April 23, 2018

Most of my autistic friends live on the other side of the country, and I’m a little jealous that they regularly give each other recommendations for doctors and dentists and mechanics based on how clearly and directly each professional communicates.

If you’re a professional of any sort, you can gain autistic business (and there are lots of us, including many who don’t realize it yet!) by…

  • Being willing to answer lots of questions
  • Explaining things in detail, without skipping information that you assume is common knowledge
  • Telling us exactly what to expect, including what steps you need us to take
  • Giving the reasons behind any recommendations you give

These things are useful to everyone, but particularly necessary for autistics, since we often take things literally instead of reading between the lines.

P.S. I write from my personal experience as an autistic. What I share is not a substitute for advice from an autistic medical professional. Also, some of my opinions have changed since I first wrote them.