Autistic Pride Day is observed on June 18 to celebrate the neurodiversity of people with autism spectrum disorder, a day for them to be autistic and proud and celebrate who they are. This day focuses on the aspect of leaving no one behind raising awareness and creating a safe space for individuals in the community.
Autism is a neurological developmental disability that affects the development of the normal brain and hampers communication, social interaction, cognition, and behaviour.
The day is celebrated annually to break the societal barrier that has been created around autistic people whereas “Autistic pride” stands for pride in autism, it spreads the message that people who have autism aren’t diseases rather they are different, acknowledging that they aren’t sick but they have a very unique set of characteristics.
The first Autistic Pride Day was celebrated in 2005 by the online community Aspies For Freedom (AFF) which now is a world event, a day inspired by the LGBTQ pride event.
It is an Aspies for Freedom initiative, an autism rights group that aims to educate the general public with initiatives to end ignorance of the issues involving the autistic community so that the stereotypes regarding autistic people change.
This event has been about the community itself and not a day where other organisations can promote themselves by using autistic people, it's an event where they are at the centre stage.
The symbol of this day is represented by rainbow infinity which represents "diversity with infinite variations and infinite possibilities". The symbol represents the diversity of autistic people and the infinite possibilities and variations within the autistic community.