Earlier this year, I was diagnosed as autistic.

Shortly after my diagnosis results came through, I travelled to Manchester to attend QEDcon where I would be seeing many friends for the first time in years. It seemed that this QEDcon was the first one that many people were attending after taking a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Talking to people throughout the weekend at the conference, it became clear that many people have been through the ASD diagnosis process, were going through it, or were in a place from which they are considering going down the route of diagnosis.

That weekend at QEDcon was the first time that I felt as though I properly came to terms with my diagnosis and with also myself. Diagnosies at 37 meant having to really examine my life up to that point. I travelled back to Wiltshire from Manchester feeling weirdly relieved and, after such a long time being unsure of my place in the skeptic movement, my diagnosis and attending the conference allowed me to realise a lot of reassuring things about the community that I’ve been involved with for such a long time. I cannot wait to return to the next QEDcon.

Quite quickly after being diagnosed as autistic, I became aware of just how much nonsense and misinformation there is in society aimed at those who are autistic. Such as the idea that ASD can be cured, or that it is caused by vaccines or poor diet. During lots of discussions in the QEDcon venue bar, an idea was born in my autistic mind: wouldn’t it be cool to have a dedicated space in which autistic people in the skeptic movement can focus their critical thinking skills, knowledge, and activism on the lived experience of being autistic and all the misinformation that comes with it. I’m still finding my feet, so to speak, when it comes to navigating life with a fresh diagnosis, as are many others, but there are people in our community who have lived with this for a long time, and if there’s one thing the grassroots skeptic movement has taught me, it’s that sharing our knowledge and skills is what makes us work strongest when it comes to skeptic activism.

It’s taken a few months but I’m excited to announce that Skeptics on the Spectrum has been born! It’s a discord server called Skeptics in the Spectrum that I hope can serve as a space for these conversations to take place. It’s really early days (and as I write this, membership is in the single digits), but I encourage you to join if you think this is a space that would be useful to you. Participation is not required, you can lurk under a nickname and read what others are posting, and you are still most welcome.

You can join the Skeptics on the Spectrum sever by clicking here. If the link does not work just let me know and I’ll create a new one.

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