/April is Autism Acceptance Month. Someone you know is autistic. I say this with confidence because an increasing number of autism diagnoses has been happening over in recent years. In 2022, (the latest year for which we have data) one in 31 children ages 8 and underwas diagnosed as autistic. This statistic does not take into account the many, many older children and adults who were not diagnosed early and are only in their later years are identified as autistic.  

I am a rabbi, a board certified chaplain, a mother and an artist. I am Autistic, and both of my children are also Autistic.

My daughters were diagnosed with autism in 1999. At that time, support for such kids was hard to find and information was scant compared to what we know today. I was told merely: “your kids think literally, and they have poor social skills.” I knew nothing about sensory differences, creative thought processes of autistic people, a typical autistic drive towards justice, as well as features that may occur in autism. I knew next to nothing about needed accommodations that can often help autistic people.

Had I known about sensory differences, I might have realized much sooner that I, too, am autistic. I always had problems with various textures, tastes and smells, and my family just attributed this to “excessive sensitivity.” I did not know these were autistic indicators and only pursued a formal diagnosis when my kids were in their 20s and more information about autism was being published. So I, like many others, especially women, suffered needlessly for decades not understanding why I felt the way I did about so many things and why tasks and experiences that appeared easy to others were so challenging to me.

Autism is a disability. It is not a disease. People don’t “have autism,” just like people don’t “have blindness” or “have deafness.” Autism is not an appendage that we can remove or hide at will — although many of us are excellent at hiding it, otherwise known as masking. The reason autism is a disability is that the world is not designed with us in mind; the world is made for, and largely by, neurotypical folks.There are many aspects of daily life that are difficult and/or distressing to autistic and other neurodivergent people that are completely “normal” for neurotypicals (hereon referred to as NTs).

What does it feel like to be autistic? First, it needs to be said that “if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.” We are all individuals and all different. What follows are some general descriptors only. As indicated above, we tend to experience our senses differently. We may be more sensitive to light, sound, smells and/or textures than NTs. We likely think at a different rate and in different ways than NTs. We may need more processing time, and we tend to be “bottom up” thinkers rather than “top down” thinkers. We observe things quite differently and we experience the world and its many aspects in a decidedly different way. Thus, our needs differ from those of our NT neighbors. 

Why does this matter? Just as someone who uses a wheelchair benefits from curb cuts, ramps and elevators, and just as someone with vision impairment benefits from Braille and audiobooks, we autistic folks benefit from accommodations for our differences as well.

April is Autism Acceptance month. In 1970, April was first named “Autism Awareness Month”. In 1988, Ronald Reagan officially declared April as Autism Awareness Month and this opened the door for more conversations and research about autism, although there was a very long way to go (there still is!). A shift began to occur in 2011 from “awareness,” which is passive, to “acceptance,” which is more active. Autistic advocates noticed that “awareness” was a notion frequently employed by NTs who seemed to speak for autistic folks rather than with or to us. In 2021, April was officially changed from Autism Awareness Month to Autism Acceptance Month. 

Acceptance indicates a more active engagement with the autistic community, as well as the inclusion of autistic voices in the conversation. 

Now, in 2026, I would like to propose that the name of this month be changed again, to Autism Advocacy Month. While many of us autistic folks are willing and able to advocate for ourselves, many of us are not. The voices of nonverbal and other differently abled autistic people are still being lost in the shuffle. We need both autistic and NTs advocating for our needs and our rights.

As I said at the outset: someone you know is autistic. Perhaps someone you love is autistic. It is time for everyone, including NTs to advocate for the rights and voices of autistic people. The diversity that autistic minds and hearts bring to all areas of life enrich us all. 

Judaism teaches that each person contains a universe. The Torah tells us that each person is made in God’s image and therefore holds the spark of divinity. As Jews, it is our moral responsibility to advocate for every individual, including every autistic autistic individual. When we do so, all of us will be enriched. 

I welcome your questions and comments. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you are so moved.