Most “communication issues” with autistic colleagues aren’t deficits in one direction. They’re mismatches between expectations, pace, salience, and style—the double empathy problem (Milton, 2012). When neurotypical norms are treated as the default, autistic communication gets misread as blunt, disinterested, or slow; when autistic norms dominate, neurotypical cues can feel opaque or indirect. Neuro-inclusive teams fix the system so meaning travels reliably in both directions.