# The AutismCertified Standard v1.0

**Status:** DRAFT FOR EXPERT VALIDATION — not yet an accreditation, clinical endorsement, or legal opinion.  
**Version:** 1.0-draft.2  
**Issued:** 2026-07-15  
**Owner:** AutismCertified Certification Standards Authority  
**Next required validation:** credentialed specialist review, compensated autistic-advisor review, legal review of public claims and data retention, and pilot testing in at least one defined service setting.

> “families like myself are scared to visit public places because of their situation. This will help companies get more business, but also help families and people with autism be accepted.” — Dom

## 1. The public promise

AutismCertified recognition means only this: a named business location has met the requirements in this version for trained people, reviewed operational supports, honest pre-visit information, and ongoing evidence. It does **not** mean that every autistic person will have the same needs, every visit will go well, or that the business has legal or clinical approval.

We certify **trained people at a defined place and scope**, not a logo, payment, or a corporate promise. A business cannot use an AutismCertified badge, directory profile, or equivalent public claim until every applicable requirement below has been reviewed and approved.

## 2. Principles that govern every requirement

1. **Autistic people are individuals.** Autism includes varied communication, sensory, behavioral, and support experiences; staff ask, listen, and adapt rather than applying stereotypes. [1,2]
2. **Dignity precedes convenience.** No shaming, coercive “compliance” language, pity, diagnosis requests, or public spectacle.
3. **Communication access is ordinary service.** Speech, AAC, writing, gesture, processing time, and a supporter may each be appropriate. Staff address the person directly and follow the communication method that works. [6]
4. **Reduce avoidable demand.** Sensory and uncertainty burdens differ among people. Businesses identify their own pressures, offer feasible alternatives, and describe limits plainly. [2]
5. **Nothing about us without us.** Curriculum and material policy changes require documented autistic-advisor review; advisors are compensated for their work.
6. **A badge must be replayable.** Every decision has a version, reviewer, evidence record, scope, expiry, and complaint path.

## 3. Terms

- **Public-facing staff:** any employee, contractor, volunteer, or manager who may interact with guests or make decisions that shape a guest’s access.
- **Location:** one physical site or one clearly defined service operation. Recognition never transfers automatically to another franchise, venue, route, or property.
- **Trained person:** a named public-facing staff member who has met the individual training requirements for their role and whose record is current.
- **Operational evidence:** dated material showing that the location has a stated support practice, responsible owner, and honest public information—not merely an intention.
- **Recognition decision:** the documented review that permits a narrowly scoped public claim. A course certificate is not a recognition decision.

## 4. Non-negotiable eligibility gates

All gates must pass. A points total cannot compensate for a failed gate.

| Gate | Requirement | Minimum evidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| G1: Defined scope | Exact location, guest journey, included roles, and excluded operations are named. | Scope statement and public address/service description. |
| G2: People trained | **100% of active public-facing staff and every manager-on-duty** are current on required role training before a public claim. | Role roster, completion records, start dates, and manager coverage. |
| G3: New-hire protection | New public-facing staff complete the foundation and role practice before working alone with guests; coverage changes trigger review. | Onboarding policy, supervisor record, roster-change log. |
| G4: Operational supports | The location has a documented low-demand support pathway, a break/exit option where feasible, and an escalation/safety protocol appropriate to its setting. | SOP, map or journey notes, named owner, staff briefing record. |
| G5: Pre-visit truth | Families can find practical, current facts about arrival, sensory conditions, available supports, limits, and how to ask for help. | Public access page or equivalent, date/version, reviewer check. |
| G6: Communication and access | The location has a way to respond to communication and accommodation requests without requiring a diagnostic disclosure. | Staff script, request route, accessibility policy. |
| G7: Accountability | A feedback/complaint channel, corrective-action process, and badge suspension process exist. | Public contact route; private log and decision owner. |
| G8: Claim control | All public words, badge art, directory fields, and staff certificates match the approved scope and expiry. | Approved copy and visual review record. |

The 100% coverage threshold is a v1 operating requirement chosen to prevent venue-only certification theater. It is a policy proposal pending expert and pilot validation—not a clinical threshold.

## 5. Individual training standard

### 5.1 Foundation curriculum

Every public-facing staff member completes a current foundation curriculum that teaches, with citations and plain-language examples:

- varied autistic communication and support needs; no stereotypes or “one autism profile”; [1]
- individual language preference, including identity-first language used by many autistic people; [4,5]
- accessible communication: address the person, accept AAC/writing/gesture, offer concrete choices, and allow time; [6]
- sensory difference and predictability without assuming every person has the same sensitivities; [2]
- harmless self-regulation, including stimming, without behavior policing; [3]
- non-diagnostic, dignity-first response to distress: lower demands where safe, offer space, avoid crowding and shaming, ask what helps, and use emergency procedures only when the actual safety threshold requires it;
- pre-visit information, accommodation requests, and an accurate account of what the location can and cannot offer.

### 5.2 Role practice

The foundation alone never qualifies a person for the business roster. Each role receives at least two setting-specific practice scenarios, one routine and one high-pressure or disrupted interaction. Practice must be assessed against an observable rubric: respectful address, communication options, reduction of unnecessary demand, accurate escalation, and no stigmatizing language.

Examples: host/retail staff practice wait and queue alternatives; security practice least-intrusive safety escalation; managers practice staff coordination and recovery after a complaint. Settings with regulated or high-risk duties require an expert-approved addendum before certification.

### 5.3 Per-person completion record

For every trained person, retain: legal/operational name or stable staff identifier; role; location; curriculum version; completion date; assessment result; scenario rubric and reviewer; remediation if any; expiry; and training accommodation used. Records must be privacy-minimized and access-controlled.

### 5.4 Assessment rule

The final knowledge assessment and scenario rubric must be reviewed by a credentialed specialist and autistic advisors before use. Passing scores, question-bank size, retake policy, and reviewer calibration are **open v1 validation items**. Until validated, AutismCertified may record learning progress but may not call it individual competency or use it to issue a business recognition decision.

## 6. Business operational review

The business submits an evidence packet for the exact scope. A reviewer labels each item as observed, attested, missing, or needs expert validation.

| Domain | Required evidence | Review question |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Arrival and transitions | arrival/wait process, queue or appointment alternatives, wayfinding, peak-time notes | Can a guest predict the first steps and choose a lower-demand option where feasible? |
| Sensory conditions | lighting, sound, smell, crowding, visual demands, alarms/events, break/exit option | Are pressures described honestly and is at least one practical adjustment or alternative defined? |
| Communication | scripts, visual or written options where practical, request channel | Can staff serve a person without insisting on eye contact, speech, or a caregiver explanation? |
| Distress and safety | role-specific protocol, emergency handoff, manager responsibility, incident review | Does the protocol protect dignity while addressing an actual safety issue? |
| Public information | access page, scope, supports, limits, update owner | Could an autistic visitor or family decide whether to try this location before arrival? |
| Feedback and correction | accessible feedback route, response owner, corrective-action tracker | Can a complaint change practice before renewal? |

The review does not certify legal compliance. Covered U.S. public accommodations remain responsible for their own ADA duties, including effective communication and reasonable policy modification where required. [6,7]

## 7. Recognition decision and public claims

A business receives one of these states:

| State | Public use | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Not ready | No badge or directory claim | One or more eligibility gates are missing or evidence is not reviewable. |
| Readiness work in progress | Private only | The business may work on its plan but cannot imply AutismCertified recognition. |
| Recognized under v1.0 | Approved scoped badge and directory profile | All gates passed; evidence and public information are current; decision is recorded. |
| Suspended | Badge/profile removed or marked unavailable | A material issue, stale evidence, or misuse needs correction. |

No “Starter,” “pilot,” payment confirmation, waitlist, course completion, or self-attestation is a public recognition state.

Every recognition decision records the standard version; scope; trained-staff count/denominator; reviewers and conflicts; evidence IDs; gate results; approved claim text; effective and expiry dates; corrective actions; and complaint/suspension history. It is reviewed by a human reviewer; AutismCertified does not imply that the reviewer holds a clinical credential unless that credential is real and disclosed.

## 8. Renewal, change, and suspension

**Proposed v1 term: 12 months**, pending expert and pilot validation. Renewal requires a current roster, current individual training records, updated public information, review of complaints and corrections, and a new operational review.

The business must notify AutismCertified within 30 days of a material change in ownership, location, guest journey, public-facing staffing, or support availability. A change that makes the approved evidence untrue pauses the associated claim until reviewed.

Immediate suspension review is triggered by fabricated evidence; badge misuse; retaliation or exclusion after an accommodation request; a serious dignity or safety complaint; loss of trained-person coverage; or material public misinformation. Suspension records a reason, evidence, notice, correction route, and appeal path. Appeal mechanics require legal review before launch.

## 9. Governance and publication

This document is the public trust root. AutismCertified publishes its version history, active/expired status, scope limits, complaint route, and the fact that v1.0 remains a draft until named expert and autistic-advisor validation is complete.

Before changing a normative requirement or curriculum claim, AutismCertified records the rationale, evidence, advisor input, reviewer, version impact, and effective date. Neither a business payment nor internal growth pressure can override a gate.

## 10. Open expert-validation questions

1. What knowledge and observed-practice thresholds are valid for each role and setting?
2. Which settings need onsite observation, independent mystery-guest review, or specialist review before a public claim?
3. What privacy, retention, and incident-reporting controls apply to roster, training, and complaint records?
4. How should autistic-advisor governance, compensation, representation, and conflict management be structured?
5. What language best communicates “better prepared for stated supports” without implying universal safety or fit?

### 10.1 Validation packet and publication rule

Before any v1 requirement, assessment threshold, role-practice rubric, or recognition language can move from draft to approved, AutismCertified assembles one versioned validation packet. It includes: the exact draft sections under review; cited source list; Autism 101 lesson, assessment, and scenario materials; the relevant operating-evidence rubric; proposed public wording; a change log; and the questions each reviewer is being asked to answer.

The packet must receive separate, documented input from (1) a credentialed specialist on curriculum, assessment, role practice, and calibration; (2) compensated autistic advisors on dignity, communication, and public-language requirements; (3) legal review on claims, complaints, appeal, privacy, and retention; and (4) a pilot in a defined service setting. Each response records reviewer identity or role, scope reviewed, conflicts, date, recommendation, limitations, and the resulting change or reason not adopted.

Until those four inputs are complete and versioned, this document remains a draft. No response to the packet, payment, course completion, self-attestation, or internal review may be represented as accreditation, clinical approval, individual competency, or business recognition.

## Sources

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. *About Autism Spectrum Disorder.* https://www.cdc.gov/autism/about/index.html
2. Robertson CE, Baron-Cohen S. *Sensory perception in autism.* Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2017;18:671–684. doi:10.1038/nrn.2017.112. PMID:28951611.
3. Kapp SK, Steward R, Crane L, et al. *“People should be allowed to do what they like”: Autistic adults’ views and experiences of stimming.* Autism. 2019;23(7):1782–1792. doi:10.1177/1362361319829628. PMID:30818970.
4. Autistic Self Advocacy Network. *Identity-First Language.* https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/identity-first-language/
5. Taboas A, Doepke K, Zimmerman C. *Preferences for identity-first versus person-first language in a US sample of autism stakeholders.* Autism. 2023. doi:10.1177/13623613221130845. PMID:36237135.
6. U.S. Department of Justice. *ADA Requirements: Effective Communication.* https://www.ada.gov/resources/effective-communication/
7. U.S. Department of Justice. *Businesses That Are Open to the Public (Title III).* https://www.ada.gov/topics/title-iii/