Today is Autistic Pride Day—a day championed by autistic people themselves that celebrates pride rather than disability. That’s exactly why we want to talk today about a question that’s almost never asked in everyday life. After all, recognizing strengths in autism can be very difficult for some people.
How does a self-image made up entirely of shortcomings develop?
Diagnoses identify what falls outside the norm—that is their purpose. But what’s written in support plans, what’s discussed at parent-teacher conferences, and what teachers dwell on during follow-up conversations: that’s almost never what’s going well. Children pick up on this. They hear what adults are worried about and, step by step, build their self-image from precisely these fragments.
Added to this is “masking”: many autistic children suppress behaviors that stand out at an early age because they eventually realized that these impulses can cause friction. Their environment has contributed to the development of these kinds of defense mechanisms by always focusing on only one side of the picture.
How can you identify strengths that no one has mentioned?
One question is often more helpful than any structured assessment: When does someone lose track of time because they’re so engrossed in what they’re doing? These moments almost always arise where genuine interest and genuine expertise intersect—for people on the autism spectrum, this often occurs in areas that those around them label as “special interests.”
Attention to detail, a sense of fairness, the ability to recognize patterns in information that seems disorganized to others—none of this is included in any support plan. In some professional fields, that’s exactly what makes the difference. What classroom aides and teachers can do is straightforward: describe what they see—without praise, simply as an observation. For someone who has spent years hearing mainly what’s wrong with them, this isn’t something that comes naturally.
Autistic Pride Day serves as a reminder that this isn’t about a deficit that needs to be corrected, but about people whose strengths are often just waiting to finally be recognized.
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At JuCare, we regularly write about autism—taking a resource-oriented approach, avoiding stereotypes, and offering a genuine perspective on what makes children who they are. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram so you don’t miss a single post.
