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Argument, Think Autism Sydney 2025
Four founders on what neuroaffirming means once the tick box is gone
In short
At Think Autism Sydney in May 2025, Anita Aherne asked four founders to define a word everyone was using. Their answers moved from safety and unmasking to individual need, respect and plain kindness.
Read it instead, 4 minutesThe transcript
The story
When Anita Aherne of Living on the Spectrum opened a panel at Think Autism Sydney on 31 May 2025, she started with a problem of language. Neuroaffirming, she said, was “a term that everybody seems to be throwing around of late”, and she wanted to test it. “I want to explore the topic beyond just a tick box.” The four people beside her had each built something that claimed the word: Holly Fowler with Wable, a social and dating app for the neurodivergent community; Laura Simmons with Theratrak, a therapy communication platform; Kate Lambridis with Human Health, a medical tracking and advocacy app; and Natasha Siryj with Practice Inclusion, which delivers training and co design.
Their answers did not reduce to a single formula, and the panel did not try to force one. Over 35 minutes, people who had to make the word mean something in a product or a service built up a working definition with practical edges.
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Sources the story draws on
- National Autism Strategy 2025-2031, General Snapshot (opens in a new tab), Department of Social Services (dss.gov.au)
- National guideline for supporting the learning, participation, and wellbeing of autistic children and their families in Australia (opens in a new tab), Autism CRC (Trembath and others)
- Guiding Principles poster, Supporting Autistic Children Guideline (opens in a new tab), Autism CRC
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