Social Science Translated’s Post

Some thoughts that I have had some difficulty getting out recently that I think need to be shared: The double empathy phenomena is a massive problem in the workplace for neurodivergent and autistic individuals. But the impact doesn't stop there: it continues to infect the workplace for anyone who signals any sort of difference that challenges the norm of "the standard American worker" (or any countries expected norm for that matter). When it comes to neurodivergent and autistic communication there is simply not enough desire on the neurotypical side for them to further try to understand us or even let us clarify because it has been so pathologically and systemically believed that autistic people are "the problem" in the communication equation. But that can't be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that any form of neurodivergence has been seen as the issue for decades to where there has barely been any attempt whatsoever to check and balance that belief. See, our society and even so-called "experts of autism" (as well as other forms of neurodivergence) have conveniently proliferated this thought that we neurodivergent folk are the sole issue for so long, a thought so insidious to the point that any and all attempts by neurodivergent individuals to clarify and facilitate understanding are written off as us purposefully trying to manipulate or hoodwink our audience. So our attempts to facilitate understanding are essentially chronically doomed to be dead in the water, with no hope of being heard out. This *has to* change. People on both sides of this are suffering. Not just the neurodivergent population. Neurotypical and allistic people suffer from this refusal to understand us. They suffer from the lack of innovation caused by cutting off mutual understanding from neurodivergent individuals. Lack of access to a wider connection with the more intricate and specialized areas of knowledge neurodivergent individuals are more likely to have. Stagnation of managerial ranks because they filter out anyone who doesn't "go along to get along" which prevents most neurodivergent individuals from even achieving any type of leadership position. So many existential problems this world faces require a mix of both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals to solve. We need the innovative and novel ideas of neurodivergent people to be able to communicate with and be understood by neurotypical people who generally have better executive functioning capabilities than neurodivergent folk. This one-way understanding needs to stop. It has been our burden for far to long to learn how to behave like a neurotypical, talk like a neurotypical and understand neurotypical society. Now are the days for neurodivergent behaviors to become understood, neurodivergent communication to be clarified, understood with resonance and for us to put this double standard surrounding communication in the trash. It never served us.

When working with an autistic person, a situation that many people will encounter at some point in their careers, it is crucial for everyone involved to navigate the differences in autistic communication. Truth and honesty hold significant value in the lives of many people, and they are particularly important to most autistic individuals. When expressing our opinions or views, an emphasis on truth and honesty can sometimes make our input seem a bit blunt or overly direct to others. The majority of the time, I would bet, the autistic person did not mean to say something offensive or impolitic, but instead was remarking on a situation, stating a fact, or providing an answer in a simple, truthful way, and with little sugar-coating. Try to accept what an autistic person has to say without reading into it innuendo or meaning that the person likely did not intend. As a distinct aspect of autistic communication, it is important to recognize that many individuals with autism find verbal speech challenging, particularly during times of heightened sensory or mental stress. The societal expectation of speech can create significant pressure to communicate verbally even when we may not desire to, when it proves difficult, or when it may simply be beyond our capacity at the moment. During challenging times, I personally find myself occasionally using a simple, universal "thumbs up" gesture. Alternatively, when intending to convey the opposite meaning, I may use a mouth or head gesture, or a subtle wiggle of the hand to indicate a "so-so" or "not really" sentiment. Not pressing the person for more words right away is important, helping the person feel accepted and their capacities in the moment respected. Later, even relatively soon, the person may be better able to articulate what is on their mind. Or, perhaps an exchange of written communication could be initiated which would allow the autistic individual their own time and space to convey their thoughts or ideas Autistic communication differences are not flaws; rather, they are just sometimes part of being autistic. Stay tuned for more Autistic Insights each Monday! ************************************************************************* I am dedicated to raising awareness about unidentified autism in adults and to helping late-identified autistic individuals live their best lives. 🌎Lara Schaeffer🌍 #AutismAcceptance  #AutisticInsights  #LaraSchaeffer

What an excellent way to convey some of the hardships relating to spoken communication for many autistic people. I would add to this, that for many autistic people these referenced communication difficulties/differences can be compounded by differences in communication processing and this can make it difficult for an autistic person to respond in the time frame that one would typically expect. This can be the result of many factors, from difficulty in interpreting and/or processing the non-verbal communication of the other person, to distractions in the environment due to sensory processing differences, and even auditory processing differences. I frequently encounter situations where I am “auto-responding” from social scripts, as I do not fully process the entire conversation until after it is over. For myself, this is not a language processing issue, per say, so much as it is a compilation of multiple sensory processing differences, as well as difficulty interpreting the non-verbal communications in the moments that they are occuring.

This is a valuable reminder on communication for those closer to the neurotypical end of the spectrum - try not to read “bluntness” as being motivated by anything more than straightforward honesty, and other helpful reminders. My thoughts: autistic individuals are required to spend a lot of time learning the ways of “neurotypical” communication. How about schools and communities place some emphasis on EVERYONE learning the ways of each others’ communication styles across the neurodiversity spectrum. So, when all students at school have educational standards in speaking and language around considering the perspective and cultures of others and exchanging ideas, that includes recognising neurodivergent communication differences too.

4 Reasons Your Autistic Employee May Temporarily Struggle to Speak Have you ever had an autistic employee go from being articulate and verbose in their speech to barely being able to form a sentence in certain situations? This is known as situational mutism, and it’s common in many speaking autistic folks. Unfortunately, sudden silence, stuttering, and struggling to find words are often viewed as suspicious, as though the person is lying, feeling guilty, or trying to cover something up. Moreover, not receiving an answer to a question right away can be mistaken for purposeful disrespect or insubordination, which can get the autistic employee in immediate trouble that they cannot verbally defend themselves against, thus escalating an already tense situation. What Situational Mutism Feels Like In my experience, situational mutism feels like a sudden disconnect between my brain and my mouth. The words are in my head, and it’s like they’re screaming to get out, but I cannot make the muscles in my throat and mouth push them out verbally, no matter how hard I try. When this happens, my entire body tenses up, my breathing quickens, and my eyes widen. I may open and close my mouth like a fish out of water, but I still can’t get more than a few wordless sounds out. Furthermore, demands, prompts, repeated questions, and accusations make my temporary inability to speak 100 times worse. Knowing my situational mutism is being misunderstood and judged on the spot only heightens my anxiety. (Click on the link below to continue reading.) https://buff.ly/3UikMMu Specialisterne USA #Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity #Disability #Inclusion #DEI

Increase your understanding of your co workers and employees

If you are talking with an autistic person, here are some conversational hints: 1. Autistics have problems reading body language and facial expressions. 2. Don’t hint and imply things. These will often either be missed or misinterpreted. Direct language is the way to communicate with us. Avoid imprecise language like perhaps, possibly, soon, etc. 3. Tell us how you feel. If you are happy, sad, annoyed, angry, then please say so. Also, tell us why. We don’t always understand why something matters so much to allistics. 4. Don’t expect an instant answer. We process everything in a different way, and it takes us time to fully understand and process the highly-nuanced language of allistics and then translate our reply into allistic language. 5. Don’t expect our facial expressions and body language to match how we are feeling. We look out the window, look bored, look at the phone, etc. but we are still listening. 6. If you have opinions, it’s good to be able to back them up. If an autistic shoots down your opinion, it’s a reflection of how the fact is wrong and not a personal attack; conversely, please be happy to challenge an autustic’s opinion (with applicable evidence/facts). 7. If we just walk away or go quiet, there is a good possibility that we have become overloaded. This happens because we cannot filter out input. It can be too much for us to handle, and we need time to reset. If you have upset us, we will have said so before we leave. If we make ourselves stay, we are likely to not make much sense, become confused, or become distressed. 8. If we ask the same thing again and again, we don’t fully understand it. It’s often because neurotypicals leave out details, or we have different expectations about what things mean. We don’t always make the same connections. Please take time out to go over it with us in full detail so we better understand what you’re telling us. 9. Do not expect eye contact with the person you are talking to. Some can manage this but others find it painful. The autistic person you are talking to is likely to be looking somewhere else, this is normal for us and nothing to worry about. 10. Don’t expect us to be impressed with possessions or status. We either like or dislike objects depending on our interests, not monetary value or social status. 11. We might stim visibly during conversations. They could scratch their arms or head, move their arms in a repetitive way, fidget with an object, pick at our fingers, etc. This is normal for us and helps us to regulate the input we intake. 12. We might repeat what you’ve just said. This is normal for us, too. Many times, allistics think this is a ploy to be sarcastic, manipulative, or to ask for things to be repeated. We try to accommodate neurotypical people, but … we don’t always get it right. https://lnkd.in/dzuvvMSJ

Jaime has shared what Situational Mutism is and what it feels like - uncomfortable and anxiety-ridden. I've summarised her articles' tips on how to best accommodate and ensure the comfort level of an autistic person experiencing Situational Mutism 💕 - Understand situational mutism in autistic employees is not intentional or controllable. - Avoid personalising or attributing social motives to the mutism. - Prioritise sensory needs by providing accommodations like headphones, sensory aids, or flexible work arrangements. - Allow alternative communication methods (email, text, Teams message) without judgment or penalty. I've said it before and I'll say it again, accommodating others benefits both the employee and the business by fostering psychological safety 🥰✨ #EveryonesWelcome #PsychologicalSafety #EnablingEveryoneToThrive

When working with an autistic person, a situation that many people will encounter at points in their careers, it is crucial for everyone involved to navigate the differences in autistic communication. Truth and honesty hold significant value in the lives of many people, and they are particularly important to most autistic individuals. When expressing our opinions or views, an emphasis on truth and honesty can sometimes make our input seem a bit blunt or overly direct to others. The majority of the time, I would bet, the autistic person did not mean to say something offensive or impolitic, but instead was remarking on a situation, stating a fact, or providing an answer in a simple, truthful way, and with little sugar-coating. Try to accept what an autistic person has to say without reading into it innuendo or meaning that the person likely did not intend. As a distinct aspect of autistic communication, it is important to recognize that many individuals with autism find verbal speech challenging, particularly during times of heightened sensory or mental stress. The societal expectation of speech can create significant pressure to communicate verbally even when we may not desire to, when it proves difficult, or when it may simply be beyond our capacity at the moment. During challenging times, I personally find myself sometimes putting up my index finger as I pause as a signal that my thought is not complete. As an affirmative response, I often use a simple, universal "thumbs up" gesture. Alternatively, when intending to convey the opposite meaning, I may use a mouth or head gesture, or a subtle wiggle of the hand to indicate a "so-so" or "not really" sentiment. Not pressing the person for more words right away is important to help them feel accepted and their capacities in the moment respected. Later, even relatively soon, the person may be better able to articulate what is on their mind. Or, perhaps an exchange of written communication could be initiated which would allow the autistic individual their own time and space to convey their thoughts or ideas. Autistic communication differences are not flaws; rather, they are just sometimes part of being autistic. Stay tuned for more Autistic Insights! I will be reissuing the original series of twenty posts between now and December before digging into a fresh new round of twenty in 2025! Click the bell in the top right of my profile page Lara Schaeffer if you don't want to miss the next one! 💨💨💨 ************************************************************************* I am dedicated to raising awareness about unidentified autism in adults and to helping late-identified autistic individuals live their best lives. 🌎Lara Schaeffer🌍 #AutismAcceptance #Neurodiversity #BeKind #LaraSchaeffer #AutisticInsights

Recently, I stumbled across a discussion on terms and verbiage people dislike hearing within Autistic community spaces. I was surprised that a few people had mentioned they disliked hearing or reading the community phrase 'ActuallyAutistic.' These individuals felt as if the phrase 'ActuallyAutistic' was one of exclusion (instead of inclusion) because (in their opinion) the phrase 'ActuallyAutistic' excludes some of our community members (those who are not medically diagnosed) and that people who use it were trying to 'separate themselves' from non-medicalized Autistic People. The #ActuallyAutistic community that I know is diverse, and many within the community proudly identify as 'ActuallyAutistic' to connect with others who share similar experiences (whether they are medically diagnosed or self-identified). In my experience, this is the most common usage of the term - to indicate the writer of the post is an Autistic Person (regardless of diagnostic status). If you identify as Autistic, I respect and believe you. It's not anyone else's place to determine who is and who isn't Autistic. For those without "medical stamps," your self-identification is valid and your voice matters. Autistic People (regardless of diagnostic status): If you are an Autistic person and you've been excluded by someone using the term 'ActuallyAutistic, 'please know that whoever used the label ActuallyAutistic to exclude you was misusing and appropriating a tag that was invented to include Autistic People not exclude them. I've been in this community long enough (almost eight years) that I remember what this tag (#ActuallyAutistic) means, what its intended use was (and still is), and that self-identified Autistic People have ALWAYS been included in the #ActuallyAutistic community. However, because Autistic People back then had NO OTHER TAGS that were ONLY FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE TO USE, the #ActuallyAutistic tagIS NOT and has NEVER BEEN for non-autistic people to use (because back then, on every other Autism tag, Autistic voices were drowned out by people selling ABA and other quack "cures," or complaining about Autistic people). #ActuallyAutistic was our microphone, it was OUR place... and for many of us, it was our ONLY space (which did sometimes cause conflict with non-autistic people, used to dominating the autism narrative, who felt entitled to "holding a mic" in our space too, talking over us, refusing to read along, without interjecting their own arguments with the Autistic people sharing their lived experiences with one another). For most of the internet's history (up to that point), non-autistic people held onto the power, grasping at their microphones with a death grip, refusing to allow Autistic voices to be centered in our own narratives. Why didn't they want us to speak? Were they afraid of what we had to say? You can continue reading this one (and more) on Substack: https://lnkd.in/gBHpV__W