Autscape

Abstract

In 1996 in the United States, Autism Network International started Autreat, an annual retreat-style autistic-led conference for autistic people with allies welcome. Autscape, co-founded by Karen Leneh Buckle in 2005, is the UK version and remains a thriving meeting today. Both events have included accommodations with quiet spaces, color-coded interaction badges, and structure with the flexibility to have downtime to escape. Many autistic people met other autistic people for the first time at such events and described it as a “homecoming.” The experience has taught Buckle and other organizers the possibilities and challenges of inclusion, and she describes the developments and lessons that have made Autscape a success.