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.

I don't think I am missing the point.
Obsessing about whether someone else is doing exactly the same as you or it's 'not fair' is missing the point.
The other person is doing their job in the best way they can with the legally required - and reasonable - adjustments that the employer sees fit. Whether you feel hard done by or not is kinda on you. If someone can't find sufficient empathy to understand that, the other person has a disability and this minor adjustment makes it possible for them to work - that's pretty sad. Presumably it's not hugely affecting you except a perceived sense of injustice.
Them getting a delayed start doesn't mean it's been stolen from you. Your situation and expectations at work are unchanged.

Yeah, I don't understand why there are ramps and things because there are plenty of us who are physically disabled and just get on with it, asking for no special treatment. If they keep refusing to walk and leaving the rest of us to pick up the slack, where do we draw the line?

It's not like disabilities exist on a spectrum with people being impacted in different ways and to different degrees.

Why does your autism mean you are late? My 18 year old autistic son certainly has some accommodations made at his work (he is in a quieter office with no lighting above his desk as the bright lights and noise were such a struggle for him).

I think the mindset that views adjustments for disabled people as special treatment, and thinks that their colleagues have a right to know exactly WHY that person deserves these adjustments in order to sit in judgement as to whether the reasons are acceptable, is never going to be convinced otherwise.

the ramp is a bad example, or is proving the point we are trying to make.

No one is denying their necessity, BUT they are also accessible to anyone else, so that's why they are a non-issue. Anyone who NEEDS them, can use them. It can be someone who is not disabled, but is in a wheelchair with a broken leg, it can be a mother with her buggy, or someone struggling with their shopping trolley because they have a bad back or are unwell that day.

When there are accommodation for x or z, it would be FAIR if there were the same for everyone. FAIR is the title of the thread.

It doesn't take anything away from the disabled person, does it.

Back when gin was called 'mother's little helper' :D

Every single diagnosed autistic person is disabled under the Equality Act 2010.

'Them getting a delayed start doesn't mean it's been stolen from you'

But if it's a coffee shop or A&E or a call centre or anywhere with customers and a time critical job then the one person who still has to come jn first thing has to answer twice the calls/ serve twice the customers until the other person gets there which is mega stressful. In which case it does impact them and it's reasonable that they would have an opinion on the matter quite possibly a negative one.

But employers are not legally required to work people work fewer hours for full time pay on a long-term basis. Employment Tribunals have held that such requested accommodations are not reasonable.

So it is relevant IMO. If the employer is going beyond what is required and letting OP work fewer hours for the same pay it is inevitably going to cause resentment.

What a horrible and judgemental comment. Thankfully enployers aren't asking your opinion before making reasonable accommodations.

You didn't answer my question just "lol'd" why did you feel the need to "lol"

Oh, so what you're saying is things for disabled people are fine as long as you can use them too?

I get a free bus pass because of my epilepsy, you can use that but you've also got to take the uncontrolled seizures. It's only fair.

Or you give up trying to work and survive on PIP and UC.

It comes back again to - reasonable - if you have a customer facing job say and 2 members of staff, it wouldn't be reasonable to always have one member of staff taking all calls. But - you still can't do more than your own job.
There's a lot of racing to the bottom culture in the workplace.
Someone taking the mick is not a good reason to decide it's all unreasonable.

Well no. When my (physical)!disability meant I wasn't well enough to work full days I dropped my hours (and consequently my salary) . It's not a binary of "everything goes my way or I just give up working".

It seemed quite reasonable to me that I shouldn't be paid the same as someone who worked a full day.

Maybe a tad inappropriate but this thread reminds me of the Little Britain sketch where they employ someone to push people who use wheelchairs through the airport, a wheelchair user applies but is turned down so (I think) goes to tribunal. The airline/airport then have to employ another person to push the employee as a reasonable adjustment.

I think this is the general feeling nowadays regarding reasonable adjustments by many. People seem more emboldened to have views which haven't been acceptable for quite a while (which is why LB was removed off many channels/ platforms). I think people are generally less tolerant and kind on the whole. I have a feeling it'll get worse before it gets better for a lot things. Maybe the worse for some will be the better for others?

The responses on here are troubling - perhaps those who feels hard done by would like to swap with those with disabilities?

Loads of disabled people work. You shouldn't be paid the same as your colleagues if you're working less hours.

Or if some peoples reasonable adjustment is full time wfh then it might impact on those who still have to go to the office because they have to do all the 'in person' office jobs that might be quite shit.

That isn't sour grapes or jealousy it's their job being changed in an unfavourable way by someone else's adjustments.

Again in a real world example so many of my colleagues now wfh on a Friday that it makes it really hard for me to be able to take any Fridays off as someone is required to be physically on site and hardly anyone else is. It's very hard for me to take a proper weeks leave now.

That's poor management, not the fault of any colleagues who have requested WFH. Unless there's a reason why each and every one needs to WFH specifically on a Friday, your management could be implementing a rota system so people's WFH day rotates (this worked really well in my old team).

It's not the fault of the people working from home that the system is piling more work on those not working from home.

Not all employers, or jobs, are focused on hours worked, some jobs will be about delivery of a certain skill or volume of work.

There are all sorts of expressions of autism, with even 'opposite' accomdations being solutions for different individuals.
There's no one size fits all that people recognise as why it is necessary.

Though I've noticed when my asd son needs ear defenders (he doesn't always) people are less likely to question other accommodations.

I suspect lots of people would be happier if those of us with disabilities wore a badge ..... popular choice in 1940s Germany. 🙄

You know exactly what I am saying but you are trying to start a fight.

I am saying that's accommodations should be available for anyone who needs them, yes. Then it would be fair.

In the case of your bus pass, how does it affect you if someone else has one too? It doesn't change anything to the help you are getting.

You are not supposed to drive for weeks after many surgeries for example. What's the problem if a patient has free bus pass for these weeks? You still have yours.

Are you looking for reasonable adjustments to help you, or are you looking for special treatment and against anyone else having these adjustments? Because it sounds like you are...

For some reason there are many people who just refuse to acknowledge this obvious fact.

Surely you just say none of your business

they aren’t your boss and don’t need to know what your working hours or working arrangments are