7th April 2019
As World Autism Awareness Week draws to a close I thought I would do a short round up of some of my favourite content that has been produced during the last week. I must admit though, I still have videos to watch (proof if ever I needed it that my life is too busy!). So I apologise if something truly epic does not make this list. These are my personal highlights but if a video/blog etc. that you made is not mentioned then it is purely because I can’t mention all you wonderful people, but I still want you to know that I value your time, work and effort in everything you do.
To begin with, my good friend Purple Ella’s video “Five Ways to Support Autistic People”. I particularly loved the first tip “ask us what we need”. This one tip alone can prevent loads of issues from arising and provide a much better environment for both Autistic people and those around us. Thank you Ella for this video.
At the start of the week Sez Francis did an amazing video called “Volunteering and Seeking Paid Work” in which she discusses her experiences of being a volunteer and how volunteer work can lead to paid employment through experience. Thank you Sez for sharing your experiences in volunteering.
Next is Connor Ward who, not only appeared on TV promoting Autism awareness, also produced a video discussing “How Autism Can Steal Your Identity!” which was an interesting angle discussing that if you are an Autism Advocate, people can see you as just that and other aspects of your character and personality are lost. Thank you Connor for a unique video.
Indie Andy had some great videos, my favourite two are a short called “What does Autism look like?” and another one on masking. The video had some wonderful visuals to back up the messages rather then just speaking into a camera, and clearly a lot of thought went into it. So nice to see him use his environment to get his message across. Cheers to Andy for this contribution.
Kevin Chapman produced a staggering amount of videos during the week, all of them great content. Appreciate your hard work Kevin.
James Sinclair of “Autistic and Unapologetic” produced a great blog to round the week off with “30 great Autistic quotes”. Great work James!
Invisible I had an amazing short video “Are You Autism Aware?” which was punchy and has even been designed into a T-shirt. Thank you Katy.
Finally a big shout out to the National Autistic Society whose content during the week has been positive, informative and of a very high standard. I have particularly been impressed by some of the posters that were produced. There was a really good one detailing employment issues, a superb take on the Superman logo and the crucial “The Big Five” things that Autistic people want you to know which was created by asking autistic people and their families.
Two special videos which I was privileged to take part in were created by Indie Andy and Sez Francis. I just want to say a personal thank you to both of them for giving me the opportunity to be a part of their work.
So all in all I think there was a lot of positivity from the last week and each day I have enjoyed seeing the new content from the Autistic community. However, Autism Awareness needs to continue after this week, so that it leads to Autism Acceptance. I am sure it will though.