We are abandoning autistic people while congratulating ourselves for accepting them. After years of campaigns, commemorative events, and public messaging, autism is more widely recognized than ever. Yet recognition has not ensured that autistic people can find suitable employment, receive appropriate education, or access support that reflects their individual needs.
Awareness has become a comfortable substitute for action. This failure affects people worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that one in 127 people had autism in 2021.
But that number includes people with very different needs. Some can live independently, while others need care throughout their lives. Using one broad description for all of them does not create real understanding.
It leaves too many people without the support they need. Society now knows autism is a spectrum, but it often pays attention only to the people whose experiences fit comfortably into the public conversation. Autistic people who can describe their needs have rightly demanded dignity and acceptance.
However, people with profound disabilities may be unable to speak for themselves, live independently, or participate in advocacy. Their families are frequently left to fight for services while public discussions focus on the most visible voices. At the other end of the spectrum, awareness has not removed the barriers facing autistic adults who want to work.
Some have university degrees and valuable technical abilities but struggle with eye contact, conversational conventions, or traditional interviews. In the UK, 34 percent of working-age disabled people with autism were in employment in 2024–25, compared with 82 percent of non-disabled people, according to House of Commons Library analysis of Department for Work and Pensions data. That gap exposes the emptiness of corporate promises about neurodiversity.
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