Would You Like the Slides from my Keynote on Autistic Belonging at A-Fest 2026 last week?
I spoke about Autistic belonging and our shared culture. I've recapped it here and played around with Notebook LM to create a brief explainer video of my speech.
What an absolutely incredible experience it was to be the keynote speaker at A-Fest 2026! Hosted by The Springfields Academy in Wiltshire, this festival truly delivered on its promise as a celebration of autism and autistic individuals. It was profoundly moving to be part of such a neuro-affirming day, especially knowing that attendees were spoiled for choice with the opportunity to listen to four different, brilliant Autistic speakers in every single session of the day. I found myself really wishing I could be in 2 places at once and even had to split a couple of sessions to try to see everyone.
The collaborative, inclusive energy in the room was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Talk about an Autistic-Affirming Day!
My keynote, “Autistic Belonging: One Culture, Many Lives,” set out to fundamentally reframe how we understand the autistic experience. I wanted to give attendees a fresh understanding of autism through the lens of culture, rather than the traditional lens of deficit.
Culture is fundamentally defined as the shared values, traditions, language, and experiences that bind a group together. In my presentation, I discussed the Cultural Model of autism, which centers on community, decouples autism from physical healthcare, and focuses on creating belonging through art, archives, and generational meaning.
Just like Deaf culture or Queer culture, Autistic people share a distinct culture. Recognizing this doesn’t just empower us; it creates genuine belonging for autistic individuals of all support needs, as well as for our families, carers, and the professionals who support us.
If you weren’t able to attend, or if you simply want to revisit the concepts we discussed, you can view my full slide deck below!
Ultimately, my goal was to show that celebrating our culture and supporting our needs can absolutely coexist. By recognizing that we are “one culture, many lives,” we can create spaces where joy and well-being are possible for everyone touched by autism.
Thank you so much to The Springfields Academy for having me, and to everyone who joined me in the Gym on Tuesday morning to explore what “Autistic Cultural Competency” truly looks like.
I put my practice speech into Notebook LM (an AI tool), and it made this video. AI is dumb and included a bunch of puzzle pieces (🤦🏽♀️) but maybe for some people this is more accessible? I don’t know folx…. I’m not a fan of AI these days for all the reasons that you worry about, too, but I’m testing things out because I don’t want to be afraid of things I don’t understand. Plus, I need help explaining these complex ideas in ways more people will understand.
Love it? Hate it? Helpful? Let me know.
Yes please 🤩