We are already in your Location: Why Location Owners need to have more Autistic Awareness

In our FAQ there's a script for requesting permission from private locations to document them and upload them to prepped.to, so that autistic folks can upload sensory info about them not only in text (which doesn’t require permission) but also in images and videos, so that others can consult richer info before going there.

Some locations consent right off, some ask for clarifications, and some just don't respond at all. But the most bewildering response you get when asking is the following: 

“That's a great initiative, but I'd rather not have my business there, because I'm afraid that if autistic people started showing up here, I wouldn't know how to properly accommodate them.”

As part of a vibrant autistic community I find this reply both hilarious and infuriating. Let's start with the latter: It isn’t okay to knowingly choose not to make your location accessible to disabled people. While location owners may have other reasons, not to mention excuses, for not making their location wheelchair accessible, they would never say: “I don’t want to make it wheelchair accessible, because that would make people in wheelchairs come here.” And if they did, that would be breaking disability-rights and discrimination laws in many countries. 

But somehow, when it’s about autism, some location owners feel comfortable saying just that. “Even though making my location accessible to autistic people by informing them of conditions and service in advance costs me nothing and is facilitated by the autistic community itself for free, I rather not let them document here, because I don’t want them to come to my business.” This is just plain discrimination trying to present as genuine concern.

But it’s also hilarious because current assessments are that 3% of humanity are autistic, so your location already has autistic visitors, whether you, or even they, know it or not. Some of us are easy to spot: We might be the potential customer who walks in, realizes that the conditions inside are untenable, be it because of the lighting, the sound, ambient perfume or smoke, or how crowded it is. In this case, we may dally for a couple of seconds, then walk right back out again. Lost business right there. We might be the one who gets in and stands around looking lost, not sure what to do next. When staff approaches us to offer service, we might flinch, freeze or stutter. We may be the queerdo in pink leopard pattern and gold, or the goth in full black and white makeup. We might be the one constantly holding a bottle or stimming with a fidget toy. Or you may not notice the most gifted and avid maskers of us at all. 

But we are already all around you. We are your visitors, your clients, your employees, your neighbors, your colleagues, the person next to you on public transport and behind you in line at the store. We might even be part of your family or friend circle. And you might even be one of us without realizing it yet.

This is another reason why Autistic Awareness Month is important, and Autistic Acceptance, Accommodation and Appreciation are still far off. People need to realize that we are already here, there and everywhere.
If you have a hundred clients, in all likelihood, three of them are autistic. This is why, if you help autistic folks prepare before visiting your business, you will just have more successful visits and more clients, and fewer instances of people feeling lost or overwhelmed in your business.
Sticking your head in the sand about it isn’t going to help you, your business or your clients. 

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We invite businesses and location owners around the world to allow and encourage autistic clients to document the sensory conditions, navigation and service instructions in your location for the autistic community to prep with before visiting, for smooth and successful visits.

Your location hasn’t been documented yet, and you want it to be? Email us at contact[at]aut2aut.org, and we will make it happen.

And if you want to be extra helpful, you can become a business prepped.to supporter for as little as 10 Euros a month. To thank you for your support, we will add a badge to your entry, so everyone getting informed on prepped.to before visiting your location knows how much you care. 

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