What is meant by participation and inclusion, and why it can be difficult to achieve

Having an autonomous voice in the decisions that affect one’s life can be seen as an essential requirement for individual well-being. It can allow you to influence many issues, both large and small, including how policies are created, how an organization interacts with you, to what services are commissioned. For people on the autism spectrum however, there can be a number of barriers to participation in such activities. People on the autism spectrum have often been excluded from contributing towards the decisions that directly affect their own lives. This has led many autistic-led advocacy groups to rally behind the slogan: ‘Nothing about us, without us’.