THE MOONSHOT VISION – Valuing autistic individuals

During 2022, autistic people and their families worked alongside the National Autistic Society to create a vision of a society that works for them – a vision launched this week in our groundbreaking Moonshot report. Throughout the week, we’re taking a closer look at each of the “Future Realities” – the five things autistic people told us would together make up a society that truly works for them. 

We’ll know that society works for autistic people and their families when it:

• Values autistic individuals
• Maximises autistic power
• Guarantees support
• Adapts public spaces and services
• Is free from discrimination

A society that values autistic individuals understands and appreciates what autism is and how it is unique to each individual.

People told us that to truly value autistic individuals, society must recognise the depth of uniqueness to everyone’s experiences of life. This also means acknowledging that many factors can impact on an autistic person’s life, including other prejudices, biases and traumas. Society must also appreciate that there is no “one size fits all” approach for autism and that every autistic person will have an individual profile of their sensory differences, needs to be met, strengths and challenges.

Public understanding and attitudes are at the heart of this – and it is these, not autistic people, that need to change. We heard fear from some autistic people and their families about what the future holds for public understanding, highlighting how important it is to improve autism acceptance and appreciation as quickly as possible.

As part of the insight-gathering with autistic people and their families last year, we considered different hypothetical scenarios and explored what these might look like in an autism-friendly future. 

For example, "Gemma" and "Maisie" – an autistic mum and daughter on the school run – face a potentially difficult day, with anxiety levels raised by a non-uniform day and a trip to the garage for an MOT. 

In a society that values autistic individuals, the school texts ahead – allaying Maisie’s fear that she’s got the day wrong. The teacher welcomes Maisie in the playground and admires her dinosaur jumper, further reducing her anxiety. A mechanic meets Gemma outside the garage, as agreed in advance, so she doesn’t have to deal with the smells that set off her sensory sensitivities. He reassures her that the garage will text when her car is ready and let her know if there any issues or delays. 

The simple adjustments people made for Maisie and Gemma made a world of difference to them. Sadly, for most autistic people, this is a long way off from their current reality.

There is a huge amount of work to do to achieve a society that truly works for autistic people. But we choose to do it, along with hundreds of thousands of others. And we won’t stop until we succeed. 

To find out more, see The Moonshot Vision.

Tim Nicholls, Head of Influencing and Research, National Autistic Society