This year, I had a wake-up call: leadership in most workplaces doesn’t fully understand neurodivergent communication. For autistic and neurodivergent employees, this isn’t just inconvenient—it can be stressful, confusing, and even dangerous for mental health.

I had to set a boundary: I will not engage with leadership or management until they’ve received Autism and Neurodiversity training and are committed to actually applying it. This isn’t about being difficult—it’s about protecting my mental health and making sure interactions don’t escalate to a point that could require hospitalization.

Here’s the truth: authority doesn’t equal understanding. You can’t expect to lead people you don’t understand. If leadership wants to manage neurodivergent employees effectively, they need to do the work. They need to learn, adapt, and communicate responsibly.

This is exactly why I founded Managing Without Masking—to give neurodivergent employees a voice, to help leadership understand how to communicate effectively, and to make workplaces safer and more productive for everyone.

Managing without masking means being authentic, protecting yourself, and holding leadership accountable. Neurodiversity isn’t a buzzword—it’s a responsibility. And mental health isn’t optional.