Instead of asking how I am when you see me, make a comment that I can easily respond to, like something about the weather.
Category: Accommodations
If we say we need a piece of technology, enable that. If a meeting knows I need to use a chat facility for video, enable support for that so that I join in equally.
If I don’t have the right information, I risk doing the task incorrectly and having to redo something in a different way and/or having someone get angry with me, angrier than when I was just asking questions.
If I tell you I need something, listen. I might not have the energy to communicate your way, can we please communicate my way for a little bit?
Listen to me. Please. I went to therapy for countless hours over countless years to be able to identify and express my needs and now that I finally can, it seems like it doesn’t matter.
We talk with Dr. Mary Doherty and Dr. Sebastian Shaw of Autistic Doctors International about how undetected barriers to health care for autistic people can lead to delayed care, serious complications, and sometimes even fatalities.
A huge way to accommodate me is to just ask instead of assuming, or assume good intentions first. It shows you are trying to come from a place of understanding, which is the first step in building trust for me.
Something that would make my life easier would be accessible virtual health care; in other
words, NOT by phone.
This means that people cannot conserve disabled people as easily as they used to. It does NOT mean that people with disabilities will be barred from getting the supports they need and deserve.
Pro tip: it’s fine to want to understand your autistic friends’ sensory and accommodations issues, etc., but please don’t frame it as a “Gotcha.”