The National Autistic Society will improve public understanding of autism and change attitudes and behaviour towards autistic people through a new campaign, as new surveys from the charity reveal negative experiences are a regular part of daily life for autistic people, who avoid going out and are isolated as a result.

The new campaign, It’s How You Show Up, is launching on Wednesday 2 April 2025, to mark World Autism Day and World Autism Acceptance Month. The campaign will highlight ways the public can show up for autistic people by making changes to make a positive difference.

Key findings

A new survey from the National Autistic Society shows:

More than half (55%)[6] of autistic people avoid going out because they are worried how people will treat them.
A quarter (25%)[7] said they usually get a negative reaction when they say they are autistic.
Nine in 10 autistic people (90%)[8] have experienced poor mental health due to attitudes or perceptions of autism, and 84%[9] have experienced social isolation.

The National Autistic Society’s It’s How You Show Up campaign aims to improve public understanding of autism and change attitudes and behaviour towards autistic people. Nearly three quarters of Londoners polled by YouGov (74%)[10] want to learn how to help autistic people feel more accepted.

The YouGov survey found the public recognises the negative impact that a lack of understanding of autism can have on autistic people:

Nearly half (46%)[11] of UK adults think autistic people receive negative reactions from others when they share their autism diagnosis.
Nearly two thirds (63%)[12] think autistic people face lost friendships and difficulty making friends.
Nearly three in five (57%)[13] think they face fewer job opportunities.

The top three changes autistic people wish the public would make to better support autistic people are:

Make small changes in environments, such as work and public spaces (78%)[14]
Educate themselves about autism (69%)[15]
Become more open-minded in the way they think people should behave (68%)[16]

Peter Watt, Managing Director of National Programmes at the National Autistic Society, said: “Although autism understanding has improved massively in recent years, autistic people and their families still face negative perceptions that can make it harder to get helpful adjustments in their day-to-day lives, at school and work, or even preventing them from going out at all.

“Our campaign, It’s How You Show Up, will improve public understanding about autism and change attitudes and behaviour towards autistic people. There are many simple, every day ways the public can make a huge difference to autistic people and their families. Whether that’s taking steps to understand an autistic person’s experience of the world, allowing time for them to process information and space to regulate, or advocating for autistic colleagues in the workplace. We have lots of information and advice available on our website and invite everyone to get involved and show up for autistic people this World Autism Acceptance Month.”