The Facebook of the Autism Community

I was talking with an old friend of mine the other day and we got onto the subject of Autisable, and what its real focus is. I shared with him that it's about connecting the Autism Community to discuss issues surrounding Autism. He asked me what do people do on Autisable? I shared that people join and share about their daily life, like an online journal.  People can also subscribe and friend to one another, to connect and discuss specific issues.  Sometimes organizations join due to their budget and willingness to connect to the autism community as we're pretty well connected. He asked me what functionality the site had, so I offered that:

• people can have their own blog site for free, that they can express themselves how they want to..
• I mentioned it's based on the Xanga.com platform
• private messaging is available.
• Photo's, videos, and webposts, etc....
• People can comment from the Xanga Network, Facebook, or twitter.....
• People can subscribe and friend to one another.
• having an open platform where one doesn't have to submit an e-mail address in order to read the information - the privacy control is at the user level.

In short, I said that its a place where anyone can join and share the journey dealing with Autism. He then paused for a moment, and said, "it sounds like it's like Facebook, but for the Autism Community." I was a bit taken back by the comment, but in actuality he was right - that's what our goal is. There are also many people with Autism/Aspergers who blog on Autisable, and I'm honored to read their posts - as it helps me even understand my own son. My own parents didn't fully grasp what we had to deal with until they read posts highlighted on the main page. There's a lot of non-profits who now blog on Autisable, not just to share about their services, but offering tips and advice. Some people and organizations have made their Autisable account their main blog for their organization - as we're well connected within the Autism community. I am asked my opinion on issues surrounding Autism, but I keep them to myself.   Autisable doesn't take a specific stance on the issues, as we want to provide an open platform for people to share and discuss anything related to Autism.  This may mean some topics can be rather controversial.  We just hope people remain civil in the discussions. It's been a great few years, and we have even more ideas we want to make as part of the site as we move forward. We couldn't do it without you. Granted we're not Facebook, but it's a nice thought. Feel free to join Autisable, and connect with others and share your journey.   Thanks again, Joel Manzer Lead Editor, Autisable.com