April is Autism Awareness Month — as a developmental disability with years of stigma, this is an important time to learn and reflect. Autism Spectrum Disorder can impact a person’s social skills, self-regulation abilities and communication. Much of the mission of Autism Awareness Month is for non-autistic individuals to learn more about autism and foster autism acceptance in our lives and our society.

Autism is a spectrum so not every autistic individual is going to have the same degree, level or experience of autism. It’s oftentimes unique to the individual. Some autistic people are nonverbal, others aren’t. Some struggle more with sensory issues, others struggle more with building relationships.