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Group Rules and Community Guidelines

Autistic Parents UK group rules and community guidelines are available in text and video format (youtube). If you would like to access this information in another way please contact us.

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Autistic Parents UK is a mutual peer-support organisation. Everyone involved with Autistic Parents UK is an Autistic parent themselves and there is no hierarchy within our groups. Autistic Parents UK does not facilitate therapy groups, no person involved in the mutual peer support groups we run is doing so as a trained professional. If you feel like you need professional support we can signpost you and other members may be able to share their experiences around this. Autistic Parents UK does not provide crisis support. If you are in need of crisis support will signpost you to an appropriate support organisation, please call 999 in an emergency.

 

We hope this group will provide emotional, psychological, and moral support for its members. Every member is free to participate to whatever extent they feel comfortable.

 

We know that rules aren't always well received but in order to keep our group safe for all members we have some basic rules; each has been well thought out and has a valid rationale behind it. We are happy to chat with you about this further if you'd like, feel free to drop us an email at info@autisticparentsuk.org.

 

We aim to keep all of our groups a safe place for all and support the development of trust and enable us to share our thoughts and feelings with each other. Each individual group facilitated by Autistic Parents UK will be invited to add to or challenge any of rules or guidelines.

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Autistic Parents UK supports the Neurodiversity paradigm, and positive Autistic identity. This does not mean that we don't understand the negative experiences that many Autistic people go through  (ourselves included). We are happy for people at any stage in their learning of Autism to join us and we are happy to share reputable resources to support increased accurate knowledge of Autism. 

At Autistic Parents UK groups we use identity-first language, and we don’t discuss cause or cure.  Autism is referred as such within our groups, to Autistic Parents UK Autism is a neurology (neurotype), not a disorder or condition. Self-identification is valid for our groups.

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  1. Confidentiality is essential to being a member of Autistic Parents UK. What is said in any of our groups is not to be repeated or discussed at any other time or place in a way that identifies anyone involved in the discussion. Please do not share screenshots or record any of our online sessions. The only exception to this rule is if we are concerned about your safety,  or the safety of others, we may need to contact someone. Unless there's a particular reason we will talk to you about this before moving forward.

  2. Discussion of mental health issues including self-harm in any form is welcome in our groups but please don’t idealise or detail self-harm.

  3. Our groups are not a place for debate on politics and religion or a place to promote or sell goods.

  4. Please don’t contact members of our group outside of the group without mutual agreement.

  5. We are here to share our own feelings and experiences; please don't give advice to others.

  6. We each share the responsibility for making this group work.

  7. We try our best to accept people, just as they are, and we avoid making judgments. If you feel that this is something you are struggling with please feel free to contact one of our committee members for a chat and we can send you some useful resources.

  8. We try to give everyone an opportunity to share. If you feel like you have not had a good chance to share, please contact us.

  9. We have the right to speak and the right to remain silent.

  10. We avoid interrupting. If we do break-in, we return the conversation to the person who was speaking.

  11. We have the right to ask respectful questions and the right to refuse to answer.

  12. We try to be aware of our own feelings and talk about what is present to us now, rather than what life was like for us in the past. This isn't always easy and there are resources we direct you to if this is an area you struggle with.

  13. We do not discuss group members who are not present.

  14. When interacting with our Facebook groups and website forums:

    • Please put trigger warnings before sensitive content. 

    • Don’t share graphic images. 

  15. We begin and end our live meetings on time, members are welcome to come and go at any point in that time frame.

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If you have any questions or concerns that you would like to discuss with us (including safeguarding) please contact us:

Email: info@autisticparentsuk.org 

Message our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/autisticparentsuk 

Anonymous feedback: https://forms.gle/g7GA19BBqqRhGtfj9 

 

Autistic Parents UK policies & procedures are available to view at:

www.autisticparentsuk.org/policies 

Download a copy of our group rules and community guidelines here.

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