May 2025 Newsletter – Mini Issue
The Autism Conversation Everyone’s Afraid to Have
A short, bold reflection from NeuroDiverse Inclusive Solutions
Most public conversations about autism are still shaped by fear—fear of what autism means, fear of missed milestones, fear that support signals weakness, and fear that inclusion will lower the bar for everyone else. It’s not always obvious, but it’s there. It shows up in how services are denied until things are “bad enough.” It lingers in the way we talk about functioning levels, as if identity and ability can be cleanly ranked on a scale. It’s in the hesitation people feel when they hear someone call themselves autistic out loud.
At NeuroDiverse Inclusive Solutions, we’ve spent years pushing back on that fear—not with emotion alone, but with evidence, clarity, and lived experience. This month’s newsletter is short by design. It’s a pause between April’s hard truths about autonomy and June’s full reframe of what autism actually is. But this in-between moment matters. It asks the question few want to say out loud: Who are we really protecting when we talk about autism this way?
Last Month: Autonomy Isn’t Optional
In April, we unpacked PDA—not as defiance or disorder, but as a nervous system response to overwhelming loss of control. We explored how constant expectations—even subtle ones—can trigger survival responses in autistic individuals, especially those who’ve spent years performing, complying, and masking to stay safe.
For some, that reaction looks explosive. For others, it looks like doing everything “right” until they crash. We reframed autonomy not as a preference, but a biological need.
If you want to go deeper, download our printable Autonomy Profile Guide for reference:
The Autonomy Profile (PDF)
To explore whether you or someone you support might align with a PDA profile, you can also try the free self-assessment used by clinicians and advocates around the world:
Take the EDA-QA (Extreme Demand Avoidance Questionnaire – Adult)
Language as a System of Control
You can hear it in the language—“low functioning,” “profound,” “non-verbal.”
You can feel it in the urgency—“How early can we diagnose?” “Can it be fixed?” “Will they live a normal life?”
Even after decades of advocacy and research, most public conversations about autism still orbit around fear—fear of difference, fear of dependency, and fear of what happens when someone doesn’t fit a neurotypical mold. Labels are used not to describe but to measure—how close someone comes to what’s considered acceptable.
Functioning labels like “high” or “low,” severity scales, and vague catch-all terms like “profound autism” don’t provide clinical clarity. They aren’t diagnostic tools—they’re social ranking systems. These labels reflect how inconvenient a person’s support needs appear, not what they actually are. And they often dictate how much autonomy or opportunity someone is “allowed” to have.
The term “non-verbal” is a perfect example. Most people labeled this way aren’t without language—they’re nonspeaking, not non-communicative. Many use AAC, typing, gestures, or situational speech. But calling someone “non-verbal” reinforces the false assumption that speech equals intelligence or comprehension. It doesn’t.
This conversation isn’t easy. But it’s necessary.
Because if we can’t even talk about autism without reducing it to severity, how can we build systems that support autonomy, communication, or dignity?
And that’s the conversation everyone’s still afraid to have.
That’s why we built the Autism Vocabulary Training Aid—not to soften the language, but to expose it.
It’s a tool to help shift the conversation toward actual understanding.
Coming in June: Autism Is Not a Bad Word
The fear surrounding autism doesn’t begin in crisis—it begins in language, assumptions, and systems built around visibility. That’s why next month, we’re breaking open the foundation.
Our June webinar, “Autism Is Not a Bad Word: Breaking the Spectrum Wide Open,” will walk through what autism actually is across three essential dimensions: clinical criteria, medical realities, and social identity. We'll go beyond severity labels and support levels and take a hard look at what those terms actually hide.
We’ll explore how autistic traits shift over time—especially for those who’ve been masking for years. We'll cover common struggles like executive dysfunction, shutdown, sensory dysregulation, and burnout, but not from a deficit lens. We'll talk about how these traits can be regulated, not erased—and why support isn’t about fixing behavior but about protecting energy, autonomy, and dignity.
You’ll also get real-world insight into how to support:
A late-diagnosed adult facing burnout
A newly diagnosed teen trying to stay regulated in school or work
A nonspeaking individual who’s being underestimated
A high-masking employee on the edge of collapse
This isn’t a surface-level training. It’s the reset button.
And it’s the conversation many autistic adults have been trying to start for decades.
New on the Blog
We’ve launched the NDIS Blog—a space for deeper dives, raw commentary, and insights that don’t always fit neatly into a newsletter. It’s where we unpack what’s happening in real time: cultural shifts, policy trends, misunderstood diagnoses, and the subtle ways language shapes perception.
This isn’t polished PR—it’s lived-experience meets critical analysis.
We update the blog whenever a new question sparks debate, a policy gets misrepresented, or someone says, “Wait, no one ever explains that part.” It’s where we drop the mic on ideas that deserve more than a sentence or a slide.
Whether you’re curious about autism severity scales, reclaiming language, or why “profound autism” isn’t a clinical thing, you’ll find answers here—with context, clarity, and no fluff.
Check out the blog and subscribe for updates.
About NeuroDiverse Inclusive Solutions
NeuroDiverse Inclusive Solutions was created to confront the uncomfortable truths that still shape how we talk about autism. Too many public conversations are built on fear—fear of labels, fear of difference, fear of what inclusion really means. That fear turns into policies that don’t work, services that miss the mark, and environments where autistic people are expected to change who they are just to get support.
We exist to flip that script.
Our work is grounded in three things: lived experience, research-informed practices, and real-world results. We support autistic and otherwise neurodivergent adults in navigating work, communication, identity, and burnout. And we train employers, educators, and caregivers to do the same—without relying on outdated labels or assumptions about what autism should look like.
Whether you’re hiring your first neurodivergent employee, mentoring someone who’s been masking for years, or trying to create a culture of real inclusion, we help you do it with honesty, clarity, and respect.
We’re not here to make people more “palatable.” We’re here to make environments more equitable.
Engage with Us
What language or labels have shaped the way you—or someone you love—experiences autism?
How can we challenge fear-based narratives in real conversations and real spaces? We’d love to hear from you.
Meet Our Founder: Dan Dickinson Sr.
Dan Dickinson Sr. is an autistic professional, corporate veteran, and neurodiversity advocate with over 20 years of experience in change management and employee development. As the Founder and Program Director of NDIS, Dan leads with lived experience, professional insight, and a no-fluff approach to inclusion that actually works. He specializes in training business leaders, mentoring neurodivergent adults, and building environments where people don’t have to mask to succeed.