“I’m tired of accommodating people with Autism.”

A comment I see dozens of variations of, some gentler, some more aggressive, everyday while using LinkedIn for “people research”. And as an Autistic woman, I have some thoughts.

Mainly:

You’re tired of legal accommodations? Cry harder. Becuse we’re tired, too.

Tired of twisting ourselves into knots to survive in a world designed by and for fragile, unimaginative people who call our basic humanity an “inconvenience.” Tired of being exploited for our skills while being treated like we are less than human.

You’re not oppressed because someone asked you to turn down the fluorescent lights or communicate with clear language. You’re just being asked to recognize that other people exist, and apparently, that’s your breaking point.

What blows my mind isn’t that bigotry exists, it’s that people are now so boldly proud of it here; saying the quiet part loud and calling it “thought leadership”.

People in management positions, recruiters, consultants, all posting bile like “autistic people provide zero value” and “we’d be better off without them.” They write this with their employer’s name in their bio, fully confident nothing will happen to them.

And the reason they’re so confident is because this is exactly how they act in the workplace, and get away with it.

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