Part 2: The Autopsy Report (With Footnotes)

Part 1 was the scene. Part 2 is the pathology.

Because when a neurodivergent person gets fired right after disclosure, accommodation requests, or medical leave, it often gets framed as “just business.” Clinically speaking, that’s adorable.

What it can also be is an adverse employment action that follows protected activity, wrapped in the soothing, beige blanket of corporate euphemism.

Again, not legal advice. Just an accurate vocabulary and a practical field guide.

1. The Pattern: “Protected Activity” → “Materially Adverse Action”

Protected activity is when you assert rights under anti-discrimination laws (for example, reporting discrimination, requesting accommodations, participating in an investigation). The EEOC defines retaliation as an employer taking materially adverse action because you engaged in protected activity.

Materially adverse doesn’t mean “your boss got cold.” It means an action that could deter a reasonable person from speaking up: termination, demotion, schedule sabotage, threats, sudden discipline or “performance issues”, etc.

And retaliation isn’t some rare phenomena. It’s consistently one of the most common allegations in EEOC charge data.

2. The Interactive Process (AKA the thing employers pretend they did)

Under the ADA, the accommodation request is supposed to trigger an interactive process – a back-and-forth to understand limitations and explore reasonable options (unless there’s undue hardship, which has a specific meaning and is not “we don’t feel like it”).

A very common failure mode looks like this:

• You request an accommodation (or disclose a disability).
• They stall, deflect, or “lose” it.
• They don’t engage in an actual process. They may refer you to a third party company to remove (or give the illusion of removing) liability on their end, but this is not the same as an interactive process.
• Then suddenly, you’re “not meeting expectations.”

This is where “clinical terminology” matters, because it forces the story back into reality: failure to accommodate and failure to engage in the interactive process aren’t just red flags, they’re categories.

3. Corporate-to-English Translation Guide

Here are some workplace phrases that often function as pretext (a stated reason that conveniently disguises the real one):

• “Not a culture fit.” Translation: You don’t perform social rituals correctly, and we’re calling that a business necessity.
• “Communication issues.” Translation: Your disability-related communication differences are now being treated as misconduct.
• “Professionalism.” Translation: We prefer neurotypical affect and invisible needs.
• “Performance concerns” (suddenly, with no documentation). Translation: We needed a paper trail. We made one.
• “We’re restructuring.” Translation: We discovered a budget for getting rid of you.

These phrases can be real sometimes. The point is: when they appear after protected activity, the timing becomes part of the evidence.

4. Why This Hits Neurodivergent People So Hard (and so often)

Neurodivergent discrimination is frequently indirect – punishing traits that are disability-related, while pretending the issue is personality or attitude.

And the broader numbers match the lived reality:

• The EEOC received 88,531 new charges in fiscal year 2024, reflecting rising demand for help.
• The disability employment gap is still huge: BLS reported a 22.7% employment-population ratio for people with disabilities in 2024.
• Autistic outcomes are often worse: a major U.S. autism outcomes report found only 58% of autistic young adults worked at any point in the early years after high school, and ~42% did not work for pay at all in that window.
• In a CIPD survey, 20% of neurodivergent employees reported harassment or discrimination because of neurodivergence.

So, no, this is just you “having a rough week.” It’s a known, well-documented ecosystem problem.

5. Reminder from Part 1: What To Do Next (Designed for burnout + executive dysfunction)

This is the “do it even if you’re dying” list.

A. Make a timeline (low-energy version)

Open a notes app and write bullet points:

• Date of disclosure/accommodations request
• Who you told
• What you asked for
• Any responses (or silence)
• Any new “concerns” that appeared afterward
• Date/time of termination and what was said.

Keep it ugly. Preservation is the goal, not “pretty.”

B. Save your evidence (without turning it into a second job)

Create one folder called: Work Evidence. Drop in:

• performance reviews, praise emails, corrective actions
• accommodations requests/medical leave paperwork
• schedules, write-ups, policy documents they suddenly cite
• screenshots of messages (where legally appropriate)

C. Request records in writing

Short, neutral, boring email. You’re building a paper trail, not writing a memoir to HR (because let’s be real, they’ve been watching passively the entire time).

D. Know the filing clock exists

In general, EEOC charge deadlines are 180 days, sometimes extended to 300 days depending on state/local agencies.

You don’t have to act immediately, but you do want to protect your options while you’re still in shock. Research disability advocacy organizations near you, who can offer guidance and assist you with locating appropriate legal aid.

6. A Quick Reality Check

The point of vague corporate language is to make you doubt your own pattern recognition. But neurodivergent people are often very good at pattern recognition.

Which is inconvenient for systems that run on plausible deniability.

What’s next:

Part 3 will be the practical toolkit: copy/paste documentation template, a “retaliation red flag” checklist, and a minimal-effort script pack for HR/attorneys/EEOC intake (because none of us should need a law degree and a fully-rested nervous system to defend basic dignity).

XO
Emily