TMI - too much information - join National Autistic Society's new campaign

A young child in purple shirt, surrounded by many people and sounds, holds their ears shut to block out the sensory input - white on pink letters spell "TOO MUCH INFORMATION"

The British National Autistic Society (NAS) has launched a new campaign today, on 1 April, the start of Autism "Awareness" Month. Shockingly, there is very little awareness or acceptance of autistic children and adults in the UK:

28% of autistic people have been asked to leave a public space because of behaviour associated with their autism, 79% of autistic people and 70% of parents felt socially isolated.

The NAS argues that if someone sees only a "naughty kid" when they see a child in sensory overload, they clearly don't have enough information yet. They ask everyone: put yourself on the map and support the NAS to get everyone to understand autism.

A purple outline of the UK and Northern Ireland with bright dots representing clusters of supporters, on the left in white letters on pink background "PUT YOURSELF ON THE MAP"

Visit their site and check out the NAS' material, including a movie illustrating the sensory overload for a young autistic boy. This morning, on the BBC, he explained he hoped:

"this [movie] would cause awareness and respect, because that's as important as anything"