Local autistic roommates Eric Brand and Lee Patterson’s conflicting sensory needs came to a head today after they found themselves in an argument about which one of them is more disabled and, therefore, more deserving of accommodation.
The fight began when Brand, who is autistic, started stimming by drumming with his hands on his knees to regulate. Patterson, who is also autistic, is sensitive to noise and found Brand’s stimming too loud. When he asked him to stop, Brand countered, saying that he was stimming as he often does and that Patterson should be sensitive to that. Patterson countered, saying that Brand should be aware of his noise sensitivity and be sensitive to that.
The two roommates got into a back-and-forth, with Patterson stating that his noise aversion is more severe than Brand’s need to stim. Brand, however, said the opposite.
“I’ve stimmed exactly this way in the past and this is the first time he’s complained about it, so I don’t know what his fucking problem is!” Brand told reporters.
“I don’t know!” yelled Patterson. “It’s just really loud today, okay?”
Brand suggested that Patterson might simply leave the room for a while, but Patterson was sitting in his favorite chair and did not want to move. He also objected to the idea of Brand getting to stim in peace while he ends up being the one having to change his behavior.
The lighting in the room was just right, as it turned out, so Brand also did not want to move.
Reporters intervened, asking the roommates if they remembered to eat today, at which point both immediately took out their phones and opened food delivery apps, effectively ending the argument.