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✅ Today's Checklist:
What autism support actually looks like at work Why a trust belongs on your financial to-do list Recipe of the week: Yellow Curry Chicken
🤔 Trivia: April's birthstone is believed to symbolize strength and eternal love. What gemstone is it? Find out.
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How to Support Autistic Employees (And Employees with Autistic Kids)
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Most people mean well when it comes to supporting autistic colleagues or coworkers raising autistic kids. The gap is usually in knowing what that support actually looks like in practice.
So let's get specific.
First, what is autism?
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental condition that affects communication, behavior, and sensory processing. It's called a "spectrum" because it looks different in every person.
Some autistic people are nonverbal. Others are highly verbal but struggle with social cues. Some are hypersensitive to sensory input like sounds, lights, or textures. Others seek it out. One consistent thread: autistic people process the world differently, and workplaces that accommodate those differences unlock real talent, creativity, and problem-solving.
It's also worth understanding that many autistic people experience rigid thinking, a neurological response to uncertainty and change that makes routine, predictability, and advance notice especially important. When those things are missing, it creates real stress that compounds quickly.
Around 85% of autistic adults are currently unemployed. Most of that gap comes down to workplaces that were never designed with them in mind. That's what we can change.
How to support autistic employees
Building an autism-friendly workplace starts with paying attention and making intentional adjustments. No overhaul required.
Ask first. Before assuming what someone needs, just ask. Breaking the ice shows an autistic employee how to communicate with you and gives them permission to share what works and what doesn't. Many struggle to initiate that conversation, so modeling openness goes a long way.
Send agendas before meetings. Surprises are stressful. Send agendas 24 hours in advance so employees know what to expect, what's being discussed, and what's expected of them.
Think about sensory needs. Bright fluorescent lights, loud offices, strong smells, and unexpected sounds can be genuinely overwhelming. Offer noise-canceling headphones, quiet workspaces, lighting flexibility, and remote options where possible.
Follow up in writing. Verbal instructions can be hard to process in the moment. After meetings, send a quick recap: what was decided, who owns what, and when it's due.
Give advance notice on changes. Autistic employees often thrive with clear expectations and consistent routine. Before any role or process changes, explain the why, give plenty of lead time, and check in regularly.
Be direct and literal. Sarcasm, idioms, and vague hints can genuinely confuse. Skip "It would be great if someone could handle this" and say "Can you take this on by Friday?"
Respect stimming and sensory tools. Stimming (fidgeting, hand-flapping, rocking) helps autistic people self-regulate. Don't comment on it. Don't ask them to stop. Let people do what helps them focus.
What employees raising autistic kids actually need
Parenting an autistic child is a full-time job running parallel to their actual job. Families with children on the autism spectrum face an average of $60,000 in costs per year, covering therapy, specialized education, and additional support services. Between speech, occupational, and behavioral therapy appointments (often multiple times a week), IEP meetings, and the unpredictable nature of meltdowns and sensory overload, these parents are navigating a system that wasn't built for them. All while trying to meet deadlines and show up fully at work.
Here's what actually helps:
Flexible schedules. Therapy and school meetings happen during work hours. Flexible start and end times, remote options, and not penalizing employees for needing to adjust their day makes a real difference.
Backup childcare support. Childcare for autistic children is harder to find and more expensive. Offer stipends, share resources for autism-friendly providers, and allow work-from-home when care falls through.
Check in without assumptions. Some days are manageable. Some are full survival mode. A simple "How are you doing? What do you need?" goes further than you think. Be flexible around deadlines when things get hard and don't penalize mental health days.
Normalize the conversation. If an employee is comfortable sharing, create space for their colleagues to understand what that means. Share resources, encourage empathy, and make neurodiversity a regular part of how your team talks about inclusion. It can make more of a difference than you'd expect, and our own team is proof of that.
Ivette has been our beloved virtual assistant for years. Her first day with TA started with an absence. She shared that her daughter had an episode that prevented her from joining orientation. We told her she could always be honest with us, and she's been part of our team ever since. When we asked her to weigh in on this piece, she said:
"You never judged me, never underestimated me, never doubted whether I could handle something. Even when I was upfront about my needs from day one, the focus was always on how I work and what I deliver. That's all any of us really want."
That's the whole point. When people feel safe enough to be honest, they bring their full focus to the work. The small, consistent choices that tell your team their whole life is welcome here are what make workplaces more sensory-friendly, communication-clear, and genuinely supportive. For autistic employees and the parents raising autistic kids, that's what actually moves the needle.
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The Employment Law Changes Your Managers Might Not Know About Yet
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Employment laws shift constantly, stack up differently across states, and create compliance problems that only surface when something goes wrong.
Pay transparency mandates, updated anti-discrimination standards, new paid leave requirements — 2026 has a full slate of changes that affect how managers hire, discipline, and respond to employee situations every single day.
Traliant's free webinar was built for exactly this moment. Two compliance experts will walk through the developments that matter most and translate them into clear guidance your HR team and frontline managers can actually use.
Key 2026 Changes in Employment Law: What HR Needs to Know (Wed, April 8 at 2PM ET)
Here's what you'll walk away with:
Clarity on which federal and state changes affect your organization Practical steps to address compliance issues before they become liability Guidance on policy updates and manager training for multi-state teams SHRM and HRCI credits for attending live
👉 Reserve your free seat here.
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The Power of Trusts (And Why You Don't Have to Be Wealthy to Need One)
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My great-grandparents arrived from Spain with little to their names but a robust work ethic and a dream to build wealth. They were the epitome of the old-school immigrant ethos: frugal, perpetually prepared for economic hardship, and staunch believers in buying things outright with cash.
My parents took a different path, which led to a childhood that mixed low-income realities with middle-class moments, most of them made possible by my grandparents' support.
Today, I'm the property manager and executor of the trust my great-grandmother originated. Over 30+ years, I've witnessed just about every family dynamic a trust can surface: peaceful transitions, Game of Thrones-level sabotage, and tense standoffs with the IRS when a relative decided to dodge their tax duties.
Here's what that experience has taught me about trusts, a tool I once naively assumed was only for the wealthy.
1. Trusts aren't just for the wealthy
Anyone with assets worth protecting can benefit from a trust. A home, a savings account, a small business—these all qualify. Trusts offer a structured, legal way to manage and transfer what you've built. Want to understand how they actually work? This podcast is a solid starting point.
2. Life is unpredictable. A trust helps you plan for that.
Divorce, bankruptcy, tax liens, lawsuits… none of these are fun to think about, but any of them can disrupt your financial future. A trust creates a protective structure around your assets before the unexpected happens.
3. Protect what you're building for the next generation
An irrevocable trust can minimize estate tax liabilities and help your heirs receive what you've left them without the burden of hefty taxes. When downsizing or gifting assets, a trust lets your beneficiaries bypass the estate entirely.
4. Avoid the time and cost of probate
Probate is the legal process that kicks in when someone dies without a proper plan in place, and it typically costs between 4% to 7% of an estate's total value. On a $500k estate, that's up to $35,000 gone before your family sees a cent, and the process can drag on anywhere from six months to two years. A trust sidesteps all of it.
5. Keep your financial life private
A trust shields your property details from public databases like Zillow, which reduces your exposure to scams and keeps your financial picture out of the public record.
6. Protect your assets from legal claims
If you own a business and face potential lawsuits, an irrevocable trust can protect certain personal assets from creditors. Once ownership transfers into the trust, those assets are effectively shielded from legal claims.
Setting up a trust takes some effort upfront. The families I've watched skip that step have paid for it in ways that go far beyond money.
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How I Finally Started Making a Dent in My Nonfiction Reading List
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I write for The Assist and run my own business, which means I'm constantly trying to level up on leadership, communication, and productivity.
The nonfiction books I want to read? Endless. The time to read them? Not so much.
That's why I was excited when the TA team started using Shortform. I've been working through Influence by Cialdini ever since—on walks, between tasks, whenever I have a few minutes. The summaries are way more thorough than I expected. It feels less like reading a summary and more like someone already did the highlighting for you. (And I set up my account in literally two minutes.)
If your TBR list keeps growing faster than you can read it, this is for you.
👉 Start your free trial and get $50 off—and let us know what you think. We genuinely want to hear if it's as useful for you as it has been for us.
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Stuff We're Loving This Week
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📆 Learn how to build an AI-first culture at your organization at this free event on 4/14. RSVP free.
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🛏 The bed wedge gap filler that finally closes the mattress crack where your phone goes to die every night.
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🚗 Cleaning gel that pulls dust and crumbs out of every vent, button, and impossible crevice in your car.
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