I love this thread @Anonymous, and I love seeing the passion for sharing your lived experience here @Tiny_leaf , @Anonymous and @xXLexi_Lou122Xx . 

I have also learned so much from hanging out with people who champion and shine a light on autistic voices - the neurodiversity movement has been such a game changer for so many people. I have worked in the disability sector previously in a few different capacities (in a research role and also many years as a support worker), and I am so passionate about learning from people who are, as a friend of mine writes, Actually Autistic. For too long autistic voices weren't heard, or weren't listened to. 

A few people I know are involved in the I Can network, which is an autistic led organisation that provides peer mentoring.

Their founder sounds like an amazing guy, and I also really like how they consistently publish pieces like this video which focus only on the voices of people with lived experiences. 

@recharging_introvert thank you for actually listening to autistic people!

If I needed to give a crash course it would be: stimming is useful, meltdowns mean something is too much, and don't touch without permission or at least a warning. 

Actually when I was little I used to have meltdowns at nap time because I was very understimulated....

How no one picked up that I was autistic for 17 years is beyond me..

@Tiny_leaf  I feel like someone needs to make a massive, neon sign, that says "stimming is useful". HUGE. 

@Janine-RO definitely. It's so important. My depression literally got better after I re-taught myself how to stim. 

This is such a fantastic thread @Anonymous , thank you so much for starting it! I have learned so much from autistic-led communities, and I hope that in time I can become a good ally. 

I completely agree with you that it's sad that there are still so many misconceptions and so much stigma around autism, to be honest I was slightly horrified by how many misconceptions exist even among academics when I was at uni. Threads like this are SO valuable. 

Starting a program at your work sounds like an amazing initiative! A friend of mine is heavily involved with the I Can Network , and they do a lot of mentoring both online and in person, as well as a lot of advocacy and making sure that autistic voices are heard. She is an allistic parent of an autistic teen, and has been very vocal about her biggest regret as a parent being that they didn't have the opportunity to hear from autistic voices about their experiences, and what worked for them, and celebrating the strengths, rather than focusing on 'deficits' (a word that I hate!). 

@Anonymous  what are your special interests? Would love to hear more about them 🙂

@recharging_introvert  I also worked with autistic kids and absolutely loved it, learning about lived experience and listening to autistic voices will definitely be super valuable for your work 🙂