Mission Statement

We are a collective of Autistic people responsive to the evolving needs and trajectory of the Autistic community.

By publishing autistic voices, we are cataloguing the intersectional experiences, insights, knowledge, talents, and creative pursuits of Autistics. We follow a unique model of interdependence, leveraging the passions, skills, and specializations of contributors to create a living repository of information cataloging the autistic experience.

We aim for a future that is more accepting, accommodating, and empowering for autistic people. Our organization platforms autistic voices, prioritizing those who are underrepresented in autistic self-advocacy, and our contributors create free, accessible resources for autistic people and non-autistic parents, educators, service providers, partners, and other people who interact with autistic people.

We strive to create a counter-point to messaging about autism that presents the autistic neurotype as a disease or disorder or a checklist of deficits. Our content, written by autistic people who humanize autism by sharing their experiences and perspectives with others, allows readers a glimpse into the inner workings and lived experiences of autistic people.

We believe if people will take the time to learn from autistics, they will take that understanding and apply it to their interactions, unpack their prejudices, unlearn unhealthy approaches, and adopt a better-informed paradigm that sees autistic people as whole, thinking, feeling, empathetic, and autonomous people deserving of the same privileges, rights, and dignities afforded to others.

Our Contributors

Those who publish with NeuroClastic, Inc. are almost exclusively autistic. We sometimes feature contributions from non-Autistic allies and indicate as much on those articles and resources with an editor’s note.

Our goal is to represent the autistic experience in its broad diversity, and we recruit people from backgrounds and with experiences that are underrepresented in autistic self-advocacy.

Our Vision for the Future of NeuroClastic

If you are autistic, your vision is our vision. We want to fold your ideas, dreams, special interests, talents, and insights into our trajectory. We’re newly-minted as a nonprofit, and we are using this platform to support autistic business owners, scientists, authors, performers, freelancers, and artists in the pursuit of contributing something meaningful to the Greater Good.

We hope to build upon and accelerate the momentum that activists and visionaries for human rights have been fueling for all of human history. We are the embodiment of that movement in the spirit of self-advocacy. We seek to empower neurodivergents to better know themselves, to connect with others, to network, to be validated, to lend their voices, and to contribute to the empowerment of other marginalized populations.

We create tangible resources to support readers in understanding what it means to be autistic, those seeking diagnosis, advocating for a child’s rights in education, seeking equal opportunity in employment settings, finding a path to a sustainable and rewarding life, obtaining therapeutic supports, and managing the struggles unique to the autistic neurotype.

Positions

We believe that neurodiversity means that autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neuro-developmental types are naturally-occurring divergence from typical neurology, and that it is not a “diseased” or “broken” way of existing.

Having a disability means that a person needs accommodations or supports. Disabled is not a dirty word. Disability does not mean inability.

We believe that advocating for ourselves empowers others to do the same. By others, we mean all others, regardless of neurology.

We believe that neurotypical allies are indispensable and enthusiastically welcome their comments, suggestions, support, and readership. Please know that we love and embrace our neurotypical allies and acknowledge that their support is necessary and vital to our access to progress.

We believe that the academic, medical, and behavioral science communities need to consult with autistics before designing research, treatment, therapeutic supports, and educational materials related to autism.

We believe that therapeutic interventions that seek to force autistic children and adults to conform to neurotypical standards are abusive and should be rejected.

We believe that adjusting curricula and professional obligations to suit the autistic neurotype will allow autistics to meet their full potential and bring valuable contributions to the human condition and the environment. We believe this is a basic human right which should be honored and doing so benefits all mankind by adding diversity of thought and perspective to innovation and operations.

We believe that all autistics have value which cannot and should not be measured by neurotypical standards of ability. This includes acknowledging strengths outside of neurotypical norms and respecting the limitations of invisible conditions.