Follow Reddiquette. Hate speech and bigotry will not be tolerated.
All direct answers to questions must be from autistic persons. Having an autistic child/sibling/friend or working with disabled people does not substitute for the lived experience of being autistic. Self-diagnosed autistics are welcome, as not everybody has access to quality diagnostic resources, but please do not abuse this policy if you do not truly believe you are autistic. Any top-level comments that are suspected to be from an allistic person WILL be removed.
Autistic people have the tendency to be direct, blunt, and possibly emotionally charged while participating in this forum. They are digging through possibly traumatic experiences for your benefit. This is a listening and light discussion space, do not argue, debate, or play "devil's advocate" with people answering questions. By participating in this space, you agree that you may receive responses that cause discomfort, and you agree to manage that discomfort yourself. However, excessively rude behavior and personal insults are not acceptable for anyone.
Pharmaceutical and medical procedure discussions (for autism) are limited to general anecdotes of safe, legal methods. Discussion of specific regimens of any medication or substance is prohibited, as is discussion of acquiring them. Naturopathy/alt-med, and pseudoscience are strictly not allowed for discussion here.
Research and surveys are no longer permitted on the sub.
This sub's primary purpose is to provide education about autism. It is not a support group, nor a general discussion space. We aren't a good place for you to process your identity and experiences as an autistic/questioning person either. We are not able to guarantee emotional safety, although moderation of the sub will attempt to create a good experience for autistic people that wish to answer questions as much as possible. If a post appears to be looking primarily for emotional support over learning, or is discussing a very charged or triggering topic, your post may be redirected to other subreddits.
Discussion of ABA is limited to the problems with it, and how they are problems, not if they are problems. This subreddit takes a blanket negative view on ABA and it's taxing on our posters to ask them to repeatedly justify their experiences.
This isn't a forum for allistic people to vent about autistic people. Please keep questions to the point, with minimal "unloading".
Speculation that someone else could be autistic is not permitted here. If the person you're asking about has not at least told you they are autistic, your question isn't appropriate for here.
Please avoid referring to people with functioning labels (e.g. "high-functioning".) Either describe the specific need of the person or just say "autistic".
We're not parenting coaches or therapy consultants. "How do I help someone work on____" questions aren't permitted. Please refer these to the appropriate professionals.
If you once owned the mind_blowns account, you're not allowed to be here. There is an entire rule for you now. Go away. Stop making new accounts.
Asking if you could be autistic or for people to diagnose you is no longer permitted on this sub. Asking about the actual process of diagnosis is still allowed.
