Members of the autistic community may share similarities in their communication style. For example, autistic communication may look like:

• Different eye contact preferences, such as avoiding direct eye contact.
• Varied facial expressions and body language.
• Experiencing uncertainty when navigating unwritten social rules and workplace culture, such as work jokes and banter.
• Being straightforward in dialogue and taking conversation literally.

Sometimes this style of communication may not align with standard social conventions, such as maintaining eye contact during conversations. It’s important to remember that while responses to social cues may be different among autistic individuals, they are likely to be just as engaged in conversation.

Many of our resources have already covered communicating with the autistic community on a broader level, so we focused on a few simple conversational tips below.

These aim to meet your autistic conversation partner halfway and bridge the gap between different communication styles.