Show HN: Autism Simulator

Overall response to the simulator

• Many autistic and AuDHD commenters say the scenarios feel “too real,” evoking years of workplace trauma and burnout; others find it a crude caricature but still funny or useful for awareness.
• Several non-autistic readers are surprised how extreme the reactions are and say they hadn’t realized mundane events (office parties, small talk, radio ads) can be that disruptive.
• Difficulty is high: lots of players can’t reach day 2 or 3, leading to discussion about whether the game is intentionally unwinnable to show “end-of-the-rope” burnout.
• Some liken it to a “software engineering” or generic burnout simulator more than specifically autism; others say that’s precisely the point: normal office life is near-impossible for some.

Masking, burnout, and “normal work”

• Masking is described by autistic commenters as constant, effortful performance: suppressing natural behaviors and manually running social “software” that others run in “hardware.”
• There’s confusion about the masking stat: people note it drops even for private self‑care choices, which leads into discussion of internalized norms and masking even when alone.
• Several argue everyone “masks” at work; autistic people counter that the intensity, frequency, and cost are orders of magnitude higher and often unconscious, built from childhood rejection.

Autism, diagnosis, and the spectrum

• Repeated clarification that “spectrum” ≠ “everyone is a little autistic”; it’s a cluster of traits plus clinically significant impairment.
• Debate over overdiagnosis vs historic underdiagnosis: some see autism/ADHD as trendy self‑labels; others emphasize psychiatry’s limits but say the conditions are real and often life‑defining.
• Strong disagreement with the idea that autism is just “being quirky in a bad system”; others argue environment and modern work culture massively exacerbate traits.

Medication, sleep, and coping strategies

• No consensus on what the in‑game “medication” represents; players read it as SSRIs, antipsychotics, or ADHD meds, and note side effects like appetite and brain fog.
• Many stress there is no “autism pill”; meds target comorbid anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc., and are often trial‑and‑error.
• Several describe horrible personal experiences with misprescribed meds; others say meds plus sleep studies, CPAP, supplements, or exercise were life‑changing.
• Some criticize the game’s early “fail state” for skipping meds as implying a pro‑med agenda; others read it as portraying a bad fit prescription.

Sensory overload and misophonia

• Rich discussion of misophonia: chewing, tapping, pen clicks, running water, HVAC noise, and office chatter can provoke intense rage or flight responses, not just mild annoyance.
• Autistic players describe supermarkets, open offices, and commutes as cumulative sensory assaults: bright lights, clashing packaging, PA systems, unpredictable social interactions.
• Non‑autistic readers often say they dislike these too, but autistic commenters emphasize chronicity and severity (“like being in a loud pub all day while you’re trying to think”).

Workplace structures (HR, scrum, offices)

• Strong resentment toward “People teams,” forced fun, cameras‑on rules, hot‑desking, and open offices; many see them as optimized for extroverts and employer PR, not actual well‑being.
• Masking is tied to workplace politics: promotions perceived as contingent on social performance; stack ranking and vague expectations are seen as especially punishing for autistic workers.
• Some argue agile/scrum was meant to help neurodivergent devs via structure; others say daily standups, constant task switching, and point games are disastrous for ADHD/autism.

ADHD and comorbidity

• Large perceived overlap between autism and ADHD; “AuDHD” is widely used in the thread.
• People highlight executive dysfunction (initiation, habits, time blindness) as sometimes more disabling than classic social traits, and note how this isn’t well conveyed by the game.
• There’s skepticism about how cleanly DSM categories map to real neurobiology; several note that labels are descriptive buckets of symptoms, not mechanistic explanations.

Concerns, critiques, and ableism

• Some autistic commenters feel the medication emphasis and inevitable burnout endings make the game agenda‑driven or catastrophizing, not representing higher‑functioning experiences.
• Others argue that accommodations, diagnosis, and labels are essential for self‑understanding and self‑advocacy, and push back against “just toughen up” or “everyone has problems” narratives.
• A visible subset of comments minimizes autism (“just life,” “overused label”), prompting strong responses about trauma, masking as survival, and the difference in magnitude, not kind.