autter-pop:

Please give people time to respond

If you’re asking someone who is neurodivergent a question, please give them time to respond. This applies to all ND people, including the ones who mask or seem “mostly NT.” And it doesn’t mean a second or two, it means as long as they need.

Because if you don’t, conversations end up like this:

“Do you want to get food?”

“Um…Hm. Ma—“

“Ok you need to say if you do now because we’re not coming back for food.”

“I—uh—I don—“

“Do you want food or not?”

“Uh—no?”

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Then, later, the person may realize that they did indeed want food. They were, in fact, hungry, and now they feel ashamed of themself or feel like they can’t ask. Plus, the sort of stress this causes doesn’t exactly make them like you any more.

Please. Give us time. We need to process the question, process our answer, and put that into words. That process may be harder for us than it is for you. Please respect that, and give us time. Thank you.