We don't have a 'difficult employee' problem. We have a management problem.

Personal capacity post. Not speaking for Common Cause Georgia.

A pattern I've watched play out across at least a dozen progressive nonprofits in the South:

A new hire shows up. Sharp. Asks specific questions. Wants the meeting agenda the day before, not the morning of. Sends Slack messages in numbered lists. Doesn't laugh at the team's running joke.

Six months later, somebody in leadership calls them "rigid" or "intense" or "not a team player."

Twelve months later, they're gone.

We've labeled this person a thousand different ways. We rarely consider that we are the problem.

Autistic adults in the U.S. have employment rates far below their non-autistic peers — even those with college degrees (Drexel National Autism Indicators Report). The barriers aren't skill. They're hiring practices designed around eye contact and "executive presence," and management practices that confuse neurotypical norms with professionalism.

Black and Latino autistic adults carry a second layer of cost. They were diagnosed later, if at all. Many were misdiagnosed with conduct disorders, ADHD, or "behavioral issues" as children (ACL blog on CDC autism data). They walk into our workplaces having spent two decades being told they were the problem.

We don't fix this with a Slack channel and a Pride month post.

We fix it by training managers.

That's why we built the course. Seven modules cover:

• The anti-deficit framing — autistic isn't a problem to solve, it's a colleague to work with.
• Identity-first language and why most autistic adults prefer it.
• Equitable-management practices from The Management Center, applied to autistic direct reports.
• What to do when you're the only person on the team who knows your colleague is autistic.
• How to give feedback that lands instead of injuring.

The course is free. Three and a half hours. You can take it on a Saturday morning with one cup of coffee.

If your nonprofit has lost more than one staff member in the last two years who fit the pattern I just described, take it before the next one quits.

Start the course