Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains a list of questions and answers that are commonly asked.
The questions are organised into sections that cover a particular topic. We have tried to organise the sections and questions as logically as possible, with the most popular at the top. There is also a search button. Use the arrows to expand the sections to view the answers to the questions.

Please note that this project is new and this page will be under frequent review. We will update this page, when we are asked new questions.

If cannot find an answer to your question within these Frequently Asked Questions please email us at:
hello@we-are-autistic.com or fill in the form on the Contact Us page.

Membership

  • Yes absolutely. You do not need a formal diagnosis to confirm that you are autistic. If you have discovered this by yourself then that's good enough for the We Are Autistic Community.

  • There are full details in the Instructions, which you can find in the Information section. Head to the navigation bar, click to show the dropdown and choose Instructions. If you need more help please contact us, via the contact page.

  • Charging a small fee for our membership increases the likelihood of authentic autistic adult members and reduces the amount of spam and bots.

    This provides an overall safer and more secure space, and a better user experience, so that we can concentrate on making those positive connections with other autistic adults.

  • We want to make our peer support community as accessible as possible, therefore we have provided an option for those on a low-income.

    We hope that our members chose the correct membership for their circumstances.

    There are no differences in the two memberships, other than the cost.

  • Yes you can. Log in to your We Are Autistic account. Choose the 'Cancel Subscription' option.

  • All membership sales are final and no refund will be issued. You have the right to cancel your membership at any time.

  • You can choose whatever image you like for your avatar/profile photo. Some members opt for a photograph of themselves. Others choose non-identifying images. It is entirely up to you.

    However, the image must not contain children and it must comply with our general terms and conditions. Therefore, it must not contain any thing that would cause offense.

  • You will need to create a Display Name. We prefer you to use your first name, although you may decide to opt for a different user name.

    Please do not include your Last Name.

    If you do not use your first name, please make sure that the display name you use complies with our rules.

    You can also create a bio. Which is a sentence or two to describe yourself. This is a great place to add your preferred pronouns, and other information about yourself.

  • When you are in either the community Forum or in the comments area of the Designated Spaces, next to your display name there is a drop down area.

    From here, select 'View Profile'. This will take you through to the profile area. Click on the 'Edit Profile' button and make your changes.

  • Yes you can, providing the member has not chosen to keep their profile private.

    Hover over the avatar/profile image of the member. You will be able to see details of the commenter, including their bio, the number of comments they have made and you will also have the option to view their full profile.

  • In your account settings on Disqus, you have the option to further secure your account with two-factor authentication.

Community Forum

  • You have to be a member in order to be able to make comments in any of our forums or designated spaces.

    Once you have signed up to a membership, you then have to set up your account on our engagement platform tool.

    Then you start getting involved!

    Full instructions are provided in the 'Information' section. (Head to the top navigation bar on the homepage and choose 'information'. Instructions can be found in the dropdown.)

  • If you see something that concerns you in a comment, you are able to 'flag' the comment.

    A notification will then be sent to the moderation team, who will review the content of the comment and then decide what action (if any) should be taken.

    If a particular comment is flagged three times, then it is automatically removed from display until a moderator has reviewed it.

  • This is dependant on a lot of factors. For example if there are lots of comments to review then it will take us longer to conduct the necessary checks.

    Our aim is to conduct the reviews as quickly as possible after they have been flagged.

  • Members have the ability to manage who they interact with on the Community Forum.

    Blocking someone removes their activity from your experience across the We Are Autistic community. That means that you will no longer get notifications from them via email, nor will you see discussions or comments by them in your Home feed or on discussion threads.

    You can block a user through two methods. Firstly, next to comments there is a dropdown box. One of the options is to 'Block User'.

    The second method is to hover over a users avatar, click to view their profile. Next to their display name are three little lines, click on these to show the option to block user.

  • The moderators are a small team. They are all autistic and have varying coexisting health conditions. They work flexibly and are currently all based in the UK.

  • We Are Autistic have a couple of options if a member continues to breach the rules.

    We can ban bullies and send any trolls to timeout.

    This means that we are able to restrict a members ability to comment for a certain period of time. This will hopefully encourage them to correct their behaviour before they can post again.

    If this doesn't work then we can ban members.

    We are committed to making this community a safe and supportive space for all autistic adults.

Contributors

  • We want as many members as possible to contribute to the Designated Spaces.

    And we would love you to get involved.

    If you are a member and would like to contribute, please complete this form.

  • No. Our contributors do not receive a fee.

  • We may on occasion make some grammatical changes, or alter the length of the contribution.

    Other than this we never change or add to contributions. We want the contributions to be authentic.

  • As in comments on the Forums, you have the option to flag a comment. The moderators will then review the comment, taking the appropriate action.

    You also have the option to block members.

  • No problem. Please contact the We Are Autistic team using the contact page.

    Please state the reasons why you would like the contribution to be removed.

    We will then aim to remove your contribution as soon as possible.

  • Due to the number of contributions we are receiving and the time it takes to conduct the necessary checks, we limit the number of images you can include to one per contribution.

  • We aim to get contributions published as quickly as possible.

    Things like the number of contributions we are receiving at a given time, or the length of a contribution may affect how long it takes us to upload your contribution.

  • Yes absolutely.

    We just need a separate form for each contribution.

General Questions

  • We Are Autistic is a member only peer support community for autistic adults by autistic adults. We are not professionals. We are autistic just like you! As such this is not a service for those in need of medical or legal advice.

    If peer support is provided this is not intended to be used in place of professional medical and/or legal advice, nor should it be used as such.

  • It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

  • Our Book Reviews section is currently under construction.

    When it is up and running, you will be able to make suggestions.

    More information to follow.

  • We are only human and mistakes do happen. If you notice an error, we would be grateful if you could let us know via the contact form.

  • Although commenters have to be members in order to post on our forums, we strongly advise against posting any personal details or identifying details (other than your first name, avatar/profile picture, and country of residence).

    Safe internet use should always be practised.

  • At the moment , this is not possible.

    In the near future we will be publishing details on a system for making this possible.

  • Yes. 100% Yes!

    If you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community and would like to suggest any improvements/alterations we can make, please get in touch using the contact page.

  • Please contact us using the form on the Contact page.

  • In the bottom right of the screen you will see a symbol that says 'Download App'. Click on this and follow the instructions.