird getting the shot the first time, but then I felt okay getting the shot. My second shot was at the 
