Working With and CelebratingAutistic Colleagues
Module 2 · Stages of group development on a neurodiverse team › 2.5 Module 2 checkpoint
Subsection 2.5

Module 2 checkpoint

~5 min

Module 2 Checkpoint

Confirm you can name the five stages, read each one for a neurodiverse team, and pick one concrete move per stage.

You have completed Module 2: Stages of group development on a neurodiverse team. Answer these four questions to confirm your understanding.

An autistic colleague joins a new team and asks, in their first all-team meeting, 'what does success look like for this project?' What is the most useful manager response?

Correct. The question is the question. Answering it directly serves the whole team, not just the asker. At Forming, clarifying questions are the team's clarity work. They deserve a direct, written answer — not coaching about social cues.

Which stage has the highest risk of team defaults silently hardening into neurotypical assumptions?

Correct. Norming is when 'how we do things here' becomes folklore. Defaults set here drive the team's culture for the next year. Norming is the stage where defaults harden: and most defaults, set by majority behavior, will default neurotypical. That's why auditing norms in writing matters most here.

An autistic team member at the Performing stage is hitting all their deliverables but quietly missing days after every all-staff meeting. What is the right read?

Correct. Performing is when invisibility is the risk. High output can mask high mask cost. At Performing, invisibility is the trap. Output stays high while mask cost climbs. The right move is to make working conditions a standing 1:1 item.

A project is ending. The team includes an autistic colleague. Which Adjourning practice matters most?

Correct. Predictable, written, named — that's how Adjourning serves everyone, and especially colleagues who depend on predictability. Adjourning matters most when announced early, in writing, with specific recognition. Ambiguity at the end is a tax everyone pays: and it lands hardest on people who need predictability.

Badge earned

Stage Reader

You've completed Module 2: Stages of group development on a neurodiverse team. This badge is yours.

Template

Tuckman + Neurodiversity Stage Diagnostic

You've earned access to this template by completing Module 2. Read your team's current stage in 15 minutes. Pick one concrete inclusion move per week. Re-run any time the team or its context changes.

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Action: Complete all four quiz questions, then slide to finish Module 2 and move to Module 3.