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NOTICE: Ocate Cliffs is in the process of closing. We could not do the outreach. Disability is real.

An experiment in radical inclusion

Ocate Cliffs is an autistic-run retreat center in Northern New Mexico. It is a project of Divergent Labs, a non-profit.

Summer 2023 program

Hautism : a unique, immersive one-week retreat program for autistic women, transgender, and non-binary participants hosted by Wilderwood Equine Therapy and Ocate Cliffs in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico. Two one-week sessions available: June 9-15 and August 18-24. $1,600 includes accommodation and meals for a one-week retreat. First and last days are designated as “travel days.” Transportation to/from Ocate Cliffs is not included. Learn more and register.

Rent Ocate Cliffs

Our beautiful mountain retreat center is currently available to groups of up to 20 people. Our lodges are comfortable and environmentally sustainable. Learn more.

A bold new employment model for autism and Asperger’s

Around 80% of autistic people are unemployed, compared to 5% of the general population. When the media talks about the autism “epidemic,” why aren’t they talking about this? The scope of the problem is staggering, and something needs to change. The current solutions — like training programs that push autistic people into low-skill labor instead of encouraging them to pursue their potential — aren’t working. Most decision making about autism and Asperger’s completely excludes the input of actual autistic people, and as a result it usually drives at cross purposes to what we really need.

Read more about why we created Ocate Cliffs.

Star Ford“Instead of a model that aims to integrate autistic people into the workplace by forcing us into behaviors that are unnatural for us, we’ve built Ocate Cliffs, a workplace and community where autistic people can be themselves and use their strengths. And all staff will be autistic.”

~ Star Ford, founder and manager of Ocate Cliffs, autistic author of A Field Guide to Earthlings and software architect living in Las Vegas, New Mexico USA