This Discord is a peer community space. ASW as an organization does not provide crisis support, medical, legal, or professional advice. Opinions shared are personal and do not represent ASW. Link to the rules on Discord: • Discord | #rules | Autism Society of Washington

ASW Discord Community Guidelines 

  • Overview: This group is intended as a way for Autistic people, their friends/family, professionals, and the wider ASW community to socialize, share resources, offer advice and community, empower each other, and learn about our similarities and differences. 

    • This is not an Autistic-only community. However, some spaces are intended to serve only Autistic members, such as our private “Low Sensory Needs” chat.

    • This community is intended for people 18 years old and older. Otherwise, all are welcome. We may revisit our age restriction in the future, but for now this is easiest and safest. 

    • We do not require a diagnosis of any kind in order to be included in this community.

    • We are Autistic-led and want to create an accepting, accommodating, accessible community that caters to Autistic needs without compromise for Neurotypical expectation. We are always open to suggestions on how to improve our community, but we are here to serve Autistic people first and foremost. 

  • Behavior: 

    • Privacy:

      • Server Confidentiality: This is a public forum. All advice/conversation offered here may be viewed by other server members. No one is required to share any personal identifying information. 

      • No doxxing: Doxxing is publicly exposing someone’s personal information without consent. This includes private disclosures in other forums. Do not share anything private about others without permission. 

      • No phishing: Phishing is trying to obtain identifying info or attempting to steal another user’s account. Do not share your account details with anyone. 

    • Respect: 

      •  Disagreement: Respectful discussion, debate, or disagreement are allowed, but all parties must be mindful of stated boundaries and respect differences of opinion. 

        • “Differences of opinion” does not include hateful/discriminatory attitudes toward other groups, identities, etc. 

      • No harassment: Harassment is unwelcome, repetitive targeting to elicit a response, or willful disregard of stated boundaries. 

      •  No threatening behavior: Threats on someone’s life/body/property, sending distressing content, encouraging self harm, or intimidation of any kind will not be tolerated.

      • No discrimination: Negative treatment based on someone’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other aspect of their identity will not be tolerated. 

      • No spamming: Posting links and sharing is okay, but no repetitive content, gratuitous advertisement, or self-promotion. Proselytizing is not allowed. External group recruitment is not allowed without moderator approval. 

      • No offensive content: Gore/animal cruelty, slurs, hurtful language/jokes, NSFW content. 

        • Jokes at someone else’s expense or that hurt the other person are considered offensive.

      • Notifications: Abuse of the tagging system (“@everyone”) is not allowed. Be mindful of notifications at late hours, and note that people may not always respond immediately. Try not to send repeated messages if someone isn’t responding. Everyone here is either a community member or unpaid ASW volunteer.

    • Boundaries: 

      • Note: Everyone has different comfort levels, triggers, and preferences on the following topics. These are our community baselines. Members are encouraged to share their personal preferences and the group will be respectful of them, within reason. 

      • Use channels appropriately: Some channels are meant for specific topics or identities. (For example, the Autistic Adult chat is for Autistic adults to talk and discuss their experiences.) Please direct your message with the topic and boundaries of each channel in mind. 

      • Language: As this is an adult space, we will not police expletives. However, any profane language that is used to demean another person or group of people is not allowed, nor is overly sexual language. 

      • NSFW discussion/content: This space is intended to be welcoming to all, and overly explicit discussion is likely to make some people uncomfortable. Additionally, this space is not intended primarily for seeking out romantic or sexual partners. Discussion of sexuality is allowed without overly graphic content. Any romantic/sexual relationships pursued with other server members must be moved to private venues. ASW has no control over these relationships once they move out of moderated forums, but we encourage everyone to stay safe and discuss anything that makes them uncomfortable with volunteers or moderators.

      • Religious content/topics: Disparaging remarks on any groups are not allowed. However, some in our community have experienced harm at the hands of organized religion. Others have experienced community and meaningful belonging. As we want to accommodate all experiences, we encourage everyone to be open and respectful of religious identity while also respecting the boundaries of non-religious members. If needed, we may consider adding a space for respectful discussion of religious topics that members may opt out of. We may also consider a secondary space for discussion of negative religious experiences with similar opt-out capabilities. Invites to religious events are subject to the rules about spam, self-promotion, and non-ASW events. 


  • Channel Usage: 

    • Channels: These are chat rooms dedicated to different topics, demographics, or usages. Each will have a name and description of the respective expectations listed on the channel’s info page. 

    • Topic channels: These are channels structured around a specific topic of discussion. If you are not interested in discussing this topic, you do not need to engage with this channel. Examples include “General”, “Activism/Advocacy”, and “Mutual Aid”. 

      • Please try to keep the conversation in each channel on-topic. However, this is not a strict requirement. 

      • Please message volunteers/mods if you’d like to create a topic or prefer a topic to be discussed in a separate channel.

    • Identity channels: These channels are intended to help people of a certain shared identity group together and chat. While intended primarily for that group, all members are welcome as long as they are respectful and do not distract from the group’s primary purpose. 

      • Please consider why you are chatting in a group. For example, if you are not a Parent or Caregiver, you are a guest in the “Parents/Caregivers” chat space. You may have a question or resources to share with the group, but the group is intended to serve that population.

      • The “Low Sensory Autistic Adult” chat is restricted to invite-only and is not for non-Autistics. 

      • We do not require a diagnosis or “proof” to be included in an identity space. Not everyone can access diagnosis or is easily identified as any specific category. We only ask that you are respectful and mindful of your surroundings. 

    • Event channels: These channels are for the hosting or organizing of ASW events. These may be more strictly geared toward the event than other groups, and may have less off-topic chatting.

    • Roles: These are assignable statuses that can be selected by using the “Roles” channel. These may include pronouns, diagnoses, or other forms of identification. These are completely voluntary and just a way to get to know each other. Some may be used to access private channels, such as those intended only for volunteers or Autistics. 


  • Discord Events:

    • As an active community, the ASW Discord may host several events within the Discord format. These may be formal or informal meetups in text or voice channels.

    • ASW Formal Events: These will be planned in advance, announced, and described to the Discord. At least one volunteer or moderator will be present. We will include any triggers, accommodations, or other relevant info.

    • Informal Events: Any member in the Discord is welcome to engage with others on the voice or text channels. This may include games, activities, or watch parties. These may not always be attended by ASW volunteers or mods. Any activity/game will be subject to advance moderator approval if you are playing directly on the ASW Discord. 

  • Moderation: 

    • ASW Discord Moderators reserve the right to warn/mute/ban members as a response to violation of these rules. 

    • Any disagreement with moderator action may be disputed privately by contacting the ASW volunteers. 

    • Do not attempt to evade bans/consequences or create multiple accounts to avoid being penalized. This will result in permanent suspension from the server. 

    • Please report any concerns to ASW volunteers or mods at any time. 

PLEASE NOTE: Discord changes it’s invite links frequently for security so please email us if the posted link expires. Thank you!