Top Ten Quotes on Autism

Good Morning, today is 'World Autism Awareness Day'. To mark the event, I have found ten great quotes either specifically on Autism or with relevance to how we understand and approach this aspect of humanity.

>> “It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential.” - Hans Asperger

>> “Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” - Albert Camus

>> “I don't know what causes autism, but I know what causes autistic people to suffer and that is the reduction of our identities to a medical problem that has to be cured.” - Zach Richter

>> “When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it. What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.” – Epictetus

>> “Autism is not a disease, a disorder, or something holding me prisoner in a shell. Autism is a culture, a lifestyle, and a way of being.” - Kassiane Sibley

>> “If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not—because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am.” - Temple Grandin

>> “Neurodiversity; What a beautiful word that encompasses the reality that God has many different ways to build a brain.” - Kathleen Seidel

>> ” … research demonstrates that autistic traits are distributed into the non-autistic population; some people have more of them, some have fewer. History suggests that many individuals whom we would today diagnose as autistic – some severely so – contributed profoundly to our art, our math, our science, and our literature. “ - Morton Gernsbacher

>> “Someone with Asperger’s really is like you, just more extreme.” - Dr. Winnie Dunn

And my favourite:

>> “Imagine a world where Aspergers was the norm, and non-autistics or neurotypicals were the minority. Let's try it: Those who feel the need to constantly be with a variety of friends are considered fickle. Those with no propensity for computers and science are called geeks. Those with no special interest are thought to be ungrounded and lost. Those without obsessive focus have to take classes to cultivate it.” - Rudy Simone

Within my own setting, Thornleigh Salesian College, I have sought to raise awareness of Autism with an after-school training session - which was both well-attended and well-received by colleagues. The full training session can be downloaded freely from here, and the powerpoint part can be viewed online here.