Can I write a blog for your website?

Yes absolutely. Anyone who has something they’d like to share with our audience is welcome to submit a blog. Our audience includes autistic individuals, their families, professionals working with the autistic community in schools and at work, as well as the wider public. We want to share the voice of others and welcome your input.

Please note that you are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of your blog and obtaining all necessary consents for the information you include. You are also responsible for ensuring you do not plagiarise anyone else’s work. All blogs will have a caveat stating that the views expressed are those of the original poster, not BeyondAutism.

What should I write about? What should I avoid?

We would love to hear personal stories, particularly those celebrating successes. We also encourage people to share something that others might be able to learn from, or where you have something different to say about a topic. The blog is a safe space to share your views.

Avoid writing personal details about others unless you have explicit consent from them to do so.

How long should my blog be?

We recommend between 800 and 1500 words. This is to ensure you capture the attention of the audience. If your content sits outside of this, please discuss with us as we may be able to provide some guidance.

Is there a chance you won’t publish it?

If your blog is a lot above or below our word count, we will let you know and discuss how it could be changed to meet the requirements.

We will not publish a blog that we feel is derogatory to others.

If you are telling a personal story that might be triggering to others, we will work with you to publish it, however, might choose to include a warning that it contains distressing information.

We will always feed back to you if we choose not to publish your original content, so that if you would like, we can work with you to make it suitable for our audiences.

Can I submit anonymously?

We will usually identify posts by the author’s name but if you would prefer we can submit as anonymous.

Can I send my blog to you in a different format?

If you find the form on our website difficult to access, you are very welcome to send us your blog on email. Please send it as a Microsoft Word document, and attach any images, to info@beyondautism.org.uk

Please include ‘Blog’ in your subject matter and include your name and contact details, in case we need to discuss it with you. If you want to discuss any other accessibility needs with us, please let us know.

Can I share something I’ve already included on another website?

We prefer to publish original content, as we feel it is important that we are saying something different. However, we would welcome you to explore the same themes and would be happy to work with you on what that could look like.

Will you edit my content?

We may need to edit sections of your blog, to assist the reader in understanding e.g. minor grammar or spelling adjustments. If we feel there is a need for significant edits, we will come back to you and work with you to create a piece you are happy being published under your name. We would never make changes to the content or context without checking with you first.

We will on occasion where difficult subjects are discussed, share the content with our Ethics Committee before publishing. If they feel any amends are required, we will feedback to you.

When will I hear back?

We will try and respond to any content we have within a few days to let you know we have received it, and to give you an idea of when we will post your blog. This depends on a number of factors, including how much other content we have received and whether we feel the content needs editing.

If you would like your blog to link to a specific date or event, please let us know at the time of submitting, and give us as much notice as you can so that we can meet your request.

Can you take my blog down if I change my mind?

At any point, if you would like us to remove your blog, we are happy to do that. We understand that you might be sharing personal information or stories that you may decide at a later date you no longer want to be public. Please just be aware it may take a few days to clear from people’s histories.