Autastic Community Guidelines
At Autastic, community comes first. Ours are learning spaces that forward our mission to educate, empower, and connect adult-identified autistic people of colour & our allies.
FAQ
What are Autastic communities about?
Autastic exists to bring the autistic community together — with autistic people of colour in the foreground — so we may share experiences and resources to create the lives we want to live.
Each Autastic community is a volunteer peer-maintained space that may serve a different, specific group but the mission remains the same: Educate, Empower, Connect.
Do I need an official diagnosis to participate?
Self-identification is the first step to better self-knowledge and is often the only avenue available. Having your identity validated by the medical community can be an important step but diagnosis is not a requirement for inclusion here.
For more information on choosing diagnosis, see “Is An Autism Diagnosis Right For You?“
Are there local events?
We are a global community! Because the numbers of autistic adults who recognize their neurodiversity are so few, it’s difficult to organize outside of major cities worldwide. To overcome that obstacle, we offer live virtual events some of which are held at a time slot where most anyone anywhere will be able to participate simultaneously.
Yes, that means some members are up early and others very late. For many, it’s more than worth it to be in a community of compassionate, caring peers. Learn more about our live events here.
Does it cost money to join?
There will *always* be free access to content and community at Autastic. It’s a core part of our mission that autistic people have access to the resources and connections that can make a difference.
In addition to free content and community access, there are paid courses, events, and offerings that directly support our work. A percentage of all revenue is given back directly to the #AutisticBIPoC community.
Where do fees go?
All revenue generated through events, courses, donations, patronage, affiliate fees from sales in The Autastic Shop, etc. go towards paying the costs of keeping this site and our social network spaces running. Your funds go directly to:
- Hosting fees
- Supporting services (such as security plugins)
- Services (such as Zoom for video conferencing)
and similar costs incurred to bring Autastic to you.
We are proudly entirely community funded!
A percentage of all revenue is given back directly to the #AutisticBIPoC community at the end of the calendar year.
Who's behind Autastic?
Hi! It’s me, Diane! Before I dedicated my life to autistic advocacy and community-building, I flailed though the persistent support gap that exists for late-identified autistic adults. Having emerged from that disheartening place, I decided to do all I can to change what’s likely our most defining experience for the better.
Everything at Autastic was created by me, on my Macbook, with my cat on my lap. But it’s our many generous volunteer moderators and thousands of community members who make our communities come to life. I do all I can to ensure that wherever possible, every collaborator and service provider is also #ActuallyAutistic.
You can learn more about me on the About page as well as get to know me across social media @WeAreAutastic.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Our peer-maintained spaces rely on responsible participation and a shared commitment to fostering respect, dignity, fairness, compassion, equality and self-esteem to keep our communities as valuable, meaningful, and welcoming as possible
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Do No Harm
Listen first. Respond thoughtfully.
Be Compassionate
Do you best to connect with the perspective of the person you’re in engaged in conversation with and how they might feel. If you’re unsure, ask. Courtesy and consideration go a long way. We are a community of people who are new to autistic culture — missteps *will* be made. Making them in the company of compassionate friends who encourage growth is the goal.
Be Supportive
Encouragement, understanding, and hearing someone out can be the most meaningful support we can offer. No one joins a community looking for criticism, contradiction, cynicism, advice, or judgement. Offer your opinion when asked. Reserve it appropriately. Humour goes a long way.
Be Constructive
We’re here to validate and lift each other up. When requested, find thoughtful ways to help each other think beyond the usual and grow. Consider that sometimes the best feedback isn’t informative but compassionate. See #1.
Share Generously
Your personal stories and experiences may be exactly what another member needs to hear today to solve a problem, better understand themselves, or seize an opportunity. Facts are good. Giving of yourself is better.
COMMUNITY RULES
The Autastic Community
Profile photos and a short bio are minimum requirements. Unlike standard social networks, The Autastic.com Community is building our own unique culture by fostering connection, encouraging personal accountability, and building genuine relationships. Persistently anonymous profiles will be suspended.
All Autastic Communities
No hate speech, memes, conversations, comments or similar supporting any of, but not exclusive to, the following: autism cures, anti-vax theories, racism, colorism, ableism, misogyny, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, anti-faith rhetoric. Behaviours that are widely accepted as harmful and/or prejudicious — including those that may not be explicitly listed above — may result in removal from the community at our moderators’ discretion.
No violence including bullying, policing, or trolling. Bullying includes public shaming, posting screenshots, restarting conversations after moderators have closed or removed them, doxxing, private messaging members without prior permission, dogpiling, and similar. Members engaging in violence of any kind may be removed from the community at our moderators’ discretion.
Controversial topics will be removed. Autastic communities exist as spaces to foster community and personal growth. Controversial discussions will be removed at our moderators’ discretion. Content warnings (CW) are courtesy — please use them for sensitive subjects.
No sales pitches, fundraising, petition signing requests, research participation requests, recruitment, or similar. Exemptions will be made on a case-by-case basis. Contact the community host to request access.
Breaching privacy revokes membership. Sharing content from within the community or sharing content from other private spaces within our community breaches privacy boundaries and shows a lack of respect. Members may be removed at our moderator’s discretion.
LIVE EVENTS
In addition to our general code of conduct, the following applies to live events:
- Live events are reserved for neurodivergent adults. Diagnosis is not a requirement.
- Events may be reserved for a particular affinity group, identity group, or similar. Respect those boundaries. We are intersectional — individual members may participate in multiples spaces.
- Participate as much or as little as you like in the ways that you need. Video on or off. Interact verbally, via chat, or just observe. Live captioning is always available.
- Be a respectful active listener. Mindfulness and generosity around monologuing, turn-taking, and interrupting goes a long way.
- Lewd, aggressive, invasive or otherwise disrespectful behavior will result in removal from the space.
- Respect for members’ privacy is non-negotiable. No sharing screenshots, recordings, or other participation without consent. No outside contact without consent.
