World Autism Awareness Day 2021 theme and how is it relevant today?

April 2 is recognised worldwide as World Autism Awareness Day, which is celebrated with the sole aim of spreading awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to the general public. This initiative also banks on the attributes of acceptance and kindness. Every year, the UN condenses this day into appropriate themes that are relevant to each year to elevate its effectiveness. Thankfully today with the advent of the Internet and social media, it is easier to start conversations around ASD and keep people updated about it. Let's take this opportunity to understand what this day truly stands for as well as the World Autism Awareness Day 2021 theme.

World Autism Awareness Day 2021 theme

The World Autism Awareness Day theme for this year is "Inclusion in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Pandemic World." This year's theme basks on the framework of World Autism Awareness Day 2020 theme that attempted to educate the mass about the challenge people on the autism spectrum face when “Transitioning to Adulthood". Throughout centuries, people with autism haven't been treated as equal.

Now with the COVID-19 pandemic setting in, the inequalities are all the more glaring despite the efforts of the United Nations and several NGOs in regularly spreading awareness about it. According to the United Nations observances blog, "Persons with autism have long faced many of these inequalities, which have only been further exacerbated by the pandemic. It’s a problem made worse by long recognized discriminatory hiring practices and workplace environments that present major obstacles for persons with autism; all of which contribute to the unemployment or severe underemployment of a large majority of adults on the autism spectrum."

The 2021 World Autism Awareness Day theme was created with the aim of addressing this setback and finding ways to evolve from it. The UN is organising a virtual event that will include moderated panel discussions with individuals on the autism spectrum who have themselves experienced the challenges in the employment market. It is important now more than ever to take part in the World Autism Awareness celebration by sharing as much information about it with your loved ones. It could be as simple as sharing an Instagram post today.

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