How can we move beyond diagnostic labels and token inclusion to create genuinely neuroaffirming and accessible support systems? The Affirming Access project was designed to answer that question — not through policy, but through the voices of those most impacted.
Affirming Access is a peer-led national initiative co-designed with over 100 autistic and neurodivergent LGBTQIA+SB young people aged 16–25. This project highlights lived experiences of navigating mental health services, the NDIS, and related support spaces that are often described as confusing, invalidating, or unsafe. Participants called for more than just better access — they sought cultural safety, affirmation of identity, and systems that recognise them as whole individuals, not problems to be fixed. This presentation explores how systemic reform must start with listening. We share what participants told us: that complicated paperwork and deficit-based assessments often retraumatise; that services frequently overlook the intersection of neurodivergence, gender, sexuality, and culture; and that peer-led resources, creative expression, and choice-based engagement foster the safety needed for genuine connection. Concrete outputs—including plain-language NDIS guides, myth-busting videos, and the Our Voices blog—demonstrate how systems can prioritise lived experience while respecting autonomy and diverse communication styles. As our world evolves, the systems designed to support young people must adapt too. This project offers a replicable, rights-based model for reimagining those systems not just as services, but as safe spaces for selfhood.

Three Key Learnings:
1. How co-designed, neuroaffirming projects can transform systemic practices.
2. Why inclusive supports must respect intersectionality across neurodivergence, identity, and culture.
3. Practical strategies to incorporate safety, choice, and autonomy in youth mental health and disability supports.

How can we move beyond diagnostic labels and token inclusion to create genuinely neuroaffirming and accessible support systems? The Affirming Access project was designed to answer that question — not through policy, but through the voices of those most impacted.
Affirming Access is a peer-led national initiative co-designed with over 100 autistic and neurodivergent LGBTQIA+SB young people aged 16–25. This project highlights lived experiences of navigating mental health services, the NDIS, and related support spaces that are often described as confusing, invalidating, or unsafe. Participants called for more than just better access — they sought cultural safety, affirmation of identity, and systems that recognise them as whole individuals, not problems to be fixed. This presentation explores how systemic reform must start with listening. We share what participants told us: that complicated paperwork and deficit-based assessments often retraumatise; that services frequently overlook the intersection of neurodivergence, gender, sexuality, and culture; and that peer-led resources, creative expression, and choice-based engagement foster the safety needed for genuine connection. Concrete outputs—including plain-language NDIS guides, myth-busting videos, and the Our Voices blog—demonstrate how systems can prioritise lived experience while respecting autonomy and diverse communication styles. As our world evolves, the systems designed to support young people must adapt too. This project offers a replicable, rights-based model for reimagining those systems not just as services, but as safe spaces for selfhood.

Three Key Learnings:
1. How co-designed, neuroaffirming projects can transform systemic practices.
2. Why inclusive supports must respect intersectionality across neurodivergence, identity, and culture.
3. Practical strategies to incorporate safety, choice, and autonomy in youth mental health and disability supports.