This is a learning group.

There are many autistic-led community spaces oriented around support—supporting autistic people, parents of autistic children, etc. There are few oriented around learning. This group exists to create a learning space for those interested in better understanding the internal autistic experience and who are seeking to learn ways to best support autistic individuals (whether that individual is yourself, a loved one, or someone else you're looking to support).

Learning is the overarching goal of this space. Support is a part of that goal, but not in the way support is typically offered. It's a specific type of support—support through learning. 
 

In this group, we believe in radical inclusivity.

We believe that every individual coming to this space has inherent worth and dignity. All members, regardless of neurotype, diagnostic status, support needs, identity, or any other difference not explicitly listed, deserve to be seen, heard, and treated with compassion and respect.
 

We do not value some perspectives more than others.

We believe that autistic individuals all over the spectrum (including diagnosed, self-identified, nonspeaking or minimally speaking, late-identified, high-support needs, etc.) as well as individuals supporting autistic loved ones have valuable insights to offer in the context of autism education and support. We do not value one type of insight over another. We understand that each perspective offers a different type of value and we welcome all perspectives equally here.
 

Our goal in this space is to understand.

Everyone is coming to this space with different lived experiences, different ways of speaking about those experiences, and different ways of understanding the world around them. If someone’s lived experience or articulation of those experiences doesn’t align with what we feel about our own, we assume positive intent and ask questions to understand rather than assume their perspective is incorrect.
 

We prioritize complexity and nuance.

Very rarely are conversations about autism simple. If someone shares a perspective that sounds incorrect based on an interpretation of what they shared that lacks nuance, we don’t assume we understand the complete thought. We ask questions to better understand how they came to articulating their thoughts before we engage in dialogue with them.
 

We recognize that everyone is on their own journey.

People join at various different points in their journey to better understanding autism. We meet people where they are. If someone seems unaware of something that is generally known and understood about autism, we assume they have not been exposed to that information before and engage with them in good faith. We seek to clarify, not correct.
 

We protect each other.

The nature of social media and online community spaces is that people often forget there are humans behind the posts and comments they are responding to. This results in harsher language than people would typically use in person. This sometimes also results in behavior that emotionally harms others (name-calling, accusations, gaslighting behavior, etc.) This type of behavior is not accepted here. In this space, we prioritize the emotional protection of our community members when they are being mistreated.

This does not mean all members are expected to step in when mistreatment is occurring, it means that those of us who have the emotional bandwidth to step in, do when we see it.

If these 7 principles align with what you’d hope to find in a community space, we welcome you to join and look forward to your presence and participation.

Happy learning 🙏