Our mission statement

Diversity-sensitive and participatory support

Our aim is to strengthen self-organisation, autonomy and self-determined living in a lasting and effective way.

We create an appreciative and dependable space for children, young people and their families and accompany them on their individual path in a resource-oriented way. We see diversity as an enrichment and meet every person with respect, as equals.

We follow a consistently person-centred approach that puts the perspectives, interpretations and individuality of the people we support at the centre. The aim is to understand their lived realities from the inside rather than primarily interpreting and shaping them from an expert-centred point of view. This basic attitude is the foundation of our professional practice and enables support processes that are participatory and reflective.

We do not see autism and disability as a deficit that needs to be “cured”, but as part of human neurodiversity and of being human. Our support is diversity-sensitive: we respect the individual biographies, gender identities and cultural backgrounds of the people who come to us. Participation is our foundation – with us, decisions are not made about people but with them. We create spaces in which self-efficacy grows.

Human rights and democracy

The Berlin Autism Centre bases its actions on the principles of universal human rights and the fundamental values of a society of equals. The services we offer aim to foster a way of living together that is inclusive, participatory, solidary and sensitive to discrimination.

Open-mindedness, plurality, participation and a culture of acceptance and recognition are the guiding, action-oriented principles of our work. They form the basis for support services that are professionally sound, oriented towards the people entitled to them, and reflective.

The aim is to secure individual development opportunities, strengthen participation in society and recognise difference as a constitutive part of social reality. In doing so, we combine the recognition of diversity with the fostering of common ground, in the spirit of an inclusive society.

“Democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience.”

— John Dewey

The Berlin Autism Centre grounds its work in universal human rights and the ideal of an inclusive society of equals. Our aim is to foster individual development and to recognise neurodivergent differences as an enrichment while strengthening what connects us.

Communication as equals

We see communication as a bridge to participation in society. Because autism and disability mean many different ways of exchange, we make our interaction barrier-free and needs-oriented. For us, this means:

• Diversity of expression: We value and use augmentative and alternative communication to give every child and young person a voice.
• Clarity and transparency: We rely on unambiguous, low-stimulus and structured ways of conveying information that reduce misunderstandings and create a sense of safety.
• Mutual understanding: It is not only the autistic person who learns to express themselves – we see it as our duty to actively learn and respect the individual communication styles of the people we support.

Only in this way can an open, equal diversity in society and genuine co-determination be lived – that is our credo. An attitude of appreciation and deep respect for each person’s individual perception and voice shapes our professional self-understanding.

Children’s rights

Uncompromising respect for children’s rights and the protection and well-being of every single child are the basis of our daily work. We do not regard children’s rights as mere theory but as universal, inviolable values that admit no relativisation. Our aim is to create living environments in which children can fully exercise their right to the best possible support, active co-determination and the non-violent development of their personality. We take responsibility for ensuring that every child is seen, protected and strengthened in their individuality.

Inclusive equity and diversity

The Berlin Autism Centre stands for the equal participation of all people and sees diversity as a central resource. We regard different life situations and characteristics – such as age, gender, physical conditions, sexual orientation, worldview and socio-economic background – as opportunities for a respectful, inclusive and plurality-oriented practice.

The aim is to promote inclusive living conditions and to secure access to education, health and social participation in our society. Our work is based on a diversity-sensitive approach oriented towards people’s everyday worlds, one that takes individual life situations into account and dismantles structural barriers.

Its foundation is the human right to participatory, sustainable education and to participation in society.

We understand inclusion as a continuous process that strengthens the participation of all people and values individual differences.

A learning organisation and quality development

The Berlin Autism Centre sees itself as a learning organisation that continuously develops its services and adapts them to professional, legal and societal requirements. This is guided by the organisation’s objectives as well as the needs and expectations of the people we support.

We secure the quality of our educational and therapeutic work through binding professional standards and a systematic improvement process. This includes regular supervision, further training and continuing education, and internal working and reflection formats for staff. The requirements of service delivery are matched with the team’s competences and resources.

We will also take an active part in professional exchange and quality dialogues in the local community and cooperate closely with the relevant institutions, especially at state and municipal level.

As a learning organisation, we continuously reflect on our actions and remain open to new scientific findings and – above all – to feedback from the autism community. Our quality development is dynamic: we invest consistently in the further training of our team and use structured evaluation processes to keep improving the effectiveness and ethics of our therapeutic and educational support.

Beyond that, we will build on close cooperation and active professional exchange within a network of other autism providers and specialist services.

These regular dialogue and exchange formats are meant to enable us to share best-practice approaches, develop shared standards and guarantee the best possible, professionally sound support according to current evidence-based standards for Berlin’s children and young people and their families – and to enable their equal participation in our city.

Commitment and continuing development

This mission statement is a binding part of our organisational development and at the same time serves the systematic prevention of violence. It is set down in writing, known to all staff and forms the basis of our professional practice. We take a clear stand against every form of violence – in particular sexualised, psychological and structural violence. The protection, dignity and rights of the people entrusted to us are at the centre of our work. The mission statement is regularly reflected on and developed further, and it is applied as binding in daily practice.

In practice, the mission statement is reflected above all in a consistently boundary-respecting attitude, a clear orientation towards the individual needs and forms of communication of children and young people, and the use of barrier-free and participatory methods. Our professionals shape educational and therapeutic processes transparently, actively promote self-determination (for instance through the right to refuse) and systematically include feedback from the people we support in planning and delivery. Regular reflection formats, supervision and binding standards of conduct secure the implementation of the mission statement in everyday practice and contribute to its continuous development.

The practical relevance of our mission statement is reviewed every two years.

As part of the further development of our child protection concept, we intend to develop and update its contents in participation with the people we support, their parents or guardians and, where applicable, their legal representatives. For this we use participation formats suited to the target group and free of barriers, such as picture cards and pictograms as part of augmentative and alternative communication, checks of feelings and well-being (for example via smiley scales or traffic-light systems) and structured conversation formats. The perspectives of parents and guardians are also systematically included through suitable exchange and feedback formats. The aim is to firmly anchor a lived and binding culture of protection and participation in everyday life.

This partnership-based dialogue ensures that our values remain aligned with people’s current needs and lived realities. The results of this review will feed directly into our quality management cycles and lead to concrete action plans that are binding for all teams.