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From Awareness To Acceptance: Changing How We Understand Autism : 1A The Autism Society of America decided to change the branding of the month of April from, "Autism Awareness Month" to "Autism Acceptance Month."

The change represents a long-held belief by autistic advocates that in order to create a more inclusive future, society must help autistic people lead more fulfilling lives rather than treat the condition like an illness.

How should we be thinking about autism? What is most often misunderstood?

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From Awareness To Acceptance: Changing How We Understand Autism

From Awareness To Acceptance: Changing How We Understand Autism

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Sir Anthony Hopkins attends the LEAP Foundation in Los Angeles, California. He is the first openly autistic actor to win an Academy Award. Greg Doherty/Getty Images hide caption

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Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Sir Anthony Hopkins attends the LEAP Foundation in Los Angeles, California. He is the first openly autistic actor to win an Academy Award.

Greg Doherty/Getty Images

This April, the Autism Society of America, in cooperation with other disability organizations, tried something different.

Instead of branding the month, "Autism Awareness Month," the celebratory and informative period will be known as "Autism Acceptance Month."

The change represents a long-held belief by autism advocates, specifically within the neurodiversity movement: helping autistic people lead more fulfilling lives rather than treating the condition like an illness.

Autism has often been misunderstood by those outside the spectrum. How should we be thinking about autism?

Steve Silberman, Eric Garcia and Sara Luterman join us for the conversation.

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