Working With and CelebratingAutistic Colleagues
Module 5 · If you report to someone autistic › 5.5 Module 5 checkpoint
Subsection 5.5

Module 5 checkpoint

~5 min

Module 5 Checkpoint

Confirm you can show up to an autistic manager with written defaults, literal asks, and a fully decoupled read of directness vs. disapproval.

You have completed Module 5: If you report to someone autistic. Answer these four questions to confirm your understanding.

Your autistic manager says 'this deck doesn't make the argument yet — let's restructure'. What is the most useful response?

Correct. Read it back literally. The feedback is about the deck, not about you. The feedback was about the deck. Reading it back literally both confirms understanding and pulls you out of the emotional-decoding loop. Apology, third-party consultation, and silent redo all add cost to the relationship.

Which of the following is the highest-bandwidth channel for most autistic managers?

Correct. Writing first, with structure and time, gives an autistic manager the conditions to engage well. Hallway conversations and unannounced drop-ins are low-bandwidth, high-cost for most autistic managers. The written agenda is the gift.

What is the best version of managing up to an autistic manager?

Correct. Substance over performance. Plain asks, tradeoffs, written disagreement. Managing up to an autistic manager is the substance version, not the social-game version. Translation, softening, and emotional mirroring all undermine the relationship.

A peer says 'I think the boss is upset, they were really blunt in the meeting'. The work was correct, and the manager's feedback was about the work. What do you do?

Correct. You are not your manager's unpaid translator. Redirect to substance. Translation makes the autistic manager invisible and makes you the relationship's unpaid translator. Redirect the peer to the substance of the feedback.

Badge earned

Report With Range

You've completed Module 5: If you report to someone autistic. This badge is yours.

Template

'Working With Me' Document Template

You've earned access to this template by completing Module 5. A one-pager every team member writes, your manager's too. Removes guesswork in the first 90 days and any time the team's context changes.

Download template

Action: Complete all four quiz questions, then slide to finish Module 5 and move to Module 6.