Huntsville, AL: Verbal autistic adult explains away autism myths

April 17, 2024, Fox54, Huntsville, AL: During Autism Acceptance Month FOX54 debunks some myths about autistic people  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z44_tvVmYO4

Anchor: Autism is recognized all month. We’re educated about what it means to be on the spectrum, the types of disorders, but also to bring awareness to the stigma associated with autism.

Autistic adult: Some people like to call us special needs.

Voiceover: The president of Huntsville Autistic Adults says stop right there because the needs of autistic people are not special

Autistic adult: They may seem special because we need accommodations to meet those needs sometimes. Sometime they’re harder to achieve, but they’re not special.

Voiceover: This is another thing to note when referring to an autistic person, we prefer autistic person, not person with autism. . . .

Voiceover: Stacy Kelly is neurodiversity advocate bringing awareness to the different ways people’s brains work, and Kelly shares her experience after being diagnosed with autism at age 42.

Kelly: The big thing for me, in getting my diagnosis, was understanding that I’m not a broken neurotypical. I  am actually a fairly successful autistic person, but my experience isn’t like anybody else’s.

I actually internalized everything. So I was withdrawn. I did not have behavior issues. . .