April is THE month to learn more about autism from those in the Autistic community. Here are a couple of websites/social media accounts to get you started:
The Autisticats
https://theautisticats.weebly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/the.autisticats/
https://twitter.com/autisticats
Neuroclastic
https://neuroclastic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/neuroclastic/
Lydia X. Z. Brown has some very thorough answers to frequently asked questions about Autism here:
https://www.autistichoya.com/p/introduction-to-autism-faqs-of-autism.html
Justin McElroy, a local CBC reporter, is a stellar resource with regards to all things COVID in B.C
(https://twitter.com/j_mcelroy). He also wrote an article for Autism Awareness Day about being Autistic:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/autism-awareness-day-mcelroy-finch-piece-2021-1.5971745
Here’s a wonderful explanation of the autism spectrum, written in comic strip format by Rebecca Burgess:
https://the-art-of-autism.com/understanding-the-spectrum-a-comic-strip-explanation/
Looking for ways to help your kids understand and accept their peers with autism? Here is a great list of children’s books compiled by Huffington Post:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/17-childrens-books-that-promote-understanding-of-autism_n_5ade4580e4b036e7aeb58a64
(P.S. Any of these books would be a welcome donation to the Hastings Elementary Diversity Book Drive!)