Communication Error!

Help!

You’re in a meeting with a disability officer and some high up person and they’re concerned about an email you sent. They say it was inappropriate, in-sighted student to rebel, was insulting or something along those lines!

Of course you cry, look at them in disbelief and are unable to say anything but just because the meeting is over doesn’t mean you have missed your chance to tell them what happened!

Communication errors happen all the time when you have autism, whether it be in a meeting, over the phone, by text, letter or email. We wouldn’t be autistic if we didn’t!

You’re a nice person and hate to get into fights, just staying out the way so people don’t shout at you is how you want it to be but now you’re being treated like a bully or serious troublemaker!

With autism we use phrases which we pick up, not that we understand them, and that is where things go wrong.

What we might think is a good way to end an email may actually be something else entirely and phrases which we think are a common way to greet someone is actually an insult!

These people in this meeting need to know it and should know it especially if you are registered with the university as having autism but sadly people just don’t pay attention and decide things without looking at the facts. If it’s something they wouldn’t do then they assume that it’s something no one should do but we’re all different!

Talk to your disability officer, I doubt you want to see that high up person again (they weren’t nice) and make sure they understand what you were trying to say.

At university there’s all these big words and complex sentences which we don’t understand but we get the gist. It’s transferring those big words and complex sentences into essays and emails that we don’t get right and the university should know this.

Just make sure you let the right people know and tell someone because otherwise the university will be happy to label you as a troublemaker for their own mistake!

Also if you're worried about this happening to you or just want to be careful, tell you disability officer and work with them on how to write emails and such. They can do this for you!