Ok, that’s not 100% true as autism is a spectrum. Sure there are some parts of the spectrum that does make independence difficult.
As someone who is on the spectrum, I have trouble with social situations, including sarcasm and taking things literally - I struggle to take a hint and unless you make it extremely obvious I won’t notice flirting… I don’t even notice myself flirting tbh - I try not to use that as an excuse. but I’m reasonable with money management, and I do quite well on my own (I spend more time by myself on my computer and technology than I do with my parents, and we live in the same house.) I have a full time job (still trying to work out how I managed that tbh) with an upcoming pay rise due to a contract buyout. (Let’s fucking go!)
Not all autism is the same, and sure there are some higher ends of the spectrum that people require assistance, and then there’s everyone in between. I needed more assistance in school - I never finished an exam before my extended time limit , and I had regular extensions on assignments. But aside from that I got through it mostly on my own.
I wasn’t diagnosed until after my first semester of uni, as public service autism assessments had a waiting list and going private was incredibly expensive.
Sadly a lot of that isn’t necessarily about ability to work, but ability to get through a job interview.
The whole interview process is going to weed out the candidates who aren’t as sociable, outgoing, charismatic, etc. They are going to look at body language and eye contact while doing small talk. A lot of soft skills like that are more important to pass a job interview than actual technical knowledge. Even when the job has no customer facing requirements.
They also tend to not have the connections that get your foot in the door.
It’s bias in an interview process that isn’t designed with autism in mind. Many who have high IQ with attention to detail, technical skills and are hard workers are still unable to get a job offer because they come off as disinterested or awkward.
