Haley Moss: "My Autism Is Not the Center of the Universe"
The Anxious Achiever
Jun 30
Haley Moss: "My Autism Is Not the Center of the Universe"
Haley Moss: "My Autism Is Not the Center of the Universe"

The Anxious Achiever
Jun 30
Unprocessed episode, you can be the first!
Shownote
Shownote
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
[https://www.amazon.com/Young-Autistic-Adults-Independence-Handbook/dp/1787757579]
Learn more about Haley Moss HERE [https://haleymoss.com/]
Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever [https://morraam.com/books]
Watch the podcast on YouTube
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMl9YeZwiV56QKDJ73S6Pag]
Find more resources on our website morraam.com [http://morraam.com]
Follow
Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/morraaaronsmele/] + Instagram @morraam
[https://www.instagram.com/morraam/]
Follow Haley: on LinkedIn @haleylmoss [https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleylmoss/]
+ Instagram @haley.moss [https://www.instagram.com/haley.moss/]
Highlights
Highlights
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Chapters
Transcript
Transcript