To acknowledge the day, we hear from FASD United’s own Emma Baldwin, who has words as an autistic self-advocate on how the FASD community and the autistic community can support each other’s advocacy. 

As we are working to give FASD a seat, we must acknowledge who else is sitting at the table– especially when it means we don’t have to advocate on our own. 

While prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) does not increase the likelihood of autism, there is a known overlap in experiences between the two communities. Many people with FASD also have an autism diagnosis, either because they have both or because they were initially misdiagnosed as being on the autism spectrum (Carpita et al., 2022). 

As an autistic person who has a sibling with FASD, I am in a unique position. While I engage within my own community, I am constantly asking how our advocacy could support the efforts of the FASD community. How can we learn from one another and stop advocating from a scarcity mindset? 

A scarcity mindset is when we act in defense of the limited resources available. We know that no matter how well-known a disability is, there will still be insufficient resources. But thinking we must fight other disability groups for those resources only ends up dividing them even further.  

It is my hope that we not only celebrate other disability groups, but also work together to share what works for us. There are many sentiments I’ve observed about the autistic community that I’d love to see enter the FASD community.  

In the last few years, autistic individuals have shifted narratives of the public. They have worked to increase leadership by self-advocates, challenging assumptions of what autism can look like, and turning from “autism awareness” to “autism acceptance,” hence “Autism Acceptance Day.” 

Historically, advocacy for autism began with a search for a “cure.” This movement was led primarily by caregivers and professionals who work with autistic people. However, self-advocates who now guide autism rights efforts ask the public to consider the individuals already existing and living with autism. Self-advocates are more concerned with receiving support and acceptance than they are with finding a cure. 

When I talk to other FASD-informed autistic individuals and when I talk to individuals with FASD, this is what they have mentioned wanting to see for the FASD community. They want to see broad acceptance of themselves as people, they want people to see the vast diversity of experiences within the community, and they want to help lead the effort. How would it look to center support and acceptance within the FASD community? 

On the systemic level, Dr. Eric Flake from the Department of Defense has been working within the military healthcare system to combine efforts for the neurodiversity community. He says, “I hope that the autism community would be open and accepting to allowing the other neurodevelopmental components to align with them and work together as we advocate and find best practices for our families.” You can read more about how Dr. Flake has put these words into practice here. 

Increased collaboration with FASD in neurodiversity will help people get accurate diagnoses faster, lead to more effective treatments and resources, and improve outcomes. Until then, many people in the FASD community currently rely on resources initially intended for the autistic community.  

We need to trust that sharing resources and energy will benefit everyone in the disability community. More personally, we need to rely on each other for understanding, acceptance, and community. 

Carpita, B., Migli, L., Chiarantini, I., Battaglini, S., Montalbano, C., Carmassi, C., Cremone, I. M., & Dell’Osso, L. (2022). Autism Spectrum Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review. Brain sciences, 12(6), 792. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12060792