Mandi (Howell) Bonner’s Post

Blue, associated with calm and acceptance, is the primary color associated with autism. It also owes its popularity to the global initiative of Autism Speaks organization "Light It Up Blue". For years we have been joining join this campaign by illuminating the facades of our buildings in blue. We hope that in this way we will arouse interest in this phenomenon and inspire people to deepen their knowledge about it. Do you know how to behave towards a person with autism? First, address the person as you would any other adult, not a child. Secondly, avoid diminutives and too personal words such as "darling". Say what you mean: express yourself concisely and literally, without allusions, comparisons, nuances or sarcasm. Fourth: listen actively and show it. Fifth: if you ask a question - wait for the answer; perhaps your interlocutor will respond, but only after a while. Some people with ASD may unconsciously communicate in a way which you may find inappropriate: give them factual feedback on this. Don't ignore the person's presence and don't talk as if he or she isn't in the group - even though he or she may remain quite passive in the group discussion. Want to know more? Look here: https://lnkd.in/d-jXAdrm or here: https://lnkd.in/d9NtkRCa #ProjectbyVastint #VastintPoland #autyzm #AutismSpeaks #LightItUpBlue #polskiautyzm #autism #WorldAutismAwarenessDay In the picture: Business Garden Wrocław in 2020

April is Autism Month and it's right around the corner! I would like to remind you that I'm an openly Autistic Speaker & Consultant, and if you are looking for... Having an autism educational event for your ERG or in your workplace, Planning an autism event for your organization and wanting to ensure it's accessible to Autistics, Creating a celebration opportunity with your association and need a speaker, Or you are not sure what to do for Autism Month... My calendar is now open with added availability to accommodate April's call. Please email me at [email protected] for scheduling. Image description: Image has a picture of me, a Caucasian female on a stage at a speaking engagement, and it reads "If you're working toward creating a neuroinclusive company culture, or need help planning an Autism Celebration event, my calendar is now open with added availability to accommodate April's call." #AutismMonth #AutismAcceptanceMonth #AutismMonth2024 #AutismAwareness #autism #AutisticAdults #Autistic #neurodivergent #neurodiversity

Lessons Learned from Autism Living with autism has taught me lessons that go beyond the spectrum. For instance: 1️⃣ Patience: I’ve learned to be patient with myself as I navigate challenges. 2️⃣ Empathy: My journey helps me connect with others who feel different or misunderstood. 3️⃣ Adaptability: Though I love routines, life often requires flexibility—and I’m proud of how I’ve grown in this area. To anyone who feels different, I hope my story reminds you that your journey matters, and your lessons are valuable. #share #Autism #AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance #Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic #DifferentNotLess #PersonalDevelopment #LifeLessons #GrowthMindset #OvercomingChallenges #Resilience #SelfAwareness #Empathy #Inclusion #DiversityAndInclusion #HumanConnection #Understanding #Support #Community #MentalHealth #KindnessMatters #WeAreInThisTogether #Motivation #Inspiration #YourStoryMatters #BeYourself #Positivity

Whether you’re autistic or allistic (non-autistic) or unsure, you can be an autism ally. While there are a lot of ways you can show your ally-ship, here are 3 simple ways to start today. 1. Listen to and learn from autistic people. There is a lot of information in the world about autism. How much of it is sourced from autistic experience? Not so much! Autistic people should always be your first source of information. If you don’t have autistic people in your life, there are many great autistic content creators. Start by following MICC, MULTICULTURAL AUTISM ACTION NETWORK (MAAN), and the Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM)! 2. Use appropriate language. Language can be tricky because it is powerful. Avoid words and terms that make an autism diagnosis sound like a tragedy. The autism community often advocates for identity-first language (autistic person) over person-first language (person with autism). Avoid patronizing language like differently-abled. Disability isn’t a bad word. Language is also personal so when in doubt, see point 1. 3. Take action! Again, see point 1. What do autistic people want to change in your community and how can you help smooth the road to get there? Ask your workplace how autism is included in conversations about DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion). Centering autism in everyday conversations can have a profound impact. A world where autistics are not only accepted but thrive needs allies like you! #CelebrateDifferences #AutismInclusion #ActuallyAutistic #AutisticAdults #AutismAcceptance #AutismAcceptanceMonth #AutismAdvocate #AutismAlly #Autism #AutismCommunity #Neurodiversity #Neurodiverse

The United Nations General Assembly of 2007 emphasized the importance of raising public awareness of autism. Since that time, due to tireless work with advocates we all have a better awareness of neurodiversity. However, there is still much to do! Autistic workers are often misunderstood, some on the autism spectrum have struggled to work because of the stigma, misunderstanding and a lack of compassion. Being aware of the challenges of the workplace for those who are neurodiverse can all help us to have a better communication style. We should all embrace the differences and use the skills and strengths those with autism can bring to the table! Being aware of sensory discomfort, the way that an individual processes information and giving space to those who find social interactions and reading peoples facial expressions challenging, can not only help us to gain a better perspective, but it can help us to get the best out of our colleagues and learn a bit about each other! #compassion #neurodiversity #inclusivity #learndonotojudge #autismawarenessday #autism

At Empower Autism we believe that social change starts when we question; question things like socially created norms, our own unconscious bias, and our idea of accessibility. We love connecting with people who share those views and who share our commitment to social change. Over the next few weeks, we’d like to share with you a conversation Diana McMurtry, our Community Engagement Manager, had with an amazing autistic person who shares those views. Scott Frasard Âû, PhD is an adult educator of 30 years, a psychometrician and a leading autism advocate. In 2023, Scott was honoured by Neurodiversity World as one of the top 50 Neurodiversity Evangelists globally. Scott is also an author, having recently released his first book A Reflective Question to Ponder: 1,200+ Questions on Autism to Foster Dialogue. Scott's book is designed to foster meaningful dialogue through thought-provoking questions, aiming to bridge gaps between autistic and non-autistic individuals. In today’s conversation Scott and Diana discuss why there is a stigma around talking about autism. Link to Scott’s book in Amazon: https://lnkd.in/gzP8x2T4 #EmpowerAutism #AutismAwareness #ScottFrasard #Inclusion #Diversity #SupportAutism #AReflectiveQuestionToPonder

Today I was presenting at the Act For Autism Conference in Coventry, the subject being independence/transition into adulthood. A very vast and eclectic template for a speech as autism is as multi-faceted as what different identifiable pieces would need to be acknowledged, learned about and then a framework of a potential strategy can be put into place. This would be a person centred of course looking at the "guts" of their autism profiles, I used the late Donna Williams' fruit salad analogy presentation (which is online) which was then updated this year by Venessa Bobb for a prior presentation. I spoke about - - Faceblindness - Meaning Deafness - Meaning Blindness - Visual - Verbal Agnosia - Simultagnosia & The Shared Sense of Social - Social Emotional Agnosia Other mentions are Alexithymia, Learning Styles & daring to look beyond the ever changing static stereotypes that hinder advocacy. Along with ideas that strategies that could aid with transition - the pieces are identifiable conditions in their own right. What makes them "autistic" is when you get different combos for example faceblindness, dyspraxia, sensory integration & social anxiety you then have a foundation to work up from. This is very much an empowerment model. For some autism is sub-clincial/quirks & is in the realms of autistic personalities, for others fluctuations in levels of disability and for others those disabilities can be multifaceted. Paul Isaacs 2024 #actforautism #actforautismconference #transition #adulthood #advocacy #presentation #paulisaacsconsultancyltd

Things I just learned through social media about autism: 1. April is Autism Acceptance month and April 2nd is Autism Acceptance day. 2. The term autism "acceptance" is preferred over autism "awareness" because most people know autism exists but not as many people accept and advocate for the autistic community. 3. Most autistic people, who have a preference, prefer red to represent them over blue because blue was chosen for them by Autism Speaks rather than chosen by autistic people for autistic people. Red represents passion and a fire within. 4. Gold is also a color accepted by autistics to represent them as it's element name is Au, and "Au" is a term some people use to designate on social media that they are actually autistic. #autism #neurodivergence #neurodiversity

Living with Autism: My 8 year old son has autism, is non-verbal (i.e. doesnt speak a single word) and is intellectually disabled. He has been like this since birth. I dont typically speak about autism or my autistic son publicly as it was a very difficult & painful issue my wife and I had to deal and come to terms with..... but in the last 2 weeks for some reason I had 3 acquaintances who spoke to me about their struggles with their children whom they discovered recently had autism (not knowing that I had a boy who also has it). These 3 conversations became healing sessions not just for them but for my wife and I as well as we were able to emphatise and share how we dealt with my son's autism. 💞 It gave us the opportunity to reflect on the journey my family had come through the last 6 years. I also realised that there are many more parents who are struggling as 1 in 100 children have Autism. So I spoke to my wife last weekend and we agreed that we must be more open and be willing to share about our journey with Autism for 3 key reasons: 1. To share with parents and siblings who have someone with Autism, to let them know that all is not lost and life can still be beautiful; 🌄 2. To bring about greater appreciation about Autism so that more people can appreciate individuals with different abilities and be more compassionate when they see them in public; 💌 and 3. To share that Autism and other intellectual disabilities can be opportunities for the rest of us to learn and appreciate that not everyone perceives the world the same and 'its ok to not be OK' 👌 🔊 So this is a post to announce my intention to be more public about sharing about living with Autism. (Feel free to unfollow and remove me as a connection if you dont want such posts on your feed because I intend to be very regular). My next post on Autism will be about why I consider my son to be my teacher... it happened on an 18 hour airplane ride and it changed my perspective of how I see life. #autism #disability #OurAutismJourney #compassion #wisdom

Did you know today is International Friendship Day? To honor the special day, we want to bring recognition to the importance of creating and maintaining friendships with those with autism. Though being friends with someone with autism can present unique challenges, it can also bring about tons of fun and opportunities to learn and become a better friend. Check out this blog post for some tips on how to be a friend to someone on the spectrum: https://lnkd.in/egWfdbwF #internationalfriendshipday #friendshipday #inclusivity #inclusivitymatters #autismacceptance #embraceneurodiversity #childwithautism #autism