This will be a two part article: firstly, autistic attitudes towards those in authority, and secondly, how autistic people handle being in a position of authority. Autistic children in school are somewhat notorious for finding it hard to adapt to the authority of teachersβ some teachers more than others. By this point, my teacher readers are wincing in pain as our main tool is automatically-accepted authority.
But what can I say? Autistic people are different! This is not a deficiency, in and of itself. It is used to find the common ground between people, rather than the differences. This is subconscious and not controllable, unless we really need to.
It occurs throughout our lives from childhood to old age. They know who they are, but they greet them as an equal. They say hi. They crack a Chandler-esque joke. They are relaxed and unfazed by the massive authority that is shrinking their peers down. This may be great! The CEO might think, Wow! But they may also think, Who is this worm with no respect for my status? Similarly, this trait can absolutely ruin us when the police are involved. Its bad enough in the UK, but being AutisticWhileBlack in the USA can get you killed in altercations with the cops when this issue is occurring, and this is happening a lot.
They will bow to greater expertise, experience, morality, and creativity, very happily, but not just to authority alone. This is a very good and a very bad thing, because sadly, unearned authority is a big part of human existence.
This needs to be accepted now. There are always people willing to interpret my writing in the most negative possible light. Is this a thing? But this is not how managers are meant to behave. I feel that autistic people might struggle with the expectations of holding authority, but ironically that we would wield authority fairly and well. Any topic, complexity and deadlines will be fulfilled.
