After accidentally locking myself outside my flat, standing in the same piece of dog muck twice, and then discovering that (yet again) I’m going to need braces, it’s safe to say that September hasn’t been the best month for me.

However, whilst I have spent most of this month with a black cloud over my head, feeling sorry for myself and my poor, once white trainers, it seems that most of the autistic community has had the complete opposite luck – with incredible announcements and outstanding achievements coming thick and fast throughout the month.

So, in an attempt to forget about my troubles and start October on the right foot, today, I want to welcome the new month by creating a top 5 autism news-round up which focuses solely on the most inspiring headlines from the month gone by (as always, links to the full stories can be accessed by clicking on the red titles and the bold headings).

Honourable Mentions:

Loose Women discusses autism

Of course, even when I root out all the negative pieces of autism news, our great community has still achieved so much that it can easily fill out a second list of its own. So, to ensure that every article gets the attention it deserves, here are some honourable mentions:

The Top 5 Autism News for August 2018:

5. ‘The Reason I Jump’ to be made into a FilmThe Reason I Jump is being turned into a film

After a string of not so great autism depictions in recent years, it looks like we can now prepare for a soon to be spot on portrayal, after news came this month that the highly-regarded book: The Reason I Jump, will be made into a movie by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions – the company behind the star-studded ‘Girl Rising’ and the Oscar-nominated ‘Body Team 12’.

For those who have never heard of The Reason I Jump, or for those who, like me, haven’t quite got around to reading it, the book is a non-fiction question and answer format discussion of what life has been like and is like for Naoki Higashida: a 13-year-old Japanese boy with autism.

Since The Reason I Jump was released, in 2013, the book has gone on to become The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, as well as receiving multiple translations around the world. Now, with the news that the Higashida’s story will soon become a movie, it seems that this positive autism message is likely to reach many more.

4. Siena Castellon receives ANOTHER award

Another Award for Quantum Leap

Not one to stray far from the top 5 news round-up for too long, last month, autistic inspiration Siena Castellon received a Diana Award for her incredible anti-bullying advocacy.

The award, which was founded as a legacy to Princess Diana, aims to recognise the princess’s belief that ‘young people have the power to change the world’, and from looking at Castellon’s track record, it’s hard to argue that Diana wasn’t onto something.

Siena Castellon is the founder of the incredible Quantum Leap Mentoring, a site which not only helps children with learning differences find success in and outside of school, but is actually one of my personal most recommended autism support resources. Amongst her pages on Asperger’s, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia, Castellon also shares her experiences and opinions on bullying – an area which provides a small glimpse at some of the amazing work Castellon has done to earn her award.

For more information on Siena Castellon follow this link.

3. A progressive Autism Conference is held in Vietnam

Vietnam autism friendly conference

During a recent autism conference in Vietnam, many speakers chose to go against the grain and use the opportunity to not discuss how to ‘treat’ autistic people (as was intended) but instead how to care for us and accept us into their population.

Although not every speaker was quite as positive when discussing autism (as can be seen from the linked article), this conference was no doubt a huge step forward for the autistic community in Vietnam – hopefully marking the start of a progression which will accommodate Vietnamese autistic people instead of looking to ‘cure’ them – a sentiment which can be best seen in this quote from the day:

‘caring and creating equality in healthcare, as well as access to basic social services such as education and social security, are the best ways to approach autistic children and adults’

2. National Autistic Society Rebrands

Check out the new National Autistic Soicety Logo

After teasing us with news of an upcoming change earlier in the month, on the 28th of September, the National Autistic Society announced that it will be rebranding to modernize itself to match the modern needs of the autistic community.

While the focus of this development has mainly centred around the charities shiny new logo (a change which I wish certain other charities would embrace), its new vision: ‘a society that works for autistic people’, is perhaps more deserving of your attention, as it highlights the change in attitudes from encouraging autism awareness to encouraging people to acknowledge the diverse mix of individuals who all share the condition (something which is also represented by the new spectrum logo design).

The National Autistic Society has made it clear that this move was something which was tested and discussed with countless members of the autistic community and, whilst I was not one of the people in this workshop, you can be sure that it would have got two thumbs up from me.

1. Autism Advocate is Immortalised

25 Extraordinary women were turned into statues

Did you know that if you remove all depictions of royalty and mythological creatures out of the 925 statues scattered around the UK, then you are left with only 25 which feature females? This is a number which Heritage Open Days sought to double last month, by hosting the ‘Extraordinary Living Women’ project – an event celebrating the 100-year anniversary of women getting the vote by immortalising 25 of the most inspiring females around the UK.

Amongst the many highly praised figures, these heroes included: Iby Knill, an author of soon to be three autobiographies discussing her life as an Auschwitz survivor; Myroslava, the brains behind the Manchester Bee project, and the autism communities very own Carly Jones MBE- a renowned leading advocate for females on the spectrum, who has appeared in everything from Glamour magazine to the United Nations.

In my opinion, Jones’ recognition couldn’t be more just and, as such, I feel she well and truly deserves the top place on today’s list, as well as a massive congratulations for not only going above and beyond in her role as an autism advocate but also for highlighting the incredible accomplishments which women have achieved but are all too often uncredited for.

Carry on the Conversation:

Help me to start the autumn season on a more positive note by sharing some of your highlights from September in the comments below.

As always, I can also be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.

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Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.