Haley Moss: "My Autism Is Not the Center of the Universe" - The Anxious Achiever | Lyssna här

How do you ask for what you need at work when the system still makes disability feel risky to name? In this episode, I sit down with attorney, author, and neurodiversity advocate Haley Moss to talk about the reality of being neurodivergent at work. Haley breaks down what the ADA actually protects, how reasonable accommodations work in practice, and why disclosure is still such a fraught decision for so many people. We also talk about masking, internalized ableism, the pressure to frame neurodivergence as a “superpower,” and MORE. Get ready to rethink disclosure, disability, and what real inclusion at work should actually look like.

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In this Episode, You Will Learn

00:00 Why talking about neurodivergence at work is still so loaded.

03:00 How Haley’s career shifted after becoming known as Florida’s first openly autistic attorney.

08:00 Why telling your own story matters more than letting other people simplify it for you.

11:30 What the ADA protects for neurodivergent employees at work.

13:30 How to understand reasonable accommodations and what counts as “essential functions” of a job.

16:30 What are the myths people still believe about workplace accommodations?

22:15 Why neurodivergent workers are often expected to do the emotional labor of culture change.

25:45 What happens when an accommodation exists on paper but not in practice?

29:30 What the “double empathy problem” shows about communication between neurotypical and neurodivergent coworkers.

35:00 What to do if you’re neurodivergent but don’t identify as disabled or don’t want to disclose formally?

39:15 What do you think about disclosing to get legal protection versus advocating informally?

41:45 How framing neurodivergence as a strength can be both empowering and strategic.

49:30 How meeting other neurodivergent people can shift your sense of identity and belonging.

50:45 Why Haley is intentionally expanding beyond autism as the center of her public identity.

53:45 How to make work feel safer for different brains and bodies.

Resources + Links

Get a copy of Haley Moss’s book, The Young Autistic Adult's Independence Handbook HERE