Kean Celebrates National Autism Acceptance Month

By Steven-Ross Bugayong

April is here, and with it comes World Autism Acceptance Month. This Month celebrates autistic voices, and for some people here at Kean University recognize, advocate and bring awareness to Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder affects the way people observe the world. It impacts how people perceive and socializes with others. The disorder may include differences in thinking, processing, and physical moving.

Since 1972, Autism Awareness Month has been celebrated in April, and in 2007, the United Nations adopted April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day. The Autism Society of America, in 2021, advocated for Autism Awareness Month to be changed to Autism Acceptance Month to focus more on perspective-creating connections, empowering everyone in the Autism community to live a life fully rather than pointing out differences.

Matt Girello, a junior majoring in communications, who is on the spectrum, said the most significant effect of being autistic is how he interacts with people.

"There's a lot of big gatherings I'm uncomfortable in; if there's a lot of people, I get overstimulated." Girello said, "I like being in a small group or somewhere less crowded like the movies or comic book stores."

Marissa Gomez, a sophmore double majoring in Early Childhood Education with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ABA therapy, found her passion for Autism Adovacty early on.

"From a young age, I always knew I wanted to work with kids with special needs because my cousin grew up severely autistic, and I always had a deeper connection with him," Gomez said. "I was also drawn to the students who needed extra help in my classes as I grew up. I always strive to help them as best as I can."

According to the National Library of Medicine, "Sex/ Gender Differences in Symptomology and Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder," Autism Spectrum Disorder is more prevalent in males than females.

Research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that Autism Spectrum Disorder is nearly four times more common among boys than girls. A possible explanation for this stat is that females on continued on page 12