The Blog
Why We Need to Talk About Workplace Bullying Against Neurodivergent Adults
Neurodivergent adults face widespread workplace bullying due to rigid professional norms, lack of accommodations, and systemic biases that label them as difficult or incompetent rather than recognizing their differences. This mistreatment often takes subtle but damaging forms, including exclusion, micromanagement, and manufactured incompetence, leading to burnout, job loss, and long-term psychological harm. Addressing this issue requires systemic change, including stronger workplace protections, neurodiversity-affirming policies, and a cultural shift toward valuing diverse ways of thinking, working, and communicating.
Why ABA Should Be a Human Rights Violation (And Why It Still Exists)
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a harmful and unethical practice rooted in behaviorist principles that prioritize compliance and the suppression of autistic traits rather than genuine support. Despite evidence linking ABA to trauma and PTSD in autistic individuals, it remains widely used due to financial incentives, systemic ableism, and misinformation that portrays it as the only effective autism intervention. A human rights-based approach to autism support should center autonomy, sensory needs, alternative communication, and self-advocacy rather than forcing autistic people to conform to neurotypical expectations.
The Invisible Epidemic of Autistic Suicide: What Needs to Change Now
Autistic people face an alarmingly high risk of suicide due to lifelong social exclusion, masking, trauma, lack of accessible mental health care, and systemic neglect. Many autistic suicides go unrecognized due to misclassification, executive dysfunction, and a lack of neurodiversity-affirming crisis interventions, leaving this crisis largely invisible. Addressing autistic suicide requires systemic change, including better research, accessible mental health support, and a fundamental shift in how society values and supports autistic individuals.
Disability Justice and Climate Justice: The Overlap No One Talks About
The climate crisis disproportionately impacts disabled people, yet climate policies and disaster response systems often fail to account for accessibility, leaving disabled individuals more vulnerable to displacement, food and housing insecurity, extreme weather events, and disruptions in healthcare. Many proposed environmental solutions, such as sustainable transportation and green job initiatives, overlook the needs of disabled people, reinforcing systemic ableism rather than addressing it. True climate justice must integrate disability justice by ensuring accessibility in policies, disaster planning, and sustainability efforts, recognizing that a just and equitable future must include everyone.
Neurodivergence is Political: Why Our Fight for Justice is Intersectional
Neurodivergence is inherently political because systemic barriers in education, employment, healthcare, and legal systems disadvantage autistic and ADHD individuals, particularly those who are multiply marginalized. Discrimination against neurodivergent people is not just a personal struggle but a structural issue rooted in ableism, racism, and economic inequality. True justice requires dismantling these oppressive systems and advocating for radical change that prioritizes accessibility, inclusion, and equity across all aspects of society.
Why Autism Awareness Month is Exhausting (And What We Actually Need)
Autism Awareness Month is often exhausting for autistic people because it prioritizes outdated, pathologizing narratives, performative allyship, and harmful symbols like the puzzle piece and blue lighting rather than meaningful action. Many awareness campaigns focus on fear-based messaging, exclude autistic voices, and disappear once April ends, leaving systemic barriers unaddressed. What autistic people actually need is year-round acceptance, inclusion, and systemic change that prioritizes accessibility, neurodiversity-affirming perspectives, and leadership from autistic individuals themselves.
Why “Just Ask for Accommodations” Doesn’t Work for Most of Us
The advice to "just ask for accommodations" oversimplifies the complex barriers neurodivergent employees face, including fear of discrimination, inaccessible policies, and workplace stigma. Even when accommodations are granted, they are often ignored, resisted by management, or create tension with colleagues, leading to burnout and job loss. Instead of placing the burden on individuals to constantly self-advocate, workplaces must take systemic responsibility by proactively designing neurodivergent-friendly environments that support all employees equitably.
The Rise of Autistic Mutual Aid: How We’re Supporting Each Other When No One Else Will
Autistic mutual aid networks have emerged as essential support systems in response to the failures of government and nonprofit organizations to adequately serve autistic individuals. These grassroots efforts provide financial assistance, employment support, housing aid, healthcare navigation, and emotional solidarity, ensuring that autistic people have access to resources that traditional systems often deny them. By prioritizing community-driven care and lived experience, autistic mutual aid is reshaping disability support, proving that when institutions fail, autistic people step up to support one another.
The Future of Neurodiversity Advocacy: Where Do We Go from Here?
The future of neurodiversity advocacy faces challenges such as funding limitations, corporate tokenism, and reactionary pushback, but also opportunities for growth through intersectionality, digital activism, and systemic reforms. Ensuring sustainability requires centering neurodivergent voices, securing equitable funding, and demanding accountability from institutions that claim to support neurodivergence. By embracing inclusivity, leveraging technology, and pushing for policy changes, the movement can continue to drive meaningful progress and create lasting change for neurodivergent individuals.