Self-advocacy scripts

Ready-made sentences for appointments, work and everyday moments, plus space to write your own.

For: Autistic adults, teens · Free to print, copy and share · No sign-up

What can I say to explain my autistic needs?

Have the sentence ready before you need it. Advocating for yourself is much harder under pressure, so a short prepared line — asking for written instructions, more time, or a quieter room — removes the need to find the words in the moment.

Get the PDF See all printables

The PDF is built in your browser on the next screen — nothing is saved or emailed.

How to use it

  1. Read the ready-made lines and tick the ones that fit you.
  2. Rewrite them in your own words on the blank lines.
  3. Practise saying them out loud, or plan to hand the card over instead.
  4. Carry the small cut-out cards for the situations where speech gets hard.
  5. Add the lines that worked after you use them, and drop the ones that did not.

Things worth knowing

Where a paper sheet stops

A printed sheet is fixed. It can't change when the routine changes, it doesn't know the person using it, and it can't put anything in writing for a school or clinic.

Want this made for your situation?

Nova can help you word a line for a specific conversation you're dreading, in your own voice.

Nova is a support companion for autistic people, families and the professionals who help them. Every printed sheet carries a scannable code and this short link: portal.novaautism.com/s/self-advocacy-script

Practise with Nova Get the PDF

Other free printables

Visual schedule template

Blank picture-and-word boxes for a morning, school, or bedtime routine.

First / Then card

Two big boxes: what happens first, what happens after. The simplest transition support there is.

Sensory profile checklist

Work through each sense and mark what soothes, what overwhelms, and what's still unclear.

Social story template

A blank, first-person story frame for a new place, a change, or something that keeps going wrong.

This sheet is a practical support, not medical, legal, or diagnostic advice.