4/16/26 - Jobs, AI, and gratitude

Good afternoon!

A bit of a hodgepodge today ...

For People With Autism, Can Restaurant Kitchens Be a Haven?

Pete Wells, New York Times - April 5, 2026

"That talent can take several forms. Some cooks on the spectrum are meticulously organized at their stations. Some have an exceptional recall of recipes, and others are especially diligent about safety protocols, said Mark Fierro, who provides job-placement support and career coaching at TACT (Teaching the Autism Community Trades), a school for autistic adults in Englewood, Colo. ... Some students in TACT’s culinary program perform with astonishing consistency. If a restaurant wants meat butchered into a certain cut, Mr. Fierro said, “they’re going to make them exactly the same way every single time ... A common hallmark of autism is a cultivation of special interests, intense and passionate devotions to particular topics. For cooks on the spectrum, this can mean a penchant for intellectual spelunking into, say, the molecular structure of hydrocolloids, or the behavior of the molds that produce blue cheese and miso."

It's almost a cliché at this point. Someone discovers with another very specific type of job that would be just perfect for autistic people. And it's presumably because autistic people are a certain way that fits a certain set of tasks perfectly. In other words, the tasks and flavor of the job dovetail nicely with some of those awkward, often annoying, but somehow impressive autistic stereotypes. And yet, while this pattern may be cringe-inducing for solid reasons, it often does work as advertised for some autistic people. It's almost as if it's best to pay close attention to precisely what each autistic person wants to do for a living, and what they are best at, and help facilitate that – but maybe resist the temptation to usher entire cohorts of autistic people down exactly the same path. Some notable successes in a particular profession doesn't necessarily call for a whole program to replicate them.

Made by humans, for humans

Peter Torres Fremlin, Disability Debrief - April 8, 2026

"We don’t use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to write these articles, or to make the illustrations. We work hard – draft, redraft, edit, and draft again – to find authentic and creative ways to share them ... But we’re not totally AI-free either. There are some points we use these tools, especially in translation and transcription. In this article I go through each area of the Debrief’s work – writing, illustrating, collaboration, making a media platform – and share how we approach AI in each."

This is the first time I have seen a disabled content producer describe exactly how they use, and don't use, Artificial Intelligence. I am impressed with Peter's thoughtful and thorough explanation of his approach. It inspires me to write something about my own relationship with AI here at Disability Thinking Weekday. But, I don't want to just copy Peter's format. So, it will probably be a few weeks before I attempt this. It's not that my use of AI is all that complex. I rarely use it in my personal life, and I haven't used it at all for this newsletter, so far. But I want to think ahead and be realistic about how I might use AI in the future. Anyway, do read this piece, and stay tuned for something along these lines here in this newsletter.

Reasonable Accommodations and How Much Gratitude is Too Much?

Stevie Gleason, Wheelchair Travel - April 9, 2026

"This mentality of access being extra is the pervasive, widespread cause of why many expect disabled kids to say “thank you” for any and every accessible accommodation."

Are we obligated to say "Thank you" every time we encounter accessibility or accommodations that give us access to places, goods, and services? When is the emotional cost of constant, forgiving gratitude just too much for us as disabled people? Conversely, when does our justified anger at accessibility failures become more toxic than empowering? These are questions disabled people struggle with on a day to day, even hour to hour basis. While the main focus here is on disabled people and travel, the article takes a broader approach. And the key seems to be to always clarify in our own minds exactly what we are or aren't thanking people for.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

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