Autism Acceptance Festival 2026, March 23rd-26th

DCU, NCI and ATU Sligo are, respectively, the first, second and third HEIs in Ireland to receive AsIAm designation as Autism Friendly HEIs. In 2024, CCT and DkIT both received their designations. NCAD are continuing the work in preparation for application.

In 2026, we six higher education institutes are proud to work together again to host the Autism Acceptance Festival. Now in it's 5th year, this festival hosts a series of public-facing events that centre autistic people and promote autism acceptance.

Online Autism Acceptance Festival Events

All main festival events were recorded and are available to view via the links below.

#DivergentMinds

Daily

Entries came in from Neurodivergent students across NCI, DCU, ATU Sligo, CCT, DkIT and NCAD for our #DivergentMinds digital exhibition, which saw a piece pushed out on social media each day.

Watch Party

Sunday 22nd March

Our #WatchParty this year was available thanks to TG4 and Tyrone Productions: Néara Éagsúlacht, Dearcadh Difriúil. This is a two-part documentary, in a mix of Irish and English, translated through subtitles.

Watch Party Discussion

Monday 23rd March 1-2pm

Néara Éágsúlacht, Dearcadh Difriúil panel discussion, featuring some of those who participated in the documentary.

Beidh an comhrá i mBéarla mar ní féidir linn aistriúchán comhuaineach a sholáthar.

Disability Supports and Reasonable Accommodations in Higher Ed

Tuesday 24th March 1-2pm

Watch this panel discussion with support staff and students who avail of supports: find out how to access, what to expect, and how it all works.

Assistive Technology in HEIs

Wednesday 25th March 1-2pm

Panel discussion with AT staff and students who use Assistive Tech: find out about what’s available, how the best tech fit is identified, and what the future of AT might look like.

Communication options for non-speaking autistic people

Thursday 26th March 1-2pm

With a focus on Lámh and Spell to Speak, this panel looked at options for communication and self-expression for non-speaking autistic people.
Useful Resources
A list of resources that were identified as useful from issues that arose from panel discussions from the Autism Acceptance Festival 2026, as well as previous years' events, can be found here.
Learn More