Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. Some of the difficulties autistic people share include social communication & social interaction challenges, repetitive & restrictive behaviour, extreme anxiety, meltdowns & shutdowns, burnout, highly focused interests or hobbies (special interests), sensory sensitivities, and disordered eating.
We Are Autistic came about after I received a diagnosis of autism. This followed years of misdiagnosis, poor mental and physical health, acute loneliness and isolation, and a general feeling that I was different. Very different.
There is plenty of advice out there on how to cope after finding out that your brain is different to most other brains, but after the reading was done what I really yearned for was to connect with people similar to me so that we could chat about special interests, share struggles, support each other and be our ‘unmasked’ selves.
And it is this peer support that helps me the most. This led to the idea that other autistic adults would benefit too. After researching, I found that a peer support forum based site would offer the best opportunity for positive connections.
The vision for the community website is to provide an inclusive, safe, supportive space for autistic adults around the globe. There will be forums specifically for newly diagnosed autistic adults, those that are parents, those that are also in the LGBTQIA+ community, and one for women. There will be areas to talk about health and coexisting conditions and disabilities, work and employment, and a general chat area. In addition, there will be a space to showcase special interests, companion animals, and a dedicated space to share creative projects.
The best method for ensuring genuine members, reducing spam and keeping the bots at bay, is to put our peer support community behind a paywall.
Funding is required to maintain the functional aspects of the forum, to commission an illustrator to bring the website to life, and to ensure that the We Are Autistic community remains as accessible as possible. Funding will also be used to support our desire to keep the membership fees as low as possible.
The rest of the tiny We Are Autistic team are volunteers and are also autistic, so we really do understand what it is like to be autistic and simultaneously trying to navigate through the neurotypical world we live in. So we are able to fully engage with peer support.
Please support us if you can.
Teddy, Founder of We Are Autistic