In Vietnam, misunderstanding of autism lingers heavily. A 2024 study revealed that only 31.9% of Vietnamese parents and guardians with autistic children understood autism cannot be "cured" even with early diagnosis and intervention. On a broader scale, autism continues to be framed as an illness, karmic demerit, or individual problem-as shown in cultural and ethnographic research conducted between 2011 and 2012-rather than being viewed as a form of neurodevelopmental diversity requiring understanding and support.
At our youth led nonprofit organization The APRIL Collective Foundation (The APRIL), we realized that the roadblock to appropriate public engagement isn’t only education, but also fostering unique, relatable connections to such a heavily stigmatized matter. For The APRIL’s advocacy campaign A Season of Joy, the goal was to transform everyday moments into opportunities for connection, curiosity, and inclusion.
Built around the belief that every small act of kindness has the power to create lasting social change, the campaign aimed to reach audiences where they naturally gather: cafés, photobooths, and social experiences shared among Vietnam’s youth demographic.
The campaign pursued three objectives:
Approaching autism in Vietnam is a monumental task require to engage with an audience that has long viewed the condition through skewed, misappropriated medical and folk lenses goes beyond mere education and guidance. The APRIL, acknowledging that fundamental limitation, aims to instill that awareness through the humble daily conversations we take part in.
The strategic insight for our campaign, A Season of Joy, came from the very café visits and photobooth experiences that have permeated throughout Vietnam’s youth lifestyle. Instead of traditional education channels, we recognized that autism awareness can be spread and received more effectively as an integral part of these omnipresent social rituals.
Our window came on 2025’s holiday season, a special time of gathering and year-end festivities for the entire nation regardless of religion and belief. As traffic to cafés and photobooths reached its apex, we took the opportunity to transform these everyday experiences into occasions for inclusion and learning.
To make autism education relatable, accessible, and shareable, we collaborated with 34 beverage chains across Vietnam to release customized straw toppers featuring ASPIE, The APRIL’s awareness mascot. Conceptualized and created by our own design and content teams, ASPIE is a figure universally representing diverse lived experiences of the ASD community. Through ASPIE’s own confident and joyful navigation of their growth and challenges, as well as the message of “Different, Not Less” (“Khác biệt - Không dị biệt”), the campaign aimed to reframe autism from a heavily stigmatized topic into a message of acceptance and appreciation.
Each straw topper featured one of four messages encouraging reflection and connection, while a QR code directed audiences to “A Season of Joy | Mùa của Hạnh phúc,” Vietnam’s first autism awareness short film. This created a simple engagement journey: see → become curious → scan → learn → share. In addition, we partnered with PHOTOTIME, one of Vietnam’s largest photobooth chains, to release customized picture frames-also featuring ASPIE and other unique features-in support of the campaign.
To ensure accuracy, relevance, and accessibility, all autism-related communication and materials went through multiple rounds of review by The APRIL’s own professional advisory team, including members with over three years of experience in academic research, and Kim Bùi-our clinical advisor, and Vietnam’s only Board-certified Behavior Analyst.
As a student-led nonprofit organization, we-many members of whom have no experience in large-scale marketing, outreach, and public relations operations-faced multiple challenges when carrying out this nationwide campaign. The 16-member team-remotely coordinated by the Founder from the United States with operational leaders located across Vietnam-overcame these barriers by building strong delegation, trust, and cross-regional collaboration through personal empowerment and innovation of hands-on solutions throughout the execution process.
Ten members led film production, while six managed outreach and PR. Filmmakers, crew members, and collaborators contributed voluntarily, while expert consultation was provided pro bono. The only expenses were approximately $200 USD for PR and $553 USD for producing 14,500 straw toppers, demonstrating that meaningful social impact could be achieved through youth creativity, collaboration, and community support rather than large-scale resources.
With a volunteer team of 16 high school students and a budget of $793 USD ($553 for 14,500 straw toppers, $200 for paid promotion, and ~$40 as a lead actor motivational fee), A Season of Joy demonstrated how youth creativity and community partnerships can represent a generational voice.
1. Increasing Autism Understanding and Challenging Misconceptions
As Vietnam’s first autism awareness short film to promote empathy over stigma, it generated 197,000 views-12x higher than The APRIL’s typical 4,000–16,000 reach. Positive viewer reactions included:
Audiences even requested post-screening meet-and-greets with the young production team.
2. Mobilizing Community Participation Through Everyday Experiences
The campaign embedded awareness into spaces where young people gather by distributing 14,500 custom straw toppers across 34 cafés and photobooth frames across 43 PHOTOTIME locations nationwide. Across 41 campaign posts, The APRIL generated 23,973 total engagements and 3,388 shares. Key metrics include:
3. Demonstrating Youth-Led Impact
Created entirely by 16 volunteers under 18 on a production budget of $793 USD, the campaign proved its central idea: small acts of kindness create lasting social change - impact relies on empathy, creativity, and community collaboration rather than a large budget.
