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Your receipts are ammunition.

This atlas is for every ND person fined, ghosted, or gaslit because a system refused to bend. We stack the rage, cross-reference the traits it punishes, and publish the fixes so “policy” can’t shrug anymore. Every story is leverage.

If a portal, landlord, or boss broke you, drop the play-by-play and the evidence. We’ll weaponise it, anonymise it, and feed it straight into the audits. No more polite whispers—only receipts.

We are not medical professionals. Every friction scenario referenced below comes from ND lived experience plus guidance from sources like the NHS and National Autistic Society. Always consult qualified clinicians for diagnosis or treatment.

Research drop

Live friction scenarios we’re tracking

These dossiers pair real stories with the trait clusters they punish and the upgrades we demand. Drop them in inboxes, procurement docs, or parliamentary briefs whenever someone pretends “inclusive by default” already happened.

GP appointment portals

  • Traits stressed: Executive function volatility, time blindness, monotropism.
  • Failure pattern: Slots drop at 8am, portals time out in 60 seconds, CAPTCHAs + NHS number juggling, phone queues scold missed calls.
  • Impact: Missed medication reviews, anxiety spikes, carers taking unpaid time off.
  • Upgrade: Async requests, callback queues, autosave, ND-friendly flags.

Sources: NHS ADHD overview, CHADD – Time Blindness, Autistica – Monotropism

Universal Credit journals

  • Traits stressed: Working memory, demand avoidance, dyslexic processing.
  • Failure pattern: Dense notifications, 48-hour deadlines, sanctions for late replies, phone-only support.
  • Impact: Panic attacks, sudden income loss, avoidance spirals, inaccurate reporting.
  • Upgrade: Bullet-step summaries, draft offline modes, ND adjustments, restorative tone.

Sources: Understood – Working Memory, British Dyslexia Association, PDA Society – Demand Avoidance

Energy supplier support lines

  • Traits stressed: Sensory overload, auditory processing, dyscalculia.
  • Failure pattern: Loud IVRs, numeric IDs read once, agents demanding instant maths, charts buried behind paywalls.
  • Impact: Customers avoid calling, debt escalates, anxiety-induced shutdowns.
  • Upgrade: Text-first channels, written call summaries, plain-language bills, ND flags.

Sources: Autistica – Sensory Processing, National Autistic Society – Sensory Differences, Dyscalculia Network, Understood – Auditory Processing

Workplace performance reviews

  • Traits stressed: Rejection sensitivity dysphoria, alexithymia, communication processing.
  • Failure pattern: Surprise meetings, vague rating portals, no time to process or bring support.
  • Impact: Emotional shutdown, misread defensiveness, stalled careers, burnout.
  • Upgrade: Written agendas in advance, async self-reviews, optional support person, collaborative action plans.

Sources: CHADD – RSD, Cleveland Clinic – Alexithymia, National Autistic Society – Communication

Schools & exam access

  • Traits stressed: Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, sensory sensitivity.
  • Failure pattern: Late approvals for adjustments, handwriting-only exams, fluorescent halls, invigilators blocking stims or assistive tech.
  • Impact: Lower grades unrelated to knowledge, panic attacks, withdrawals.
  • Upgrade: Default accommodations once diagnosis is logged, typed/assistive options, sensory-friendly rooms, trained invigilators.

Sources: British Dyslexia Association, IDA – Dysgraphia, Dyspraxia Foundation, National Autistic Society

Retail returns & customer care

  • Traits stressed: Executive function, motor planning, social anxiety, PDA.
  • Failure pattern: 14-day windows, DIY label printing, queue-only drop-offs, phone pressure scripts.
  • Impact: Lost refunds, avoidance of future purchases, shame spirals.
  • Upgrade: Packaging-free drop-offs, ND grace flags, async chat, clear trackers.

Sources: NHS ADHD overview, Dyspraxia Foundation, PDA Society

Immigration & visa paperwork

  • Traits stressed: Working memory, executive function, demand avoidance, trauma triggers.
  • Failure pattern: Multi-form portals with tight uploads, paid helplines, no autosave, rigid biometric deadlines.
  • Impact: Visa curtailment, job loss, NRPF status, spiralling legal costs.
  • Upgrade: Save-progress checklists, secure messaging, digital advocate access, ND-friendly timeline nudges.

Sources: NHS ADHD overview, Understood – Working Memory, PDA Society

Social housing bids & repairs

  • Traits stressed: Executive function, sensory overwhelm, dyslexia/dyscalculia, alexithymia.
  • Failure pattern: Weekly bidding portals with property codes, phone-only repairs triage, no written confirmations.
  • Impact: Lost priority status, unsafe housing, eviction threats for “non-engagement.”
  • Upgrade: Persistent dashboards, text/email/photo submissions with ticket IDs, ND-flagged accounts, plain-language letters.

Sources: British Dyslexia Association, Dyscalculia Network, Autistica, Cleveland Clinic – Alexithymia

Public transport assistance

  • Traits stressed: Sensory overload, monotropism, time blindness, dyspraxia.
  • Failure pattern: 24-hour pre-book Passenger Assist, audio-only alerts, crowded platforms, tight refund windows.
  • Impact: Missed trains, fines when stims/support animals are policed, travel avoidance.
  • Upgrade: On-demand assist via app/SMS, tactile + visual wayfinding, ND travel profiles, longer refund claims.

Sources: Autistica, National Autistic Society, CHADD – Time Blindness, Dyspraxia Foundation

Mental health triage & crisis lines

  • Traits stressed: Alexithymia, communication processing differences, demand avoidance, auditory processing.
  • Failure pattern: Phone-only assessments, scripted yes/no questions, chat queues that reset after short pauses.
  • Impact: ND people labelled “non-compliant,” ending up in A&E custody or avoiding help entirely.
  • Upgrade: Multi-channel triage, longer response windows, ND-trained clinicians, sensory-friendly crisis routes.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic – Alexithymia, Understood – Auditory Processing, National Autistic Society – Communication, PDA Society

Anonymised stories

Real experiences fuelling the Cognitive Friction map

Every excerpt below comes from a contributor who consented to public summary sharing. Personal identifiers are removed, IDs stay consistent with the intake pipeline, and each story links back to the trait clusters we audit. Need formal support? Head to the resources directory.

Queued for audit story-2025-0001 · Healthcare

NHS GP booking portal

“The portal opened at 08:00. By the time I found my NHS number, the CAPTCHA expired, the form reset, and the phone queue yelled at me for missing my turn. I went three weeks without ADHD meds because the site assumed I could complete a multi-step form in 60 seconds.”

  • Traits hit: Executive function, time blindness, monotropism.
  • Upgrade ask: Async requests with autosave + callback queue.
See related scenario →
Published summary story-2025-0004 · Government

Universal Credit journal

“A 48-hour deadline landed at 5pm Friday in a wall of text. By Monday I’d lost a chunk of my payment for ‘non-engagement’. I’m autistic + dyslexic; they expect instant essays with zero draft space or human contact.”

  • Traits hit: Working memory, demand avoidance, dyslexic processing.
  • Upgrade ask: Bullet next-actions, draft mode, ND adjustments.
See related scenario →
Escalated story-2025-0007 · Housing

Social housing repairs

“My cooker tripped the electrics, but the repairs line only logs requests over the phone. I shut down halfway through the script and now the council says I ‘failed to engage’. There’s no written confirmation, no ticket number, nothing I can reference.”

  • Traits hit: Executive function, sensory overwhelm, alexithymia.
  • Upgrade ask: SMS/photo submissions with automatic ticket IDs + ND flag.
See related scenario →

Story intake roadmap

Healthcare

Batch 01 anonymisation in progress: medication access loops, referral dead-ends.

Government

Universal Credit journals, DWP sanctions escalations, HMRC verification spirals.

Finance

Debt collection scripts, 2FA lockouts, fraud teams ignoring ND adjustments.

Education & Work

SEND paperwork, exam accommodations, HR performance plans under review.

Energy & Utilities

Penalty tariffs during executive dysfunction, meter submission failures, escalation scripts.

Other stories

Immigration, travel, childcare, and housing cases queued for anonymisation.

Publishing approach

Each story excerpt will reference the anonymised ID, neurotype context, affected flow, and a link to the eventual Cognify audit or heuristic run. Placeholder text sits here until the research bundle is ready.

What we’ll show

  • Scenario summary (100 words max).
  • Impact + emotional toll.
  • System touchpoints (web, phone, in-person).
  • Suggested upgrade / mitigation.