World Autism Awareness Day
Internationally recognized day on 2 April / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on 2 April, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world.[1][2] It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/62/139),[3] passed in council on 1 November 2007, and adopted on 18 December 2007. It was proposed by Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, the United Nations Representative from Qatar, and supported by all member states.[4][5][6][7]
World Autism Awareness Day | |
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Official name | World Autism Awareness Day |
Observed by | United Nations member states |
Date | 2 April |
Next time | 2 April 2025 (2025-04-02) |
Frequency | annual |
First time | 2008 |
This resolution was passed and adopted without a vote in the UN General Assembly, mainly as a supplement to previous UN initiatives to improve human rights.[6]
World Autism Day is one of only seven official health-specific UN Days.[8]
The terms "Autism Awareness Day" and "Autism Awareness Month" are sometimes contested by autism rights advocates, who claim that they feed into ableism against autistic people. Such groups, including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, advocate using the term Autism Acceptance day as an alternative for both events under the belief that it promotes overcoming anti-autism prejudice rather than simply increasing awareness of autism.[9][10] Besides this international autism day, the Autistic Pride Day is held yearly on 18 June, a pride celebration which recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.