A companion audit for the deck. The cards let a person say what they need in the moment; this checklist steps back and asks whether the whole world around them — a room, a routine, a kit, a system — is one they can actually live in. Run it on the world, never on the person.
It comes from Stimpunks' own Livable Worlds Checklist, built on Crafting Livable Worlds: Sensory, Creative, and Nonhuman Supports in Autistic Adults' Everyday Lives (Megan Catherine Rose and Deborah Lupton, 2026). It is dedicated to the public domain here under CC0, the same as the rest of the deck.
It audits the environment, not the person. Same as a spread: every box that comes up short names something the world isn't giving, not something the person is getting wrong. There is no score, no pass mark, and no total to hit. A section that falls short is a design brief, not a verdict. Broken systems, not broken people.
Before anything else: can I exist here without constant self-defense?
If the answer is no, nothing else matters yet.
1. Regulation
Can I stay stable?
- ☐ I can turn sound down — headphones, earplugs, or a quieter spot
- ☐ I can change the light — dim it, block it, adjust it
- ☐ I can reach grounding things — textures, weight, familiar objects
- ☐ I can stim or fidget without hiding it
- ☐ I can take a sensory break without paying for it later
- ☐ There is a steady sensory baseline, not chaos
When it isn't working — you're bracing, masking, or enduring.
2. Portable supports
Can I bring my world with me?
- ☐ I can carry what I need — a bag, pockets, mobility aids
- ☐ My supports are allowed here, not treated as unprofessional
- ☐ I don't have to explain or justify using them
- ☐ I have a minimum kit for bad days
- ☐ I have backups or stand-ins
When it isn't working — you're stranded the moment you leave home.
3. Predictability and flow
Can I stay in motion?
- ☐ I know what happens next
- ☐ I can repeat what helps — the same music, routine, loop
- ☐ I can pick a task back up after an interruption
- ☐ I'm not forced to switch tracks constantly
- ☐ There are clear start and stop points
When it isn't working — you stall, freeze, or burn out from switching.
4. Decision load
How much thinking does it take just to function?
- ☐ Common tasks are already decided or templated
- ☐ I'm not choosing from too many options
- ☐ The layout shows me what to do
- ☐ I can offload memory onto lists, systems, reminders
- ☐ There's a low-energy mode built in
When it isn't working — you're exhausted before you start.
5. Identity safety
Can I be myself here?
- ☐ My objects and aesthetics are allowed, not policed
- ☐ I don't have to hide what regulates me
- ☐ I'm not pushed to look "professional" in one narrow way
- ☐ My interests, and the way I express them, are welcome
- ☐ I can be here without masking who I am
When it isn't working — you feel childish, wrong, or exposed.
6. Environment fit
Does the space adapt to me?
- ☐ I can change the space — light, layout, objects
- ☐ There is more than one kind of zone — quiet, active, soft
- ☐ I can control how close others get
- ☐ I can retreat without having to leave entirely
- ☐ The space supports my bodymind instead of fighting it
When it isn't working — you're constantly compensating for the space.
7. Nonhuman supports
Am I held up by more than people?
- ☐ I can reach regulating things — tools, textures, devices
- ☐ Plants, animals, or sensory elements are here if they help
- ☐ The digital spaces I lean on — music, games, apps — actually work
- ☐ I can be alongside others without being made to interact
- ☐ I have anchors that don't run on social energy
When it isn't working — everything depends on social energy you don't have.
8. Play and immersion
Do I have somewhere to be absorbed?
- ☐ I can go deep into an interest without being interrupted
- ☐ Play is allowed, not treated as trivial
- ☐ I can reach immersive things — art, games, making
- ☐ I can use them to regulate without guilt
- ☐ My focus is protected, not fragmented
When it isn't working — everything feels shallow, interrupted, or performed.
9. Routines and systems
Do I have scaffolding?
- ☐ I have routines that take the friction out
- ☐ The systems are mine, not imposed on me
- ☐ The tools fit my brain, not the other way round
- ☐ I can change a system when it stops working
- ☐ My setup carries over from one day to the next
When it isn't working — you're rebuilding your life from scratch every day.
10. Stigma pressure
What am I hiding?
- ☐ I can use my supports in plain view without judgment
- ☐ The rules, written or not, allow what I need
- ☐ Using support is normal here, not "getting away with it"
- ☐ I don't have to trade dignity for access
- ☐ I'm not spending energy managing what others think
When it isn't working — you're constantly editing yourself.
11. Sustainability
Can I keep this up?
- ☐ This works on bad days, not just good ones
- ☐ It reduces burnout instead of postponing it
- ☐ It carries across places — home, work, travel
- ☐ I can keep it going without huge effort
- ☐ It leaves room for recovery
When it isn't working — it only holds up when you're already doing well.
The deck says it; this audits the room
Where the checklist finds a gap, the deck gives a person a way to voice it — and where a spread keeps naming the same need, the checklist points at the part of the world to change. They pair, section by section:
- Regulation — headphones, dim the light, let me control it, let me stim, with a way out and i need a minute for breaks. buzzy, full, and prickly are the weather that shows regulation slipping.
- Portable supports — something soft, busy hands, something to chew, my own spot. The deck itself travels, naming the needs a kit is there to meet.
- Predictability and flow — tell me first, no rush, let me finish, and the whole Lily pads realm for the crossings between one thing and the next. pulled every way names flow coming apart.
- Decision load — less to look at, less talking, no rush; foggy and full name the overload.
- Identity safety — the Kind words you're not broken, nothing to fix, your way is a real way, it's okay to need what you need; and let me stim, let me unmask, no spotlight.
- Environment fit — the deck's home ground. The Places zones — the cave, the campfire, the watering hole, the library, and the habitat holding them all — plus a corner, a den, a way out, let me control it.
- Nonhuman supports — a steady sound, something soft, and parallel existence for company that asks nothing; in the zone names immersion as an anchor.
- Play and immersion — in the zone (monotropic flow), protected by let me finish and room for the focus to run.
- Routines and systems — tell me first, my own spot, let me control it, and predictable Lily-pad crossings.
- Stigma pressure — it's okay to need what you need, you belong here, nothing to fix; let me unmask and no spotlight name the pressure head-on.
- Sustainability — you can rest and let me come and go: the deck as an everyday practice, not a one-off fix.
How to use it
Run it as a quick five-minute scan. Mark each line: works, half-works, or broken.
Then find the two biggest drains — not everything, just where the cost is highest. Fix one thing. A pair of headphones is an instant regulation win; a staging spot by the door cuts friction; letting objects stay in view drops the masking load.
Then ask the baseline question again: is it easier to exist here now?
The point
This is not about optimizing yourself. It is about lowering the cost of being alive in a world that doesn't fit — and building one that meets you halfway, or more. If it is easier to be alive in your setup than it was, it is working.
Run it alongside the deck: lay a spread to see what a person is carrying right now, run the checklist to audit the world around them, then use the implementation guidebook to build the fix. A spread is the moment; the checklist is the standing conditions; the room is the work.
Dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Home: https://stimpunks.org/projects/cavendish-space-project/