Autistic Relationships Without Performance: Truth, Boundaries, Connection
What’s This Seminar About?
This in-person seminar is about autistic relationships as lived and felt – with partners, friends, family, and colleagues – in all their messiness, honesty, depth, and care (or lack of). And not only where things break down, but also where they work deeply, beautifully, and differently.
We’ll be talking about relationships as autistic humans actually experience them, rather than how we’re told they’re “supposed” to work in neuronormative society.
We’ll explore topics including:
Relationships without performance or self-betrayal
Honesty, intensity, loyalty, and care as autistic relational strengths
Boundaries as invitations to relationship, not walls
Why masking undermines real connection
Misunderstanding, rupture, and repair – without shame
Rethinking closeness, frequency, and obligation
Autistic ways of sustaining relationships over time
This isn’t about fixing autistic humans or teaching scripts and life skills. It’s about telling the truth about how we relate, what we need, what we offer, and what makes relationships sustainable for us.
My seminar is grounded, reflective, and relational. There will also be optional social time at the end for people who want to stay, connect, and talk informally with others in the room.
Who This is For
This seminar is for autistic adults, and for anyone who wants to think seriously and honestly about autistic relationships beyond deficit-based narratives.
You don’t need to be in crisis.
You don’t need to have everything figured out.
You just need to be open to truth, complexity, and shared thinking.
NO FORMAL DIAGNOSIS IS REQUIRED. THOSE QUESTIONING ARE WELCOME. THOSE SELF IDENTIFIED ARE WELCOME.
Date, Time, Location
Sunday, 10 May 2026 at 19:00 – 22:00 BST.
The seminar will take place at a venue that is:
Fully physically accessible entry, interior, and toilets
Centrally located in East London (Shoreditch - Bethnal Green Road)
Close to public transport and rail links from across the UK
Quiet, with soft lighting
If you have any specific access needs or questions around access, please reach out.
Tickets - Pay As You Can
There are four pay-what-you-can ticket tiers. You’re invited to choose the one that makes the most sense for you.
I’m offering sliding-scale pricing because I know that many disabled people are navigating deep financial precarity. I want this seminar to be available to as many people as possible.
If you’re able to pay more:
Your ticket directly supports someone else’s attendance
It helps fund my work through free offerings and sliding-scale spaces throughout the year. I offer over 200 hours of free spaces every year and all of my offerings are available on a sliding scale and no one is ever turned away.
If you’re not in a position to pay right now:
You are still welcome at the seminar, with open arms
Please email me to request a free ticket
No explanation needed.
Free tickets are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and while they can’t be guaranteed, every possible effort will be made to accommodate everyone.
If you are able to and want to pay more, please do.
If you are able to and want to leave a tip, you’re welcome to.
I’m disabled, and this event has real costs – including travel from outside of London, venue hire, and the spoons it takes to do this work. I’m genuinely happy to break even in order to offer something meaningful for our community. Being able to earn from my work, when possible, helps make this sustainable.