ALL ABOUT PEI AUTISTIC ADULTS
PEI Autistic Adults is a peer support group of autistic adults and autistic seniors who engage with each other online and/or in-person to talk about autism, share experiences of navigating life as autistic adults and autistic seniors, and be supportive to each other. Self-diagnosed is fine.​
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Welcome! My name is True Taylor, and I started this online and in-person peer-support group called PEI Autistic Adults in March of 2021 to create a community of autistic adults and autistic seniors on Prince Edward Island. As an autistic senior, I had tried to find some support or a support group on Prince Edward Island and when I couldn't find anything, I decided to create it. I thought it would be good to start with a website so autistic adults and autistic seniors could check it out, look over the website as much as they want, and take their own time to decide if they want to join. Like some autistic people, I’m not comfortable with verbal communication so I wanted to let this website speak for me. Besides Islanders, we recently expanded to welcome like-minded autistic adults and autistic seniors who live elsewhere.
It was lonely starting this group myself but finally by June of the next year we had fifteen members! One of those members created our Facebook group and then we began having meetings in September 2022. After nineteen months the group was featured in a CBC article. Check it out. We now have over 170 members.
In September 2023 the Facebook group was renamed when a couple members wanted to focus in a different direction than PEI Autistic Adults so that’s now a separate group with a different intention. PEI Autistic Adults continues to welcome and accept all autistic people who would like to join us. There is no right or wrong way to be autistic.
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Autistic support on PEI is focused almost exclusively on children and leaves out the adults even though autism was identified as a lifelong condition many years ago. Autistic children grow into autistic adults, and autistic adults grow old. In the absence of formalized support from professionals, we have each other in the form of peer support. Autistic adults and seniors supporting each other as best we can. I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or any kind of health professional and neither the group or the website are affiliated with any organization. The support would be peer support from other autistic people. My hope is that through meeting other autistic people, we can find helpful supports from people who think and act like we do.
There's strength in numbers and there should be Nothing about us without us. After joining please go to members tab to create your profile and follow the other members.
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Our goal or intention is to provide a supportive, inclusive and judgement-free space (virtually or IRL) to just be yourself in the company of other autistic people, no pressure, no expectations, just acceptance…a safe space to offer emotional, social, and informational support to other autistic people who share similar experiences.
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All autistic people are welcome regardless of ‘function level’ or ‘support needs.’ There are a lot of different ways to be autistic, and no way is better than any other way. All autistic people are important and deserve rights and respect.
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Please help everyone feel like they belong here - autistic groups should include all autistic people. sple.
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In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge that the land upon which our organization stands is unceded Mi’kmaq territory. Epekwitk (PEI), Mi’kma’ki, is covered by the historic Treaties of Peace and Friendship. We pay our respects to the Indigenous Mi’kmaq People who have occupied this Island for over 12,000 years; past, present and future.
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