Autistic culture is important for a number of reasons. It allows people to be a part of something in a world that has consistently alienated them. It creates spaces where we can embrace the machinations of our mind unencumbered by the normative standards of “typical” society.

Autistic Culture has given rise to a community that, despite it’s imperfections, feels like a place of safety in a storm born of hatred. A beacon for those that feel far from home.

However, there is more to Autistic culture and community than this. In quiet corners of the internet there is a growing trend toward something rhizomatic in nature. A network of knowledge exchange and peer support with no single point of origin. Each facet operates individually and yet is connected to others.

This community boasts a resilience that can only come from moving away from arborescent growth.

These communities seem to be a natural reflection of neuro-anarchistic (as defined by Katie Munday) approaches to group formation. Ditching the hierarchy and instead Embracing the chaotic nature of individual growth through shared subjective experience.

These parts of Autistic culture represent the future of our community. A place where we can truly embrace our future, and build upon the knowledge of Autistic thought leaders to create something beautiful.

Through these independent but connected communities, we are creating a blueprint for a world free from the oppressive structures of our contemporary society.

We must protect them, and we must continue to build upon the work that has brought us thus far. Not lose it in the security of the status quo. Predictability is the death of innovation. As Autistic people, we must innovate and develop. Sameness is comforting, but with it comes the risk of losing the edge in a world that thirsts for knowledge.

In order to explore the nature of our ever growing and developing Autistic culture, we need to be looking to the Autistic rhizome, detached from a non-existent central point, exploring new theory, and building on what exists. We need to surprise the world with each new thought, not repackage the same thought over and over.

Only by embracing the Chaotic nature of ourselves and the process of growth can we truly be liberated from the industrialised structures and communities that have held us back. We deserve freedom from the cult of normality. We live a politicised existence, and it’s time that we broke free of that.

It’s time to ditch dependence on a model of society that was never designed for us.