Why are accommodations for autistic people often seen as unfair?

[YourPoisedFinch]

In my last job, I received some accommodations and explained them to colleagues when they asked why I was coming in late. Instead of understanding, they accused me of fraud and faking my condition to get special treatment. This isn’t just my experience—many people with mental health conditions and other invisible disabilities face similar challenges. They’re either not believed and resented for receiving accommodations or believed but then negatively stereotyped.

how on earth can having autism mean you’re late? this is getting ridiculous now

Is a caffeine addiction ‘dopamine seeking’? Would that even be part of the criteria?

People who have never completed a referral to CAMHS.
People who have never waited three years for a diagnostic appointment.
People who have never had to apply for EHCPs or go through tribunals.
People who have never watched undiagnosed teenagers self-harm or withdraw into themselves, away from school.
People who have never had to call paramedics after an unexpected overdose in the middle of the school day.
People who have never read anything about neurodivergence except in the Daily Mail.
People who have never had to convince a 40-something autistic person that they have a right to be alive despite their multiple failed jobs.
People who think it’s a phase, or a trend, or that everyone’s a little bit autistic.
People whose neighbour’s cousin’s stepdaughter supposedly has ADHD but she’s just doing it to get benefits.
Experts. all of them.

I suppose though, you being an hour late every day might mean colleagues fall behind waiting for you, and end up working late themselves. This would not be fair and management should be mitigating it somehow. Absolutely not ok for colleagues to have a go at you.

low dopamine is one of the things with ADHD, this is a known fact, its required for a brain to function.

caffeine is a stimulant, it works similarly to how ADHD meds work (also stimulant) in that it allows the dopamine to do its job rather than just not working/not being there (i forget the exact thing rn, i'm tired due to physical disability) so for me, i drink coffee as it helps fire my brain into being able to focus on stuff better.

Dopamine deficiency is behind a lot of the addictive behaviours of people with ADHD. they seek a 'high' and that can be chemical (drugs/alcohol) or pleasure (sex, physical thrill, fun hobbies, new obsessions, sugar/food).

Being disabled myself i understand the need for adjustments. What i don't think is fair is when others have to pick up the slack, work longer and harder for the same pay to cover those that need adjustments. It has to be fair on everyone.

Neurodivergent is things like autism, adhd, dyslexia, dyspraxia etc. NT means neurotypical, so they have a brain that developed typically. Doesn't mean they won't have struggles, but their brain developed typically and so their disabilities and struggles aren't due to a neurodevelopmental disorder.

An IQ test is not a dyslexia diagnosis.
People with dyslexia can be positioned anywhere on the IQ scale. It is easier to mask if you are highly intelligent though

Agreed. In actual fact many people with ADHD find caffeine calming, as the way it hits the brain gives it what it needs. So traditional 'caffeine addiction ' wouldn't apply for them necessarily as it doesn't give them energy! Opposite for me for example, a cup of tea before bed helps me sleep, and a cup of coffee in the morning calms me so I can start work without my brain flipping out. I can't even explain what the flipping out looks or feels like, luckily my GP recognised it for what it was and referred me.

OP has confirmed she works 10-6 rather than 9-5

But I find it amazing on this page that apparently everyone is in the type of job that you get paid exactly the same hourly rate as all of your colleagues. I've actually never worked in a job where there was the case - I know they exist (my DH has often worked in the type of job where everyone at the same grade has the same pay) but it is odd to me that there's an assumption that's the case. Even if OP was working one hour less a day, why the assumption that means she's getting paid more an hour than Bob who just threatened to leave and got a big pay rise to stay? I've worked on teams where there's more than a 15% pay discrepancy, and not always based on merit.

I thought most people focus better after a good cup of coffee!

But for different reasons! It doesn't wake me up, or give me energy, it calms me down.

And it isn't a diagnostic tool for ADHD anyway so...

So you come in late and finish late? Great you work the same hours get paid the same and do the same amount of work?

Yes that could be accomodated

They can’t stand it when someone works 10-6 instead of 9-5 and they don’t want their taxes to pay to feed, house and clothe people who can’t work 9-5 in a workplace full of small-minded, judgemental autism experts.

It was actually reading about the caffeine that made me suddenly click I might have ADHD as well as autism. I went 'ooooh' as I headed for my third red bull on a particularly stressful day.

I hadn't realised despite a DH and DS with ADHD because they present so differently because they're not AuDHD.

But I should say when I last checked, the scientific position on caffeine and ADHD is mixed - I don't think it's been fully proven to be a real thing rather than just anecdotal evidence/confirmation bias.

Absolutely. I used to work as a 1-1 TA with a a child with AUDHD. He couldn't handle caffeine in any way shape or form, his parents even had to be careful with chocolate. Yet another student of the same age was allowed an energy drink before school every day because of how calming he found it! 😂

But if one member of the team can work flexibly why not extend it to all? I let all my team work flexibly, they didn't have to have a reason.

NT people tend to focus because it wakes them up, gets the brain going a bit better, working faster...etc gives them an energy boost.

In ADHD it has the opposite effect, its stops the brain zooming/bouncing off its own walls like a hyper toddler, and allows it to function in a straight line.. its also quite likely to send us to sleep.

But its not diagnostic, thats just a noted difference in how caffeine/adhd interacts.

Great, that’s good management.

You are missing the point of this diagram.

The final picture is the fence removed… which is something that affects all 3 people equally.

Go on. Think for a few minutes.

Well of course. But why blame the disabled person because the employer will only be flexible if forced to do so by law? The fact that the employer isn't flexible isn't anything to do with OP.

Oh quite, and that would be the better point for her colleagues to focus on