Why Every Autism App Ignores Adults: The Infantilization Problem
The design language and tone of autism apps steer heavily toward parents of autistic children. Sentences like "Strategies to support your child's learning in everyday activities" are common and frequent.
I'm a 23-year-old autistic adult. I felt lost and frustrated. Not a single app out there helping me manage my energy and better my situation in any way.
What I Found Instead
I tried Autism Games, My Autism Navigator, and BASICS: Speech | Autism | ADHD.
BASICS had a bunch of buttons and animated text on the screen, making it hard to focus on the main point of the app. Bright colors and automatic videos playing—complete sensory overload when I'm already exhausted.
What did this app think I needed? Spelling and better communication skills.
What I actually needed? An app that allows me to track my energy using spoon theory to help make my environment less exhausting and stressful.
None of these apps have any of those things.
Why This Pisses Me Off
Obvious ignorance to the fact that our problems don't just "go away" when we grow up.
This is infantilization—treating autistic adults like we're perpetual children who need 'strategies to support learning' instead of tools to manage our actual adult lives. The app industry has decided we stopped existing at age 18.
Most of these app developers find the market of profiting off parents of autistic children to be valuable. So the app store is oversaturated with these apps as a result.
Autistic adults need: No sudden pop-ups or cluster of features we'll never use. Just the exact feature we downloaded the app for in the first place. And actual respect for our privacy and well-being.
Who's Building These Apps
Neurotypicals, very likely. Research confirms what I've experienced: most autism technology is developed by neurotypicals without autistic input, which explains why these apps ignore my actual needs.
Animations and features appeal to children—colorful interfaces, multiple selection options—are exhausting to us.
No app has meaningfully addressed our concerns in years.
What I Built Differently
When I built Spoons, I specifically left out: ads, feature bloat designed to impress neurotypicals, and data collection.
Just a slider and CSV export. No trace of data to collect and profit from.
Why does building it myself as an actually autistic person matter? I know what it's like operating on low spoons constantly from my warehouse work. That feeling never goes away. Designing a tool to minimize that drain and be easy to use is far more critical than any neurotypical person will understand.
I'm Omari, a 23-year-old autistic adult who's been managing chronic burnout for 5+ years while working warehouse shifts. This is why I'm building Spoons. Built by an autistic adult. For autistic adults.
Launching April 2026. getspoons.app - One email when it's ready. No spam.
— Omari
Note: I'm sharing my personal experience as an autistic adult, not medical advice. If you're experiencing severe burnout or crisis, please consult a healthcare provider familiar with autism.