values

Our values

Jim Sinclair, in the creation of the first autistic community ever, was a tremendous inspiration for the formation of ASCape. We have incorporated as many learnings as we can from other community forums, and arrived at the guidelines below.

1. “Nothing about us without us” — ASCape is for Autistics, by Autistics. Initially this is directed at AS adults only (Autism Spectrum or Autistic Symptoms) though, in time, we hope to evolve to provide safe and welcoming community space for teenagers as well.
2. One of the fundamental principles underlying AScape is that autism is a way of being, not a defect or a tragedy, and not a licence for obnoxious behaviour. We are here to affirm that autistic lives can be meaningful and worthwhile, and to gather the strength to survive another day in a neurotypical world without demeaning the value of either of the autistic experience or the neurotypical experience.
3. It starts from the premise that autistic space is a good thing for autistic people to have. ASCape provides a ‘home’, somewhere to enjoy a sense of belonging, of being understood and unjudged, of being ‘normal’, sometimes for the first time. It is a vehicle for information sharing and somewhere we can rebuild the sense of ourselves as something other than ‘alien’ and ‘disordered’.
4. We align ourselves with the disability rights movement, although we reserve the right to not commit ourselves to any activism or advocacy activities until the group itself has stabilised.
5. No one person may talk on behalf of the group. Any opinions expressed remain the opinions of the individuals expressing them.
6. It is intended to provide a safe autistic space for people on the spectrum and for people living with spectrum-symptoms themselves ('cousins'). Non-autistic parents, family, teachers, therapists and other professionals are excluded unless specifically invited to one of our open meetings. This is in recognition of the very different needs and priorities of the two groups, as well as the very great effort that most autistic people expend every day in fitting in with a predominantly neurotypical society.
7. AS people (Autism Spectrum or Autistic Symptoms) do not need to pretend to be normal in order to be accepted within the group. Autistic behaviour is allowed and indulged, provided that members respect the “first do no harm” rule. Behaviours which infringe on the rights of others are not acceptable — by violating their personal boundaries or their property boundaries, or by preventing them from freely participating in the ASCape group, or by causing undue distress through physical, verbal, or sensory assault.
8. ASCape is not a place to conduct research about autism, either by actively soliciting information or by infiltrating and observing. We are not on display for the benefit of parents and professionals and nothing that transpires within the group may be used for the learning or research of anybody else, neither may anyone solicit inside the group for any input to be given outside of the group. 
9. We are valued and appreciated for ourselves, not just for what we can teach others about their children, loved ones and/or patients. We do not have to indulge persistent or intrusive queries from inside or outside the group. Nobody is obliged to share anything and nobody is entitled to know anything. Neurotypical parents and professionals wanting to know more may approach ASCON to negotiate our input in the spirit of maintaining an attitude of mutual respect, equality and dignity.
10. Efforts to make autistic people ‘less autistic’ to ‘cure’ autism, to render autistic people indistinguishable from non-autistic people, or to prevent the births of future autistic people, demean and devalue our lives as autistic people and are contrary to the aims of ASCape. Neurotypical partners or caretakers accompanying any of our autistic members are asked to respect our right to life and, when in our space, to refrain from talking to each other about how difficult we are to deal with, or how heroic they are for putting up with us.
11. All behaviours within the group must contribute to the furtherance of this sense of community and belonging. It is important for each of us to speak as we are able. The guidelines are:
• Talk to each other, not about each other, refrain from lecturing and dictating.
• Give others the space to speak without your ‘help’, refrain from answering on behalf of others, interrogating, debating, controlling or dominating.
• Do not minimize another person’s feelings or experiences with interruptions, ridicule, embarrassment, unsolicited advice or ‘feedback’, criticism or arguments.
• Do not touch others without invitation.
• Do not corner someone into conversation, if they walk away let them go and move on — respect the rights of others to avoid your company or conversation.
• Respect mutual confidentiality - what happens in the group, stays in the group.
• ‘Coming out’ publicly is a deeply personal choice, it is never OK to disclose the identity of others outside this group!

We understand and accept that we are not all alike. Just because we are all autistic to one extent or another, we do not have the same needs and desires. There may be some who choose to leave, or are asked to leave for the benefit and survival of the group as a whole. We expect evolution of the community, its customs and its priorities.