What If the World Wasn’t Built for You? 12 Utilities of Experience
From the THX Series Hub: Disability, Autism & THX
I grew up with chronic health issues that didn’t always show. That meant I was often expected to “push through,” “keep up,” or explain why I was struggling when no one else seemed to be. I learned how to mask discomfort, overfunction, and translate systems that were never meant for people like me.
Now, as an adult, I see how that experience shaped the way I move through the world—and the way I design systems that others have to move through too.
Some people face obvious physical barriers. Others encounter invisible ones—sensory overload, unclear expectations, inconsistent rules, emotional pressure to conform.
The shape of exclusion varies. But the weight is shared.
This post explores what that looks like—and feels like—through the THX framework known as the 12 Utilities.
For disabled and neurodivergent people, friction isn’t occasional. It’s embedded in the design.
Doors too narrow. Language too vague. Systems too fast. Sounds too loud. Instructions too inconsistent. Expectations too vague—or far too rigid.
When you move through a world not built for your body, your brain, or your emotional rhythm, you don’t just experience inconvenience. You experience loss.
Loss of autonomy. Loss of clarity. Loss of dignity. Loss of time, energy, confidence, and safety.
This post explores what that looks like—and feels like—through the THX framework known as the 12 Utilities.
🧩 The 12 Utilities: What People Need from a System
When you're disabled—or parenting someone who is—you're not just navigating your own life. You're managing a system.
I know this firsthand. As a single father with sole responsibility for my teenage daughters, I’ve taken them to over 400 medical appointments in three years. At our peak, it was 4 to 5 appointments every week. Each one meant time off work, driving, explaining, re-explaining, advocating, coordinating, documenting, pleading. It meant finding professionals trained to understand overlapping conditions—or trying to get those who weren’t to listen anyway.
And that was just the beginning. Homework. College prep. Standardized testing. Scholarships. Activities. Community service. And still, trying to be a dad—and my girls, trying to just be girls.
The system doesn’t just expect resilience. It demands orchestration—from people already running on survival mode.
So when we talk about the 12 Utilities, we’re not just talking about design. We’re talking about dignity. About the energy required to survive. About whether systems make life livable—or impossible.
The 12 Utilities are the building blocks of a well-designed experience. When they’re strong, people feel safe, capable, and clear. When they break down, people feel lost, unworthy, or afraid.
Here’s how they show up (or collapse) in the lived experience of disability and neurodivergence:
1. Access
Can I even get in the door—physically, digitally, or emotionally?
Physical inaccessibility is the most visible barrier. But access also means: Can I access the language? The tone? The structure? The attention? The respect?
2. Clarity
Do I understand what’s being asked, expected, or offered?
Neurodivergent people often experience unclear cues, rules that shift, or vague social/emotional expectations. That erodes safety at the root.
3. Consistency
Does this work the same way every time?
Predictability isn’t a preference—it’s a survival need. When systems or people change expectations on a whim, it creates panic and mistrust.
Fairness matters here too. If consistency only applies to some people—but not to those with different processing styles, pain levels, or access needs—the inconsistency becomes emotional, not just procedural.
Predictability isn’t a preference—it’s a survival need. When systems or people change expectations on a whim, it creates panic and mistrust.
4. Accuracy
Is the information correct—and does it reflect reality?
Medical records. IEPs. Job performance evaluations. Misrepresenting someone’s needs or abilities is not just frustrating—it’s dangerous.
5. Speed
Can I process or respond in time to be respected?
Fast systems often mistake pause for incompetence. Processing time is not a flaw. It's a different rhythm. Systems that rush create shame.
6. Closure
Does this interaction or experience feel complete—or am I left hanging?
Unfinished conversations, ghosted medical follow-ups, non-answers, or emotional gaslighting leave neurodivergent and disabled people in a loop of emotional depletion.
7. Security
Am I safe here—physically, emotionally, financially, legally?
Many disabled people experience real and implied threats when they advocate for their needs. Safety isn’t just a condition—it’s a feeling.
Fairness is part of security. If the rules only protect certain types of bodies, minds, or communication styles, then safety becomes conditional—another form of exclusion.
Many disabled people experience real and implied threats when they advocate for their needs. Safety isn’t just a condition—it’s a feeling.
8. Ease of Use
Can I do this without needing to translate, decode, or over-function?
Accessibility is often measured by whether something works for the designer. But ease of use means honoring the user’s actual needs—without forcing workarounds.
9. Emotion Evoked
How does this make me feel? Ashamed? Empowered? Dismissed? Hopeful?
Every system sends an emotional message. If people consistently feel like a burden, the system is broken—even if it’s technically functional.
10. Value
Is this worth the time, energy, or emotional labor it costs me?
When a system demands triple the effort from a disabled or neurodivergent person to get half the reward, the imbalance becomes emotional—not just economic.
Fairness shows up here too. Value without fairness is extraction. When systems don’t account for extra labor, emotional toll, or unmet needs—they aren’t valuing the user. They’re outsourcing the cost.
When a system demands triple the effort from a disabled or neurodivergent person to get half the reward, the imbalance becomes emotional—not just economic.
11. Availability
Is help or support there when I need it?
Availability isn’t just about being online or in-person. It’s about whether someone shows up in a way that honors timing, urgency, and need. When systems delay, deflect, or disappear, they send a message: you don’t matter enough.
We can also think of responsiveness here: Does the system respond to your presence, your call, your ask—or does it leave you unheard?
Being ignored, delayed, or “not meeting criteria” is often more about how the system was designed than whether a person deserves care.
12. Resources
Are the tools, people, and supports available to meet the challenge?
Resources aren’t just funding. They include energy, time, staffing, access to skilled professionals, interpreters, adaptive equipment, emotional bandwidth—and belief.
For people with complex disabilities or overlapping conditions, even basic functionality requires an ecosystem of support. When that system breaks—or never existed—people are blamed for not “managing” what they were never resourced for.
🌿 Why This Matters
This isn’t about making people more resilient. It’s about making systems less harmful.
When you build a world where all 12 Utilities work—not just for the average, but for the margins—you don’t just reduce harm. You invite flourishing.
Let’s keep building.
Interpretation:
The minimalist softness of the background contrasts with the weight of the question—mirroring how invisible design choices create real emotional and systemic burdens for disabled and neurodivergent people.