As I’m reflecting on the closing of autism awareness and acceptance month, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that a lot of autistic people absolutely DREAD this time of the year. And truthfully, I’ve been struggling this whole month to put my thoughts into words because of how much I want this month to end. It’s that time of year where the same talking points are regurgitated by actually autistic people: don’t use the puzzle piece, Autism Speaks is a hate group against autistic people, don’t “light it up blue;” wear red instead, using the term Asperger’s is antisemitic and ableist, functioning labels are bad, identity first (autistic person) is preferred over person first (person with autism) language, and ‘we don’t need awareness, we need acceptance.’
And it’s also a time of the year where ableism against the autistic community amplifies tenfold; we’re in a time where people have been using the term ‘autistic’ as an ableist slur, many autistic people are dehumanized and infantilized by allistic (non autistic) people, 9 out of 10 autistic AFAB people (assigned female at birth) have been sexually assaulted in our lifetimes and more than half of us have been violated more than once; or our existence and experiences are dismissed because allistic people don’t realize autism’s intersectionality because of the stereotypes about autism and false information claiming that autism is 4 times more likely to be diagnosed in boys than girls.
No matter who you are, everyone deserves to feel they belong somewhere, to feel welcomed, and included. And for me as an autistic runner who has non-epileptic seizures, there are a lot of times when I don’t feel included and I feel really alone. I struggle with a lot with sensory overload, and so I need my headphones to fully participate with everyone. I like to parallel run, which is similar to parallel play: having the ability to run alongside people, but having the option not to socialize. I also found out I’m autistic due to changes on my regular running route. For four years, I never changed my running route. And when there was construction or large gatherings during the lockdown era, I mentally broke down and could not go running. Lastly, I have seizures that are triggered immediately by flash photography, lighting, strobe lights (especially on headlamps or Nathan vests); or any flashing colors that flash more than 5 flashes per second. There are times because of my seizures that I cannot run out of genuine fear for my safety.
If I could tell people one thing about my autism, it would be that my autism is disabling, and that I would not be able to live without accommodations. Accommodations help disabled people live. Accommodations are also a human right. And when it comes to autism, each autistic person’s accommodations will be different because each person has a specific set of support needs. And for me, as a mid support needs autistic person who is experiencing skill regressions to where I need more support than I originally thought I did, here are some ways you can be inclusive of autistic runners (this is not an end all be all list because each autistic person has specific support needs):
- If someone discloses their diagnosis to you, don’t say things like “you don’t look autistic,” “you don’t act anything like my (insert family member who has high support needs here),” or “but you’re so high functioning.”
- In response, you can simply thank someone for sharing, or you can ask “what does being autistic mean to you?” As stated above, each autistic person experiences different traits and different levels of support based on their traits. If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve only met one autistic person and support needs are individual.
- Ask when an autistic person is NOT in distress “how can I best support you?” Speaking for myself, when I am in distress, or having an autistic meltdown, I vocally shutdown and my communication is usually violent stims against myself. However, when I’m not in distress, I can advocate for myself because I have created scripts of what I need.
- If possible on Nathan vests, use the slow mode for the changing colors. Some autistic people can be really overstimulated by strobing colors, some autistic people like me have seizures.
- If route changes are occurring, communicate a couple of days (if possible) beforehand. Small changes in sameness and routine can be detrimental for autistic people and can stop a lot of us from running altogether.
- Some autistic people (including me) may need routes, workouts, or places for water stops communicated to us more than once because it can be a struggle to listen when there’s a lot happening around us. Please don’t get frustrated or upset if we ask for instructions to be shared again.
There are a lot of nuances about autism that allistic people need to be made aware of. Because as polarizing of a month like April is for autistic people, when it comes to acceptance of any topic, how can we fully accept something if we don’t have the knowledge that awareness brings to better understand something? So for allistic people, please listen to autistic people. Listen to our support needs. Listen to when we say something is harmful, because we are just as human as any allistic person, and our boundaries deserve to be respected.
Lastly, as a whole when discussing disability, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts must include disabled people. Because if we are not included, the most marginalized (i.e. Black, Indigenous, and disabled people of color who have high support needs) will be left behind. One of my mutuals on TikTok once said “when you uplift and center the most marginalized, you can uplift everyone,” and that is the final message I want to leave on this blog post. When we uplift disabled runners, especially multiply intersectional disabled runners by listening to a multitude of lived experiences, listening to accessibility needs, and providing accommodations to make running more inclusive, we in the running community will be able to uplift every single runner.

Ashley Daniels
Follow Her on: Instagram, Tiktok
Favorite Grandma’s Marathon Memory: Being selected as a Grambassador last year! I got to connect to so many racers and community members while also sharing my experiences as a disabled runner. It’s been the experience of a lifetime and I’m so excited to be selected for the 2024 Grambassador team!
Favorite post-race beverage: It depends on the weather! If the weather is really hot, I love lime sparkling water. If the weather is really cold, hot chocolate, chicken broth, or hot tea.
2024 running goal: I’m looking to turn around a tough 2023 racing season. After struggling with stress vomiting, struggling with my eating disorder relapsing, struggling with job loss, and the lingering fear of losing my home throughout all of 2023, I just want to run without pressure and do my best!
Three words to describe your training, racing, or life: grit, determination, and compassion. Running requires getting gritty. Staying strong when the run gets tough. And that ties into determination because you can’t have grit without determination to finish what you start. To keep showing up every single day even when it’s hard. And lastly, I run with compassion for myself. There are days that I can’t run due to my non-epileptic seizures. I have to have compassion for myself and be patient with myself. I may have to train differently than my allistic (non-autistic) peers, but that doesn’t mean I’m less of a runner than them. That compassion keeps me grounded and humble.