Holiday Calendar

Autism Acceptance Month

Next celebratedThursday, April 1, 2027

An informational observance throughout April promoting the acceptance, inclusion, and rights of autistic people through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.

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Last updated February 26, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar TeamHave an update or spot an error?
YEARLY DATEAll of April
OBSERVED INUnited States
CATEGORYAwareness
SUBCATEGORYDisability
ORIGIN

Community Origin

FOUNDING ENTITY
Paula C. Durbin-Westby
FIRST OBSERVED
2011
“Paula C. Durbin-Westby organized the first Autism Acceptance Day on April 1, 2011, as a corrective to April's awareness media.
HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

One self-advocate reframed an entire April.

Autistic self-advocate Paula C. Durbin-Westby organized the first Autism Acceptance Day on April 1, 2011, as a corrective to the negative awareness media common each April, and the idea spread through the autistic community. A decade later, in April 2021, the Autism Society of America and its affiliates led a broader effort to designate April as Autism Acceptance Month, a progression from Autism Awareness Month.

Read ASAN Acceptance Historyvia Autistic Self Advocacy Network
INTRO

How one autistic advocate rewrote April's script

For years, April belonged to autism "awareness." Then one autistic woman decided awareness was not enough. In 2011, self-advocate Paula C. Durbin-Westby organized the first Autism Acceptance Day, a pointed answer to the negative media that filled the month.

Her reframing took a decade to reach the institutions. The autistic community adopted "acceptance" first, and only in 2021 did the country's largest autism organization formally follow.

Autism Acceptance Month is the result of that shift. The change is more than a word. Awareness asks people to notice that autism exists, while acceptance asks for inclusion, support, and rights.

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ORIGINS

Autism Acceptance Month history

INTRODUCTION

The phrase that defines this month did not come from a charity or a government office. It came from inside the autistic community, from people who were tired of being talked about rather than to.

To many autistic adults, the April "awareness" campaigns leaned on alarm and pity, and felt less like recognition than like a problem statement about their own lives.

CHAPTER 01

A corrective, organized in 2011

Paula C. Durbin-Westby, an autistic self-advocate, wanted something different. On April 1, 2011, she organized the first Autism Acceptance Day as a direct corrective to those awareness pieces.

She described the effort plainly. It was pro-neurodiversity, pro-supports and services, against "cures," and not about fundraising or other agendas.

The framing resonated. Autism Acceptance Day, and then Autism Acceptance Month, spread quickly through the autistic community and the networks around it.

CHAPTER 02

The institutions follow, a decade later

The older awareness movement had deep roots. The Autism Society of America, founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland and Ruth C. Sullivan, is the oldest and largest grassroots autism organization in the country.

For a long time the two vocabularies coexisted: a grassroots "acceptance" month and an institutional "awareness" month. The gap finally closed in 2021.

That April, the Autism Society and its affiliates led the effort to designate April as Autism Acceptance Month, a progression from Autism Awareness Month. At least 10 states issued proclamations to change the month's name outright.

CHAPTER 03

Acceptance as a contested word

The shift sits alongside debates the autistic community is still working through. One is language itself: many autistic people and autistic-led groups prefer identity-first wording, such as "autistic person," while person-first wording remains common in clinical settings.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network argues that autism is an inherent part of a person's identity. The month does not settle these questions. It marks the moment the conversation moved from awareness toward acceptance.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why Autism Acceptance Month Matters

ORIGINS

A movement authored from inside the community it describes

The acceptance framing began in 2011 with an autistic self-advocate, not with a charity campaign or a government proclamation. That authorship is why the month centers inclusion and rights rather than alarm.

LANGUAGE

It moved community language into official use

The acceptance framing started with autistic self-advocates, then state governments and the country's largest autism organization adopted it. The rename gave the terms autistic people chose for themselves a foothold in official language.

SCALE

It speaks to a large population

The CDC's surveillance network identifies about 1 in 31 eight-year-olds with autism. A month focused on acceptance reaches families, schools, and workplaces across that population.

BY THE NUMBERS

Autism Acceptance Month by the Numbers

1 in 31
US 8-year-olds identified with autism
3.2%
Autism prevalence, US 8-year-olds (2022)
3x+
Autism more common in boys than girls
10+
US states that renamed the month in 2021
2011
First Autism Acceptance Day organized
Autism Acceptance Month is an opportunity to advocate and practice acceptance for the Autism community through inclusion, support and connection.
Christopher BanksPresident and CEO, Autism Society of America

GET INVOLVED

How to Observe Autism Acceptance Month

EDITOR'S PICK

Learn what acceptance asks of you

Read how the month differs from awareness, straight from autistic-led sources. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network explains why inclusion and rights sit at the center.

LISTEN

Listen to autistic voices first

Follow autistic writers, advocates, and creators during April and beyond. Centering firsthand perspectives is the practical core of acceptance.

REVIEW

Review the language you use

Learn the difference between identity-first and person-first wording, and ask people which they prefer. Many autistic people choose "autistic person," though preferences vary.

SUPPORT

Support inclusion where you are

Push for sensory-friendly events, flexible workplaces, and accessible classrooms in your own community. Acceptance is most visible in everyday accommodations.

BACK

Back an autism organization

Volunteer with or donate to a group doing inclusion and advocacy work, such as the Autism Society of America. Choose one whose mission matches the kind of support you want to fund.

GET INVOLVED

Resources and Support

EDITOR'S PICK

Autism Society of America

Autism Society of America. Grassroots advocacy, local affiliates, and Autism Acceptance Month programming

Test your knowledge

How well do you know Autism Acceptance Month?

1 / 8

Who organized the first Autism Acceptance Day in 2011?

Answer

It runs throughout the month of April every year in the United States. It was previously known as Autism Awareness Month.

COLOPHON

Sources

How we know what’s on this page. References, not endorsements.

7sources
6primary records
3independently dated
Primary records
Autistic Self Advocacy Network2012-03-18
Autism Acceptance: Events and Their History
The first Autism Acceptance Day, organized by Paula C. Durbin-Westby on April 1, 2011.
View source
Autism Society of America2021
Autism Society of America Releases 2021 Annual Report
The 2021 effort to rename April as Autism Acceptance Month, with at least 10 states changing it by proclamation.
View source
Autism Society of America
Celebrate Differences During April's Autism Acceptance Month
The Autism Society's framing of the month and a statement from its president and CEO.
View source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention2025-05-27
Autism Data and Statistics (ADDM Network)
Current US prevalence: about 1 in 31 eight-year-olds identified with autism, surveillance year 2022.
View source
United Nations
World Autism Awareness Day
The UN's designation of April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day in 2007.
View source
Autism Society of America
Who We Are
The organization's 1965 founding by Bernard Rimland and Ruth C. Sullivan as the oldest US autism group.
View source
Additional coverage
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Identity-First Language
The autistic-community case for identity-first language and why many prefer "autistic person."
View source
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