MARKETING AND AUTISM

Read articles on appealing to, and employing, neurodivergent individuals and their communities

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Autism

Inaccessible captchas exclude autistic customers and cost retailers significant revenue. Learn alternative security methods that protect sales without discrimination.

3 min read

Captcha Accessibility Failures: Losing Autistic Customers at the Gate

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 29, 2026 11:29:49 AM

That squiggly text verification standing between your customer and checkout isn't just annoying—it's costing you real money. While you're worried...

Autism Website UX Ecommerce
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Push notifications can overwhelm neurodivergent users, causing app abandonment. Learn how granular controls and accessibility-first design create competitive advantages.

3 min read

Push Notification Overwhelm: When Marketing Messages Cause Shutdowns

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 29, 2026 10:57:54 AM

Your notification strategy might be inadvertently declaring war on your most valuable users. While marketers chase engagement metrics with the fervor...

Autism Sensory App marketing
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Autistic brand communities follow different social rules than neurotypical spaces but generate fierce loyalty. Learn how to moderate neurodivergent fan communities effectively.

3 min read

Autistic Brand Communities: Different Social Rules, Same Loyalty Potential

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 19, 2026 8:00:02 AM

The mechanical keyboard enthusiast forum has 50,000 members. Someone posts their new build. Within minutes, responses appear: "Those keycaps clash...

Branding Autism Community AUDHD
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PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) causes autistic consumers to resist aggressive marketing automatically. Learn why pressure tactics guarantee loss and permission-based marketing converts.

5 min read

PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance): When Marketing Pressure Guarantees Loss

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 19, 2026 8:00:01 AM

"BUY NOW! Limited quantities! Sale ends in 3 hours! Don't miss out! Act fast! Only 2 left in stock!"

Autism Psychology Behavior Digital marketing
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Autistic influencer marketing fails when it exploits disability for inspiration. Success comes from leveraging genuine expertise and special interest authority in niche communities.

5 min read

Autistic Influencer Marketing: Beyond Inspiration Porn to Actual Authority

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 19, 2026 8:00:00 AM

A makeup brand partners with an autistic influencer. The campaign shows her overcoming challenges to apply lipstick. The narrative centers on her...

Autism Influencers Digital marketing
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Time blindness causes autistic and ADHD consumers to miss sales deadlines despite genuine purchase intent. Learn why extended windows and smart reminders increase conversions.

4 min read

Time Blindness and Purchase Timing: Why Autistic Consumers Miss Sales and Deadlines

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 12, 2026 8:00:02 AM

Your flash sale ends in 24 hours. An autistic customer with ADHD sees the promotion Tuesday morning. They think, "I'll buy that tonight after work."

Sales Autism Psychology Behavioral economics
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Popularity-based marketing backfires with autistic consumers who distrust social proof and prefer technical specifications over testimonials. Learn why niche brands win neurodivergent customers.

6 min read

Social Proof Backfire: When Autistic Consumers Distrust Popularity-Based Marketing

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Jan 5, 2026 8:00:00 AM

"Join millions of satisfied customers!"

Autism Psychology Digital marketing
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Scent marketing drives away autistic customers with sensory sensitivities and chemical reactions. Learn why fragrance-free retail creates competitive advantage and customer loyalty.

4 min read

Olfactory Marketing Disasters: When Scent Drives Away Autistic Customers

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 29, 2025 8:00:02 AM

Walk into an Abercrombie & Fitch. Before you see a single product, the smell hits you—aggressive cologne pumped through the ventilation system at...

Autism Product marketing Sensory
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Sound logos and audio branding can trigger sensory overload in autistic consumers. Learn why acoustic branding needs volume control, frequency consideration, and silent alternatives.

6 min read

Acoustic Branding for Autism: When Sound Logos Cause Shutdowns

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 29, 2025 7:00:00 AM

You open Netflix. Ta-dum. You boot up your Xbox. Startup chime. You visit a website. Autoplay video with sudden music. You receive a notification....

Branding Autism Audio
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Autistic pet owners represent premium customers whose special interest intensity drives deep product research and sustained spending. Learn how to market to this passionate, loyal demographic.

5 min read

Pet Product Marketing to Autistic Animal Lovers

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 22, 2025 8:00:02 AM

An autistic person develops a special interest in marine biology at age seven. By age twelve, they can identify 200 species of fish by sight, explain...

Autism Neurodivergence Product marketing Lifestyle
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Face-blind consumers can't recognize celebrity endorsers or brand spokespeople. Learn why prosopagnosia demands logo-first brand recognition strategies that don't rely on faces.

4 min read

Prosopagnosia in Brand Recognition: Marketing to Face-Blind Autistic Consumers

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 22, 2025 8:00:01 AM

Your brand ambassador just posted to their 2 million followers. The engagement is strong. The comments are glowing. And a significant portion of your...

Branding Sales Autism Product marketing
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Discover why autistic consumers resist product upgrades and how brands can capture this market by marketing continuity, maintaining legacy products, and reducing transition costs.

3 min read

Transition Resistance: Why Autistic Consumers Won't Upgrade Even When It Makes Sense

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 8, 2025 8:00:01 AM

Your smartphone is three generations old. The camera is objectively worse. The battery dies by noon. Apps crash regularly.

Audience Autism Product marketing SaaS marketing
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Learn why autistic consumers' pattern recognition abilities expose performative disability marketing and how brands can build genuine accommodation that creates loyalty instead of backlash.

4 min read

Why Autistic Consumers See Through Performative Inclusivity

Picture of Writing Team Writing Team: Dec 8, 2025 7:59:59 AM

Your brand posted a puzzle piece graphic for Autism Awareness Month with the caption "We celebrate neurodiversity."

Audience Autism Neurodivergence Inclusivity
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Learn how autistic consumer shutdown and recovery cycles create unique purchasing patterns that smart brands can anticipate and serve more effectively.

4 min read

Marketing During Overwhelm and Recovery Periods

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 1, 2025 7:59:59 AM

Your marketing calendar assumes consistent purchasing capacity throughout the year.

Marketing Autism Communication
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Discover how understanding stimming behavior can help brands create products and experiences that serve the growing neurodivergent consumer market more effectively.

3 min read

Stimming as Product Interaction: How Autistic Consumers Engage with Tactile Brands

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Dec 1, 2025 7:59:59 AM

There's a massive consumer segment that evaluates your products on criteria you're not even measuring.

Autism Product marketing
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Traditional sensory marketing overwhelms neurodivergent customers. Discover how autism-friendly retail design creates inclusive experiences that benefit everyone while expanding your customer base.

4 min read

Sensory Marketing and Autism-Friendly Retail Experiences

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Nov 24, 2025 1:25:13 PM

Walk into most retail environments and you're immediately assaulted: fluorescent lights blazing overhead, music pulsing through speakers, competing...

Autism Neurodivergence Sensory Retail
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Autism-friendly tourism generates billions in revenue for brands that understand accommodation. Discover what travel and leisure leaders are doing right—and what it means for your industry.

4 min read

The Growth of Autism-Friendly Travel and Leisure: What Brands Can Learn

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Nov 24, 2025 1:24:53 PM

The theme park announced "sensory-friendly hours" and expected modest attendance. They prepared for a few hundred guests who needed accommodation.

Branding Autism Travel
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Discover how brands can authentically represent autistic individuals in advertising—moving beyond stereotypes to build genuine trust with the autism community and allies

5 min read

Authentic Representation of Autistic Individuals in Advertising

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Nov 17, 2025 7:00:02 AM

Let's talk about the advertising industry's autism problem.

Branding Autism Neurodivergence Advertising
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Autistic consumers are disproportionately concerned about sustainability—but greenwashing is instantly detected. Here's how to market authentically to this audience.

5 min read

Sustainable Marketing and Autism: Environmental Consciousness in ND Communities

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Nov 17, 2025 6:59:59 AM

A sustainability manager at a consumer goods company showed me their new "eco-friendly" packaging campaign. Glossy materials featured green leaves,...

Autism Environment Digital marketing
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Virtual worlds offer autistic consumers the sensory control and social flexibility physical spaces can't. Here's how brands can show up authentically.

4 min read

Marketing for Autism: Virtual Worlds as Safe Spaces

Picture of Neurodivergence Writing Team Neurodivergence Writing Team: Nov 17, 2025 6:59:59 AM

A 23-year-old autistic woman told me she does 90% of her socializing in VRChat, a virtual reality platform.

Marketing Niche marketing Autism Neurodivergence
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