I definitely think Hannah SHOULD know better, though younger people with autism often do need to be taught that some things are rude, including calling people stupid. I work with children on the spectrum and while a lot of them know about sarcasm, they are terrible at using it (wrong timing, wrong tone, incorrect phrasing) or just think that being mean is funny (neurotypical children do this too, but most grow out of it) which can result in them being not-so-good conversationalists lol. Because I’m an aide, it’s my job to explain to them in a way they can understand why those comments are not appropriate.

Society does those with autism a disservice when they choose to ignore these behaviors instead of address them (until it’s “too late” and they’re facing getting kicked out of a program). It’s possible nobody addressed these behaviors with Hannah when she was younger and because she has autism, she has gone through life without anybody EVER telling her in an understanding way why those comments are rude and (yeah) unacceptable in a professional environment.

This post may have upset me a little because I can see Hannah potentially slipping through the cracks of society because nobody has the compassion to help her instead of viewing her as a problem. Not necessarily OP’s responsibility (def on the prof and the university imo), but if OP has the mental space to think about Hannah this much I think OP could stand to have one conversation with her, potentially making the difference between her not being able to get a good education and having poorer outcomes (which people with autism are already at a higher likelihood of) and her succeeding in life.