Register Today For The Summit
Schedule Reminder
Day 1
Friday, Sep 11 | [time / ~1 hr]
We set the stakes, meet the room, and get you primed for the work ahead, so you walk into Day 2 ready to go all in.
Open to Everyone
Day 2
Saturday, Sept 12 | [time / 4 hrs]
Go deeper into the realities of everyday life—from relationships, work, parenting, mental health, burnout, sensory needs, and healthcare to communication, boundaries, self-advocacy, and finding ways to live more authentically.
Open to Everyone
Day 3
Sunday, Sep 13 | [TBD]
An exclusive day for All-Access Pass holders to go deeper into the conversations that move us beyond survival. Explore joy, creativity, connection, rest, leadership, community, self-determination, and what liberation can look like across Black autistic adulthood.
All-Access & Members Only
Autism in Black® Presents....
THE 2026 AUTISM IN BLACK
AUTISTIC ADULT SUMMIT
The Autism in Black® Autistic Adult Summit is a virtual experience created to center, celebrate, and amplify Black autistic adults and the fullness of our lives, identities, experiences, and stories.
This summit centers Black autistic adults across the spectrum of adulthood—including those who were identified early, diagnosed later in life, self-diagnosed, or still exploring what autism means for them—while creating space for conversations about identity, culture, relationships, work, parenting, mental health, advocacy, creativity, community, joy, and liberation.
This is not just another autism summit.
This is a space where Black autistic adults are not an afterthought, a case study, or a voice added to someone else’s conversation.
We are the conversation.
A space to see, hear, and celebrate Black autistic adulthood in its fullness.
Summit Dates: September 11–13, 2026
A SUMMIT FOR BLACK AUTISTIC ADULTS, CENTERED IN THE FULLNESS OF WHO WE ARE
Being a Black autistic adult does not happen in isolation.
It happens in workplaces, relationships, families, healthcare settings, schools, communities, and everyday spaces where we are navigating communication, expectations, sensory needs, connection, identity, and belonging.
It happens in the moments when we are deciding whether to disclose, advocate for ourselves, ask for support, set boundaries, unmask, rest, connect with others, or simply exist as we are.
It happens while navigating the intersections of Blackness, autism, culture, identity, relationships, work, parenting, mental health, disability, creativity, community, and lived experience.
The Autism in Black® Autistic Adult Summit was created to center these experiences and make space for conversations that recognize Black autistic adults as whole, multidimensional people—not as an afterthought in conversations about autism.
Built around the theme The Fullness of Us: Black Autistic Adulthood, Joy, and Liberation, this three-day virtual experience brings together Black autistic voices and lived experiences to explore identity, healing, relationships, work, parenting, advocacy, creativity, community, joy, and what it can mean to move beyond simply surviving toward living more fully and authentically.
JOIN THE SUMMIT
The 2026 Autism in Black® Autistic Adult Summit brings together powerful, culturally affirming conversations created to center the lived experiences, perspectives, and voices of Black autistic adults.
Whether you are navigating identity, late diagnosis or self-diagnosis, unmasking, relationships, work, parenting, mental health, burnout, sensory needs, self-advocacy, creativity, community, joy, or simply discovering what it means to live more fully and authentically as a Black autistic adult, this summit was created with you in mind.
Why is this Summit For You?
Too often, conversations about autism focus on diagnosis, challenges, and support needs without fully addressing how race, culture, identity, lived experience, and neurodivergence shape what it means to move through the world as a Black autistic adult.
But Black autistic adults deserve spaces where our whole identities are recognized.
We deserve conversations that reflect the complexity of our experiences.
We deserve community where we can see ourselves reflected in one another.
We deserve opportunities to talk honestly about the challenges we navigate without allowing those challenges to become the only story told about our lives.
And we deserve spaces that celebrate our strengths, creativity, relationships, leadership, joy, self-determination, and liberation.
The Autism in Black® Autistic Adult Summit was created to center Black autistic adults—a community historically left out, spoken over, or treated as an afterthought in autism conversations.
Through the theme The Fullness of Us: Black Autistic Adulthood, Joy, and Liberation, this summit will explore identity and self-understanding, late diagnosis and self-diagnosis, unmasking, mental health and healing, relationships, parenting, work, sensory needs, healthcare, self-advocacy, creativity, community, leadership, joy, and what it can mean to move beyond survival toward living more fully.
LIVED EXPERIENCE & REAL-WORLD INSIGHT
Honest, practical conversations rooted in the lived experiences of Black autistic adults—offering insight for navigating identity, unmasking, relationships, work, parenting, mental health, sensory needs, self-advocacy, community, and the everyday realities of Black autistic adulthood.
Honest Conversations
Culturally affirming conversations about identity, unmasking, relationships, mental health, burnout, ableism, anti-Blackness, belonging, self-advocacy, community, and the realities of navigating adulthood at the intersection of being Black and autistic.
COMMUNITY, CONNECTION & BELONGING
Culturally affirming conversations about identity, unmasking, relationships, mental health, burnout, ableism, anti-Blackness, belonging, self-advocacy, community, and the realities of navigating adulthood at the intersection of being Black and autistic.
This summit is more than an event.
It is an invitation to pause, reflect, connect, and make space for the fullness of Black autistic adulthood—our identities, experiences, challenges, strengths, relationships, creativity, joy, and liberation.
Across three days, we will explore the intersections of Blackness, autism, culture, identity, relationships, mental health, advocacy, community, and lived experience while centering the voices and wisdom of Black autistic adults.
Together, we’re creating space for honest conversations, meaningful connection, self-understanding, community care, and the many ways Black autistic adults can move beyond survival toward living fully and authentically.
POWERFUL CONVERSATIONS CENTERING BLACK AUTISTIC ADULTHOOD, JOY & LIBERATION
At Autism in Black®, we know that understanding Black autistic adulthood requires more than information about autism.
It requires space for Black autistic adults to tell our own stories.
It requires conversations that make room for identity, culture, communication differences, support needs, and belonging.
It requires community where lived experience is valued, differences are respected, and Black autistic adults can show up more fully as ourselves.
It requires moving beyond deficit-based narratives and making room for the joy, creativity, wisdom, leadership, and liberation that are also part of Black autistic life.
This summit will create space for attendees to think more deeply about what it means to live at the intersection of Blackness and autism, explore the many dimensions of autistic adulthood, learn from the lived experiences of others, and celebrate the fullness of Black autistic identity and community.
That is the heart of The Fullness of Us: Black Autistic Adulthood, Joy, and Liberation—recognizing that there is no single Black autistic experience and creating room for our identities, challenges, strengths, relationships, voices, joy, and humanity to exist together.
Schedule For The Summit
Day 1
Friday, Sep 11 | [7pm EST / ~1 hr]
We set the stakes, meet the room, and get you primed for the work ahead, so you walk into Day 2 ready to go all in.
Open to Everyone
Day 2
Saturday, Sept 12 | [11am EST / 4 hrs]
Go deeper into the realities of everyday life—from relationships, work, parenting, mental health, burnout, sensory needs, and healthcare to communication, boundaries, self-advocacy, and finding ways to live more authentically.
Open to Everyone
Day 3
Sunday, Sept 13 | [11am EST ]
An exclusive day for All-Access Pass holders to go deeper into the conversations that move us beyond survival. Explore joy, creativity, connection, rest, leadership, community, self-determination, and what liberation can look like across Black autistic adulthood.
All-Access & Members Only
Summit Dates: September 11 to 13, 2026
CENTERING THE FULLNESS OF BLACK AUTISTIC LIFE
This summit centers what it means to live, grow, connect, and navigate the world as a Black autistic adult.
We are making space for conversations about identity, self-understanding, communication, relationships, sensory needs, mental health, work, parenting, healthcare, advocacy, culture, community, and belonging.
The goal is to move beyond conversations that simply explain autism and toward conversations that recognize how Blackness, culture, identity, neurodivergence, and lived experience come together to shape Black autistic adulthood.
NAVIGATING AUTISTIC ADULTHOOD
There is no single way to experience Black autistic adulthood.
Whether someone was identified early, diagnosed later in life, is self-diagnosed, or is still exploring what autism means for them, this summit makes room for the different paths, experiences, identities, and support needs within our community.
Through lived experience, honest conversations, and practical insight, we’ll explore what it can look like to understand ourselves more deeply, advocate for our needs, navigate relationships and everyday life, establish boundaries, find community, and create lives that honor who we are.
MAKING ROOM FOR JOY, COMMUNITY & LIBERATION
Black autistic adulthood is about more than navigating challenges.
It is also about joy, creativity, connection, culture, rest, relationships, leadership, self-determination, and community.
This summit invites attendees to imagine what becomes possible when Black autistic adults are not simply expected to adapt, mask, or survive—but are given space to be understood, affirmed, respected, connected, and supported in living fully as ourselves.
That is the heart of The Fullness of Us: making room for every part of Black autistic adulthood—not only what we navigate, but who we are, what we create, how we connect, and the joy and liberation we deserve to experience.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This summit was created first and foremost for Black autistic adults who want to see their experiences reflected, hear from others who understand the intersections they navigate, and connect with conversations rooted in Black autistic life, identity, joy, and liberation.
You should attend if you are a Black autistic adult who:
- Was diagnosed or identified as autistic in childhood
- Was diagnosed later in adulthood
- Is self-diagnosed or self-identified
- Is still exploring what autism means for you
- Is navigating masking or unmasking
- Wants to better understand your autistic identity
- Is navigating relationships, dating, marriage, or connection
- Is parenting while autistic
- Is navigating work, entrepreneurship, college, or career transitions
- Is experiencing burnout or exploring mental health and healing
- Wants to better understand your sensory, communication, or executive functioning needs
- Is learning to advocate for yourself in healthcare, work, education, relationships, or community
- Is exploring faith, spirituality, culture, or belonging
- Wants more connection with other Black autistic adults
- Wants to experience conversations that make room for Black autistic joy, creativity, leadership, community, and liberation
The summit also welcomes family members, allies, advocates, and professionals who want to listen, learn, and deepen their understanding of Black autistic adulthood while respecting that Black autistic adults and our lived experiences remain at the center of this space.
Whether you have known you were autistic for most of your life or are just beginning to understand yourself through an autistic lens, you do not have to have everything figured out to belong here.
The Fullness of Us is about making room for the many ways Black autistic adulthood can look, feel, and be experienced.
Come as you are. There is room for the fullness of you here.
Meet Your FACILITATOR
Maria Davis-Pierre LMHC
Maria Davis-Pierre, LMHC, and Dr. Berry Pierre are the co-founders of Autism in Black®, an organization dedicated to supporting Black autistic individuals and the families, caregivers, and communities who love and advocate alongside them.
As an autistic adult, parent of autistic children, licensed mental health counselor, and CEO of Autism in Black®, Maria uses her lived experience and professional expertise to educate, empower, and connect Black families navigating autism.
At the heart of the experience is The Fullness of Us: Black Autistic Adulthood, Joy, and Liberation—making room for Black autistic adults to be seen not only through our challenges or support needs, but through the fullness of our identities, relationships, strengths, experiences, creativity, joy, and humanity.
Here are your speakers
Ahmani Peets
Anthony Peets
Antonio Tolson
Christian Toney
La Shona Johnson
Dr. Patrice Douglas
Johnnie Alexander
Justin Best
Dalbin Osorio
Steph Anderson
Kwentin Shelton
Tiana Townsend
STILL WONDERING IF THE SUMMIT IS FOR YOU?
If you have ever wanted to see more of yourself reflected in conversations about autism—your Blackness, your identity, your relationships, your challenges, your strengths, your needs, and your lived experience—this summit was created for you.
If you are navigating late diagnosis or self-diagnosis, masking or unmasking, relationships, parenting, work, burnout, mental health, sensory needs, self-advocacy, identity, or belonging, you are not alone.
This summit will offer honest, culturally affirming conversations rooted in Black autistic lived experience while creating space for reflection, connection, self-understanding, community, joy, and the freedom to exist more fully as yourself.
The Autism in Black® Autistic Adult Summit is your invitation to be part of a three-day virtual experience where Black autistic adults are not an afterthought—we are at the center.
This is The Fullness of Us: Black Autistic Adulthood, Joy, and Liberation—a space to see, hear, and celebrate Black autistic adulthood in all its complexity, possibility, and fullness.