Our next cohort begins May 2027 — Applications and interviews now open

You’ve lived the autistic experience from the inside.

You’ve learned to navigate systems that were never built for you.

Now you’re ready to turn that lived knowledge into something transformative - for yourself, and for others.

The Autistic Peer-Support Coaching Program (APSCP)’s fourth cohort will give you the framework, community, and tools to do exactly that.

It’s a year-long (or as long as you need) training designed by and for autistic humans who want to lead, teach, and care differently.

Those who complete the program join the Autistic Peer Support Coaching Collective — an international network of autistic peer-support coaches and educators in 5 countries reshaping what authentic, sustainable support looks like for autistic humans.

Why Our Program Exists

Peer support coaching isn’t about “fixing” people.

It’s about learning to live — and help others live — without apology.

Our program goes into the dynamics of how to create spaces where autistic humans can drop the mask, regulate safely, and build lives that actually fit them.

We explore not just what to do as a coach, but how to be in relationship: attuned, ethical, and deeply human.

Who are the Autistic Peer Support Coaching Collective?

The Autistic Peer Support Coaching Collective brings together autistic professionals who believe in the knowledge, insight, and care that autistic people can offer one another. Our mission is to support our fellow autistic adults in understanding themselves, identifying their needs, and building lives that reflect their own values. We work within our communities and globally, offering neuroaffirming, transparent, authentic, and practical peer-support and life coaching rooted in the Neurodiversity Paradigm.

We understand autism as both a disability and we recognise that our lives are shaped by the environments, relationships, and social expectations around us. Our work makes space for support needs, limitations, strengths, uncertainty, and change. We support people in exploring what matters to them, developing ways of living that work for them, and challenging expectations that demand more than they can sustainably give. Autistic people deserve belonging, agency, and support without having to earn them through productivity or conformity.

Our collective currently includes 18 autistic peer-support coaches. We bring overlapping experiences of physical disability, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and financial barriers to this work. Shared autistic experience can create opportunities for connection, but it does not mean that we all experience the world in the same way. We approach each person with curiosity and respect for their knowledge of their own life. The makeup of our collective reflects both the experiences already present and the work we want to continue doing to broaden access and representation.

• We are autistic-led and grounded in autistic lived experience. All 18 coaches are autistic. Autistic people shape the work, provide the coaching, and help build the community around it. We value lived experience alongside professional learning, reflection, and practice, recognising that autistic people have important knowledge about our own lives and the support we need.

• Disability and access are central to who we are. Fifteen of our 18 coaches - approximately 83% - are also physically disabled, including one member who is blind. Many of us navigate access barriers and changing capacities in our own lives. These experiences inform our commitment to practical, flexible support that respects people’s bodies, energy, and limits.

• Queer and trans experiences are strongly represented. Eleven of our 18 coaches—approximately 61%—are queer and/or trans, including seven trans coaches. Our collective also includes cisgender heterosexual members. We bring different lived experiences of gender, sexuality, relationships, and belonging to our work, and we support autistic people in exploring and expressing who they are on their own terms.

• Our collective includes several racial and ethnic backgrounds. Our membership includes ten people described as White, three as Ashkenazi Jewish - one of whom is also Sephardic - two as Asian, one as Black, one as Latino, and one as First Nations. We recognise that racism and other forms of exclusion shape autistic people’s access to recognition, community, and support and actively seek to rectify this in both our professional community and the wider autistic and disability community.

• We are committed to widening representation. Our collective does not represent every autistic experience, and no member is expected to speak for an entire community. We particularly welcome autistic people of colour and others whose voices have been underrepresented in autistic spaces. We want more people to have opportunities to become peer-support professionals, contribute their knowledge, and help shape the community and the work of care.

• Financial accessibility is part of building the collective. Eleven members pay reduced tuition, and one receives a full scholarship. We offer tuition discounts for people from underrepresented groups, particularly autistic people of colour, as well as discounts for those who need financial support. We want the opportunity to become a coach to be available to people with a wide range of financial circumstances. More on this below.

• Our mission includes supporting the people who will support our communities. We want everyone who wants to become an autistic peer-support coach to have the opportunity to pursue that path. If you are interested in training and cost is a barrier, please reach out so we can explore what would make participation possible for you. Building an accessible collective is part of building the support we want autistic people to be able to find.

What You’ll Learn

Over twelve months and over 155 hours of training, we’ll move through the full landscape of autistic peer support — combining theory, reflection, practice, and community.

You’ll learn to:

• Work skillfully with clients who are navigating autistic burnout, inertia, and dysregulation.

• Understand sensory and emotional processing through alexithymia and interoception.

• Support clients in unmasking safely and sustainably.

• Build neuro-affirming communities and peer-support spaces.

• Develop strong boundaries that honor both self and client.

• Create and maintain an ethical, thriving practice as an autistic professional.

We will connect knowledge to lived experience - grounding peer-support coaching in empathy, embodiment, and care.

The Pedagogical Framework

The APSCP is rooted in a pedagogy of autistic liberation.

We don’t teach performance — we teach presence.

We don’t teach compliance — we teach capacity.

You’ll learn to listen to your nervous system, respond rather than react, and model that same compassion for others.

Every participant becomes both learner and teacher — contributing their experience to a collective body of wisdom.

It’s not about hierarchy or fixing people. It’s about creating neuro-affirming communities and showing our fellow autistic people that they are the experts of their own lived experience.

Program Structure

12 Core Seminars

Monthly live sessions from May 2027 to April 2028 exploring autistic identity and politics, masking and unmasking, relationships, boundaries, regulation, burnout, community building, and professional practice.

8 Masterclasses

Specialized trainings taught by members of the Autistic Peer Support Coaching Collective on topics such as IFS and autism, trauma-informed practice, trans-affirming care, and somatic or musical modalities.

Practicum

Over 45 supervised clinical hours where you will:

• Lead 3 multi-week workshops that you design and deliver.

• Facilitate 9 one-off discussion groups in neuro-affirming formats.

• Conduct 1:1 peer-support coaching sessions with real clients under supervision.

  The internship phase runs January through April, with flexible scheduling so you can integrate your work into your life.

Mentorship and Supervision

Throughout the year, you will receive 30 individual coaching sessions with a peer-support coach from the Autistic Peer-Support Coaching Collective. We track your growth, shape your practice, refine your workshops and sessions, and explore the craft of peer-support first-hand. You will also receive live supervision, case consultation, and structured feedback on your facilitation and coaching work, ensuring you leave the program not just with knowledge, but with confidence, clarity, and a grounded sense of your professional identity as an autistic peer-support coach.

Outcomes

Certification as an Autistic Peer-Support Coach with minimum of 155 training hours

APSCC membership with promotional support for your workshops, groups, and coaching

A complete portfolio: multi-week courses designed and taught, group facilitation experience, supervised 1:1 hours, and a sustainable practice plan.

Tuition

The total investment for our program is €9,000 with flexible payment options available, including a one-time payment with a 10% discount (€8,100), 13 monthly installments, or a custom plan that meets your needs.

We want everyone who wants to become an autistic peer-support coach to have the opportunity to do so. We offer tuition discounts for people from groups whose voices are underrepresented in autistic spaces, particularly autistic people of colour. Our community benefits from coaches who bring a wide range of lived experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.

We also offer discounts for anyone who needs financial support to access the program. If cost is a barrier, please reach out so we can explore what would make participation possible for you. Flexible payment plans and significant scholarships are available to ensure the program is an accessible as it can be.

If you’d like a monthly plan, a €720 deposit is required to register and then 12 monthly payments of €690 every month, from May 2027 thru April 2028.

All tuition goes to supporting autistic professionals and the professional mission of the Autistic Peer-Support Coaching Collective.

A Movement for Autistic Liberation

Our program is part of something larger — a collective effort to rebuild systems of care, learning, and support around autistic truth.

Unmasking isn’t a performance; it’s a process of returning to ourselves.

Boundaries aren’t walls — they’re the conditions that make authentic connection possible.

Regulation isn’t a measure of success — it’s a relationship with our bodies, our energy, and our communities.

Every peer support coach who completes our training becomes part of a growing movement — building a world where autistic humans can live, work, and connect without having to contort themselves to survive.