Surrey Schools promotes acceptance for World Autism Awareness Day and World Autism Month

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Today is World Autism Awareness Day and April is World Autism Month, and as both observances aim to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), they also serve as opportunities to further a conversation around autism acceptance.

World Autism Awareness Day was established by the United Nations in 2007 to shine a spotlight on the issues faced by people with ASD, and was officially recognized by the Canadian federal government in 2012 with the passing of the World Autism Awareness Day Act. April is also commonly referred to as World Autism Month, though Canada officially recognizes October as Autism Awareness Month.

Colin Reid, District Principal with Student Support, said one of the challenges facing the community of people with autism is shifting the conversation from one of awareness to acceptance – a message that is shared in the district’s recent Accessibility Video Series, which promotes a common understanding of the terms disability, barriers, accessibility and inclusion, set out in the Surrey Schools accessibility plan.

“Many students, staff members and community members, including those with ASD, ask that we continue to identify and remove sensory and attitudinal barriers in order to make our school communities as inclusive as possible,” said Reid. “This means working together to move beyond disability awareness and toward disability acceptance.”

“Our accessibility working group and accessibility advisory committee worked hard to ensure a broad range of disabilities were depicted in these videos – this included students and adults with autism and other neurodiverse individuals.”

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, an estimated 1 in 50 children and youth between the ages of one and 17 have been diagnosed with ASD in Canada. Additionally, because it is a spectrum, the needs of one child with ASD may differ greatly from those of another child with autism.

The district works one-on-one with parents and caregivers of students with autism to identify where students may need support and develop an individualized education plan (IEP) or student support plan (SSP) for their academic success. Supports for students with autism are also informed by the accessibility advisory committee, and the district collaborates with the Surrey District ABA Advisory and the Surrey DPAC Inclusion of Diverse Learners Committee to gather feedback on supports.

While providing support for students is a year-round process, for World Autism Awareness Day and World Autism Month, Reid said everyone can do their part to increase their understanding of autism spectrum disorder and take that awareness – and acceptance – into the rest of the school year and beyond.

“We hope everyone will take a few moments to watch and share our four-part animated video series, and that our work as a district will further the acceptance of disability in our society,” said Reid. “By watching and sharing these videos, we hope to encourage everyone in our community to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day and World Autism Month, and join our work to identify and reduce barriers for all individuals with disabilities.”