Autism Soccer: Autistic Pride Day

As a way to bring awareness, Autistic Pride Day is a way to show the world that Autism is not an impediment for people who are born with it.

Commemorative dates like the Independence Day or Memorial Day have their meaning for their transcendence and the effect they had in the consciousness of the people living in that culture. For example, the Independence Day is a day also referred to as the Fourth of July and is a holiday to commemorate the independence of the United States from the British Empire.

In the case of Autism, apart from the existence of Autism Awareness day, there’s another day with strong meaning for the cause: Autistic Pride Day is a different way of view and perception towards people on the autism spectrum. This initiative was started by Aspies for Freedom, a group established in 2004 that aims for the raising of awareness in the movement for autism rights.

The Autistic Pride’s first celebration was in 2005, by autistic people who believe that neurodiversity for autism spectrum people is not a disease that needs to be cured, but a unique characteristic that people are born with and develop with time. Celebrated on June 18th, it has become more spread in time and the idea that “Autism is not a disease” is now a topic of debate among specialists.

The design of the flag is a set of horizontal colors (red, green and blue from left to right) and an infinite symbol (usually rainbow-colored) in the middle. The meaning of the infinite stands for “diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities”. This flag was selected by voting in 2015 among a series of submissions from the internet.

Everybody has potential in life, no matter the conditions they’re born with. This initiative holds the feelings of many autistic people who feel like people should feel ashamed about them for their condition, or mad for being ignorant about ASD. No one has the right to decide who is worthy of respect and who’s not. There’s an organization who works in favor of Autism children, to avoid them to be bullied and let them learn and grow in an environment free of prejudices. They’re the people of Autism Soccer, contact with them if you need assistance.