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.

Depends what the accommodations are surely? If colleagues are picking up the slack, then that isn't fair and management should be finding other solutions.

Exactly. People feel their own burdens regardless of the legalities. It's good that the employer makes accommodations but they can't legislate for other people's feelings. As long as it's not amounting to bullying, they can be cheesed off for any number of reasons and you can choose to care less what they think.

I can see why it might seem unfair from your colleague's pont of view. . Allowances for some people and not others. For example someboy who is pregnant may find mornings difficult, somebody with young children, somebody with an elderly relative living with them. Somebody who has insomnia. The list is endless. Somebody who is a nervous driver in traffic. Or has claustrophobia on public transport.

Personally I think if someone is struggling and requests accommodations, they should be made available to everybody - because there are loads (LOADS) of people, particularly people in their late 30s and 40s+ who were never assessed and never diagnosed but would massively benefit from this type of flexibility.

I don't think you are doing anything wrong by taking advantage of the help you're offered.

But I also think there will be other undiagnosed individuals who would benefit from this just as much as you, and you obviously don't know individual circumstances.

perfectly summed up!

Absolutely agree with this.

The Equality Act 2010 says that 'reasonable adjustments' must be applied where is needed. Just threaten to sue them for disability discrimination. If they don't understand autism they can learn. There are many good websites and books to get an education about neurodiversity. We are not all equal and we don't have to fit a box.

This sums it up. Provided you are working the same hours and doing the same amount of work then there is no issue. If you are working less but are getting the same salary, I can very much see the issue. Equality works for all, not just for the minority.

But there are limits on what is ‘reasonable’. I doubt ‘working less hours for the same money’ (if that’s what’s happening) would be reasonable.

Disagree, tbh.

If someone works X hours and makes X money, those are the terms of agreement they came to with their employer. There are other factors that makes those different for everyone: desire, availability, skills, degrees, lots/little experience, how desired some skills are, negotiation skills, etc.

OP has made an arrangement to do her job that her employer is happy with. The why is irrelevant at the end of the day. Yes, disabilities need to be accommodated under the law and that is an important factor. But even if that wasn't a factor here, OP was entitled to ask for and receive the hours she wanted it the employer was okay with the request.

Everyone wants disabled people to work, yet resent it when they are helped with accommodations. Can't have it both was.

I guess because I’m probably on the spectrum and have triggers and find life hard but I don’t have a formal diagnosis so I just have to get on with it.

Be so for real

OP still hasn't confirmed if they are doing the same hours (i.e. making the time up elsewhere) or not. It would be helpful if you could do so please OP.

Allowing them to start later in the day but still the same number of hours (if expecting the same pay) = reasonable adjustment.

Starting late but not staying over (so they do less work for the same pay) = unfair.

Oh, but they do.

'Why does she get a chair instead of standing up and walking around for hours like we do?'

'It doesn't look professional to have somebody sitting down at a table, she should be standing like the rest of us'

'Why should she get to wear that type of shoes instead of smart ones?'

'You can't expect special accommodations for professional dress, we can't treat one person differently or we'll have anarchy'

Thank you

Aren't you missing the point?

The person you are replying to was asking the OP if overall they worked the same hours as other employees and whether they were paid the same, they weren't saying anything about different start times.

If the OP is working fewer hours than other employees but being paid the same, do you think that that is a reasonable adjustment? That's the relevant question here

If you feel it should simply be a private matter negotiated between the employee and employer, would you be happy with a business paying all the men more than the women because the men were better at initially negotiating their salary? Or paying employees who are personal friends more?

Wouldn’t bother me in the slightest they are jealous yet they have no idea what it’s like to have autism, how narrow minded of them.

Is there any way to have your reduced hours ‘concealed’ eg you get longer breaks that your colleagues aren’t aware of ? (I know someone who goes to a different room on their laptop and basically has x2 extra breaks a day where they can play candy crush or something similar to decompress) To everyone else it looks like they are working !

Unfortunately some people who can't see non-physical disabilities or recognise they exist, think that life isn't hard or real for those. It is very unempathetic.

It’s standard with invisible disabilities sadly. The amount of times I’ve had comments made when taking my autistic son to a disabled toilet or changing room is unreal. If he was in a wheelchair no one would bat an eyelid but because they can’t see the disability they assume it doesn’t exist. It’s ignorance.

That really isn't quite the case. The employer has a duty to make "reasonable adjustments" not a duty "to make accommodations for this request". The specifics are essential. There are some adjustments which would be completely and utterly reasonable in one job and also absolutely unreasonable in another.

The problem is that those other people may also be struggling with things, may have had reasonable adjustments turned down so they are understandable annoyed they couldn't get the late start they need. The difference between a diagnosis and "normal" is very marginal in some cases, on down to if paperwork has been done (both myself and dh meet the clinical diagnosis criteria for adhd, and he meets autism as well but we haven't paid for formal diagnosis, we each have dc with diagnosis)

I'm not belittling people's issues here either just that other people may be struggling too so it's annoying if a colleague is allowed to come in late for instance

Whether the OP is doing the same hours/same workload is entirely irrelevant.

A lessened workload can also be a reasonable adjustment to disability and if it has been agreed with by the employer then the only thing colleagues should be concerned with is their own work load. If they feel that the reduced workload from a disabled colleague unfairly adds to theirs then their dispute should be to management to find a way to work around that workload and not against their disabled colleague.

Being autistic and needing accomodations shouldn't be compared to having childcare needs.

I can just about tolerate public transport but not every day and only when essential to use, but I can't tolerate delays, different routes, or anything unpredictable on those journeys. I can't "just get on with it", it is the disabling part of being autistic. If I could just get on with it I wouldn't be disabled.

Many of my colleagues thought it entirely unfair when I was permitted to WFH, and reduce my hours to part time when they were only allowed to work from the office and work full time. Tough. I contributed more part time and accommodated than I did full time and not accommodated.

Either you want more disabled people back into the workforce and are willing to extend courtesy and respect of reasonable adjustments to allow them to their job or you stop thinking that us disabled folk are a burden on the benefit system and should just be trying harder.

The question is not regarding the right to adjustments but why colleagues see those adjustments as unfair.

@YourPoisedFinch do you have any answers / comments re posters questions here ?