So I never post on Tumblr anymore but I felt like this needed to be put here.

I’m really bad at infographics, but someone asked a question in a group I’m in that merited this one being created.

We always talk a lot about why certain organisations are bad and others are good in the autistic community, but what we don’t usually do is establish where most of those good organisations are and what the GREAT ones are doing on top of that.

Here’s a handy guide we can use when examining local and national organisations! It is in no way comprehensive, of course.

(And yes, it does have a copyright with my real name on it because I really don’t want this being shared without proper credit.)

[Image description: Infographic with title ‘A Guide for Identifying Good Autism Organizations (and how they can improve!)’.

© 2017 Samantha Perry

There is a table with two columns labelled ‘Baseline’ and ‘Better’. The text from left to right in each row is transcribed below.

Does the organization have multiple autistic people in their leadership?

Is the organization founded by or run entirely by autistic people?

Does the organization use proper language (identity-first, no functioning labels)?

Does the organization actively renounce and denounce person-first language and functioning labels?

Does the organization avoid imagery such as puzzle pieces or ‘light it up blue’?

Does the organization use neurodiversity imagery such as the rainbow infinity symbol?

Does the organization support legislation that benefits autistic people and reject legislation that harms them?

Does the organization actively campaign for/ against legislation that impacts the autistic community, and encourage civic participation (calling lawmakers, protesting, etc.)?

Does the organization focus on supporting autistic people through self-advocacy?

Does the organization denounce ‘treatments’ and ‘cures’ for autistic people?

Does the organization fundraise only to support its daily operation and not for ‘research’ or ‘treatments’?

Does the organization fundraise to directly benefit autistic people and their families in the local community?

Does the organization validate self-diagnosed autistic people and communicate reasons why many autistic people may be self-diagnosed?

Does the organization actively include self-diagnosed people and work to create solutions within the medical community that reduce barriers to diagnosis?

Does the organization acknowledge autistic adults exist?

Does the organization involve, support, and validate autistic people of all ages?

Is the organization focused on helping autistic people rather than focusing on families and caregivers?

Is the organization focused on pioneering coping strategies and self-advocacy for autistic people, regardless of age or ability?]