There’s an idea that online advocacy has to be that you reach X amount of people that you have to be on all the platforms, and you have to continually make content.

I see too many Autistic advocates online apologise for going quiet for periods of time.

You don’t need to apologise.

What you’re giving of yourself you give for free. When you don’t, or can’t, you don’t need to apologise for that. You don’t need to feel sorry for that, and you certainly don’t need to feel shame for that.

Advocacy is in the small stuff. People think it’s big, and it is big stuff like #BoycottSpectrum10k and #StopTheShock , but it’s also in ‘small’ stuff. It’s in standing up for yourself when you can and when you’re safe to do that, and advocating for other people. It’s about looking after your children’s interest at school and otherwise.

Advocacy is in all the small ways that we socialise with each other in a really uplifting and empowering way.

When you create neurodivergent-affirming work online you are doing great advocacy work.

You are an advocate.

Online advocacy hasn’t got to be massive. It hasn’t got to be flashy, it hasn’t got to be 50,000 followers. Even on your small part of the internet it makes a big difference, in ways that you can’t possibly tell. You might not tell today, and you might not tell tomorrow but in years time when our advocating gets a little bit easier or slows down a little. That’s when the fruit of our labours appear.

Small, big, online, offline, for someone else or for yourself, advocacy is important and beautiful work.

Don’t doubt your power.