Autastic Community Guidelines
At Autastic, community comes first. Our spaces forward our mission to connect, inspire, and empower adult-identified autistic people of colour 💪🏽💪🏾💪🏿
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.
Built upon The Autastic Framework, each of our communities is a volunteer peer-maintained space that serves specific groups while the mission remains the same: Connect. Inspire. Empower.
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 to belong here.
For more information on choosing diagnosis, see “Is An Autism Diagnosis Right For You?“
Are there local events?
While Autastic embraces 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 24/7 online forums and live virtual events many of which are held at time slots 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 who understand what it’s like to live in our skin. 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 our everyday lives.
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?
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 hard costs such as:
- Platform & domain hosting fees
- Supporting services (such as security & site optimization plugins, Zoom for video conferencing, etc.)
and similar costs incurred to bring Autastic to you.
A percentage of all revenue is given back directly to the #AutisticBIPoC community throughout each year.
Who's behind Autastic?
Hi! I’m your host and founder, Diane J. Wright. Before I dedicated my life to autistic advocacy and community-building, I flailed though the persistent support gap that exists for adult-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.
Our Community Participation Agreement
By participating in any Autastic community space, members agree to uphold our shared commitments of care, respect, and accountability.
Participation in any Autastic space—whether online or in person—means we’re agreeing, together, to practice care, respect, and accountability.
Our Community Participation Agreement isn’t just about following rules; it’s about co-creating the kind of space many of us have never had: one where neurodivergent people can be real, supported, and safe enough to show up as ourselves.
Most of us come here carrying social hurts—misunderstandings, exclusions, or worse. So as we expand our social lives, we also commit to being kind to ourselves. Learning to connect again can bring up a lot. It’s okay to be awkward, unsure, overwhelmed, or still figuring it out. We all are.
Within Autastic spaces, we strive to treat each other thoughtfully, maintain boundaries, ask when unsure, and engage in ways that support access, inclusion, and collective well-being.
By joining our communities, you affirm that:
- You’ve read and understood the Code of Conduct (above).
- You take responsibility for your impact, even when intentions are good.
- You believe in growing together, not performing perfection.
- You’re open to feedback and willing to grow in community.
When harm or confusion happens—and it will—we commit to:
- Owning our actions without shame or spiraling (as best as we can).
- Apologizing with sincerity, not self-punishment.
- Leaning on each other to repair, reconnect, and move forward.
By participating in Autastic spaces, you’re saying:
- I want the space I’m in to feel good for others too.
- I’ll be gentle with myself and others as we interact.
- I’ll do my best to listen, reflect, and adjust when needed at a pace that works for me.
We co-create Autastic every time we show up. That only works when we all contribute to each other’s safety and care. Autastic isn’t about striving to be perfect. It’s about being our imperfect, evolving, real selves.
LIVE EVENTS
The following applies to our live events across all Autastic communities.
- 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.
- Regulate and drop-in freely, as needed.
- 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.
ACCESSIBILITY
Autastic is grounded in disability justice. We recognize that access isn’t just about tools—it’s about power, representation, and collective responsibility. Everyone has access needs. Ours are shaped by neurodivergence, race, class, disability, and culture.
Autastic was built by and for neurodivergent people—including those navigating sensory overload, screen readers, burnout, executive dysfunction, multiple disabilities, and just plain exhaustion. These guiding principles are about care, clarity, reducing friction and unnecessary barriers, and making equitable participation easier.
- Low-barrier, low-cost (usually free) access to key resources and to community.
- Calm, low-clutter visual design—no autoplay, flashing, or overwhelming layouts.
- Clear, plain language—no jargon or gatekeeping.
- Content that reflects the lives, voices, and leadership of BIPOC and disabled communities.
- Events scheduled to include a global audience.
- ASL/BSL interpreters available on request.
- Alt text and image descriptions for meaningful visuals.
- Mobile- and print-friendly pages.
- Flexible formats for key resources available on request.
- No required login to access free materials.
- No inbox flooding—communication is intentional, relevant, and mindful of spoons.
- Ongoing efforts to reduce systemic barriers, not just individual ones.
Autastic is me, one person with the support of generous volunteers. We co-create this project with care but, because we’re human, we may not get everything perfect. Your access is a priority. If you need something, just ask👇🏽
