Luces desde el balcón por el Día Mundial Del Autismo

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Today, just like every 2 April, World Autism Day is celebrated to make visible the need for all people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to have the tools necessary to exercise their rights and fundamental freedoms. And this year, due to the quarantines and lockdowns, Autismo España invites us to show solidarity from our balconies.

The invitation consists in that today, at 9 pm (time in Spain), we go out to our balcony, terrace or window and illuminate, with a mobile phone or a flashlight, the night in solidarity with people suffering from ASD and their families.

“We have moved the initiative LIUB (Light It Up Blue), by which buildings and monuments around the world are illuminated in blue on the evening of April 2, to the terraces, balconies and windows, and that these are flooded with mobile phone lights and flashlights at 21:00 as a sign of respect, understanding and solidarity,” they say from Autismo España.

To make this action visible, they propose that citizens take a photo and share it on social networks together with the hashtag #NationalAustimDay #LIUB.

From NeuronUP we encourage you to participate and support people with autism and their families!

Día Mundial Autismo — Turn off the lights. Turn on your cell phone, flashlight or any other light source. At 21h light up your window or balcony. Take a picture and/or video and upload it to the network with the #LIUB and #worldautismday. Share and spread this initiative with your neighbors and friends

Campaign “I can learn. I can work” campaign for World Autism Day

But the LIUB (Light It Up Blue) initiative is not the only campaign for World Autism Day. The campaign “I can learn. I can work” campaign has been created, which focuses on education and employment, two key areas to achieve effective participation in society of people with ASD and therefore improve their quality of life.

The data obtained from the sociodemographic register that Autismo España started in the year 2015 show that there has been a considerable increase in the number of students with ASD identified in the last five years: more than 118% between the academic years 2011-12 and 2017-2018. In addition, students with ASD have a higher risk of being victims of bullying (more than 50% of students with this disorder suffer from bullying) and high rates of school dropout have been detected at the end of Secondary Education, compared to the rates of continuity of the rest of the students in non-university education.

Likewise, from Autismo España they indicate that “vocational orientation and internship experiences are not sufficiently developed either and that there is no connection between the last educational stages and the employment services”. In this sense, they explain, “it is necessary to make explicit their greater vulnerability in relation to other groups, facing higher unemployment rates, suffering greater exclusion in the labor market; thus, it is estimated that more than 90% of people with ASD are unemployed, also due to both the shortage of support services for adults and a general lack of understanding of the abilities of people with ASD and their labor potential”.

How to participate in this campaign?

Very simple! Hold in your hand a tool or utensil that represents one of your skills or abilities and take a picture, gif or video with it and share it in your networks with the hashtag #WorldAutismDay

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