Syracuse, NY – April is autism awareness month, which recognizes a disability that affects more than 1,500 Central New York children. Some are sensitive to certain sounds, smells, textures or large crowds. Those are just a few examples of the obstacles autistic people face daily that others don’t think twice about. That’s what makes it difficult for Syracuse University sophomore Andrew Dinkel.
“It’s hard for me to share my needs, especially with new people,” Dinkel said. “So, I’ll just try to push through as long as I can and then I’ll break.”
It’s unrecognized experiences like these that spawned autism awareness month, but it’s not just about awareness. It’s about acceptance.
“Awareness is making differences known between a typical person and a student with autism, and acceptance is finding those commonalities,” said Brianna Shults, Syracuse University’s InclusiveU internship coordinator.
“If the person doesn’t understand what they mean, maybe rewording it so they can think more about it,” Dinkel said of interactions with autistic people. “Also, the ability to be patient, of course.”
Patience is the key. Even the most typical sights and sounds on the most typical day can be anything but typical. So some might wear headphones or use other accommodations to temper them. Shults emphasized the importance of autism understanding and patience in addition to acceptance and awareness.
