Making Pride Accessible 🏳️‍🌈

June 16, 2026

Pride can be a joyous time when our community comes together proudly, bringing even more visibility to LGBTQIAP+ culture, contributions, and love. The ways in which we can honor Pride is so vast and filled with varying emotions. When discussing how we would honor Pride Month this year, the AWN team wanted to focus on accessibility and inclusion.

Accessibility During Pride

Everyone deserves to celebrate Pride while being in community with others. However, Pride is not always as accessible as it could be. More specifically, many Pride events deal with issues of physical accessibility, accessibility with respect to sensory needs, and even economic accessibility with event and accommodation prices being too costly for many groups. Acknowledging this is especially important for AWN to highlight as we advocate for those who live at the intersection of queerness and disability.

This sentiment seems to be on many people’s mind as NYC Pride’s theme for 2026 is “For All of Us.” The theme honors LGBTQIAP+ activist Marsha P. Johnson who said, “There is no pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” AWN wholeheartedly agrees and wants to emphasize that there is no Pride without accessibility. This Pride we urge event coordinators to consider how they can become more inclusive. Whether that is providing sensory tools, coordinating with disabled LGBTQIAP+ people, or organizing virtual Pride events.

AWN’s Sensory Break Tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride

Every year for Pride, AWN works to provide a safe, accessible space for our community. Organized by AWN’s Community Outreach Coordinator, Lei Wiley-Mydske and in collaboration with the Ed Wiley Autism Acceptance Lending Library, AWN hosts a sensory break tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride to make the event fun and accessible for all.

Event attendees are welcome to visit the tent to have a quiet, safe space to take a break from the busy event. We also offer sensory toys, break area furniture, and educational materials. We are honored to provide a place of solace for so many people during this time. AWN aims to expand these efforts to provide accessibility for even more people during Pride. We also hope our efforts motivate others to do the same.

Below are pictures from our sensory break tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride 2026:

Pictured is AWN's break tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride. The image shows a black tent. Under the tent is a table that includes sensory toys, stickers, candy, earplugs, and other resources. Behind the table is break area furniture. There is also a neurodiversity library poster and an AWN poster.

A close-up image of the table at AWN's break tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride. The table includes sensory toys, stickers, candy, earplugs, and other resources.

An image of the break area furniture in AWN's break tent at Stanwood-Camano Pride. The break furniture includes pillows and beanbag chairs. Behind the furniture is a neurodiversity library poster and an AWN poster.

Join Us in Making Pride Accessible

We would like to extend a sincere thank-you to everyone who has supported our Give OUT Day campaign. This generosity is what makes it possible for AWN to be active in events like Stanwood-Camano Pride. Being in community with us plays an active role in making such progress. We want to keep you involved by hearing your perspective!

With the survey below, we would like to know what makes Pride accessible for you!

Share Your Thoughts!

Wishing you a happy Pride, a safe Pride, an inclusive Pride from AWN.

Sincerely,

Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network