Neurodiversity in the workplace

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Hi,

Being an Autistic Mom of a 21-year-old Autistic son, I offered to write an article for my workplace's Diversity Newsletter on Neurodiversity.

Any ideas on what should be included? Any things YOU feel NTs should know about us in the workplace? I was planning to include ADD, B-Polar, and other diagnoses in the article. So input from those with comorbid conditions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks and regards,

Jannine

Don't try to make the individual a team player but do encourage and praize him or her for the work that they do, and try to provide an ideal enviroment for their needs. By doing this, the individual will help your business thrive and be happy in their position and the job they do.
Try not to make sudden unexpected changes. Stick to what has been arranged, and if changes are needed, give them plenty of time to plan ahead and adjust to this change.
Also be aware that there will be times where the individual will need a few days or even weeks off. It is not that this person wants this but more that the person needs this to prevent them from burning out. They will make up for it when they are ready but do not suddenly push them to try ans make up for lost time as soon as they come back. (When in the past I have had to take a day or three off work I had to do double shifts each day as soon as I came back, right when I was not really ready for it).

Some people's neurological differences can come in useful and that we're not all useless in the workplace.
Most management just assume that all NT people are perfect workers so that's why they tend to hire NTs, but some NTs can be hopeless in the workplace too.

I know that employers are afraid to hire people with disabilities in case they don't cope with the expectations and that if they laid off a person with a disability then that person can get the company sued for discrimination, where as an NT with no disabilities can't do that so much if they have no proof of diagnoses. So that's one reason employers are scared of getting involved in people with disabilities. However, it is unfair on the people with disabilities because some are qualified as capable of working by the state so can't receive any disability benefits, but won't be hired anywhere. It can sometimes be more stressful for a person with disabilities (such as Aspies) claiming jobseekers benefits than an actual workplace environment can.

Employers know how to catch you out on this, when they ask you in your interview if you have any disability that may affect your work performance. If you say yes then it just lessens your chances of being hired, but if you say no and you do get hired and find that you are being misunderstood or whatever and they think you're just being deliberately incompetent and decide to fire you and you say about your disability, they can win that argument and say "well we did ask you in the interview if you had any disabilities and you said no." It's a catch-22.

I have a friend with Fragile-X syndrome, she's 30 and has never had a paid job, even though she's been looking. But a lot of people can't hide their Fragile-X because of the different facial features that the employers can notice. So my friend can't even pretend not to have it. I suppose I'm lucky in a way to have AS, because you can't tell I have AS (or any disability) just by looking at me, and I can easily pass as NT in interviews.

Thee are good resources online: https://www.neurodiversityhub.org/resou ... -employers

I would search for neurodiversity in the workplace guides.

Don't discuss conditions you have no experience with. That's my advice.

This. I think there are actually studies out there in the fields that study these kinds of things that show that in many situations people are less creative and productive when working in groups. Similarly, open-plan offices are actually worse for productivity (though COVID will probably do away with these for a long time now). But to many managers and employees (probably more extroverted ones) it seems like common sense that work better in groups or on teams.

I think this is a very important factor for people with autism or ADD in particular, because just the mental overhead from social factors can leave such a one with little bandwidth for the actual work. You have a person who could be above average in productivity and doing work with unusual depth now struggling to keep up because of being overwhelmed by the situation.

It depends on what job you're doing. Not all work is in offices doing presentations or designing products. For example, I clean buses at a bus depot and teamwork is extremely important here. We have to share equipment, and when you share equipment you need to know how to share, otherwise you'll just get in each other's way or delay one another. I have to put up with an idiot who won't co-operate properly as a team. She has her radio on loudly every day on her phone in her pocket and so doesn't hear properly when we need to speak to her, and she only has tunnel vision so she can't even take in what's going on around her. She's best off working on her own, but you can't do that when you've got a whole yard of buses to clean, it needs to be done together.
So, sometimes teamwork is essential in some jobs.

That's a great point. I definitely had in mind some kind of office job. I am sure that it is essential in any job to be able to get along well enough with others and to have basic skills of professional behavior. Even in office-type job's I'm not opposed to working together with others. I just think someone who struggles with social skills in general would do better in a looser collaboration where each person does their piece and reports in, vs. lots of group meetings and open-ended discussions.

I think a lot of people on forums do picture an office scene when discussing our jobs, but I'm not criticising, just saying. I've never actually worked in an office before. I've only had 2 jobs, both cleaning jobs, so it's all rather active and involves plenty of buckets, mops, brushes, water and chemicals. No desks.

Regarding social skills, the only area I struggle with socially is being in authority. When I worked at a care home I always felt awkward cleaning around the patients because I felt like I had to make conversation and most of them were hard of hearing so I felt I had to shout, which was why it was quite exhausting. I found it easier to just be in the room alone.
However, I don't seem to have any problems working with other co-workers (as long as they co-operate as a team player).

Last edited by Joe90 on 11 Jan 2021, 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

From the Rochester Institute of Technology: "Employer Guide to Supervising Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)"

And, frankly, when I read the "What you can do as a manager, interviewer, co-worker, or recruiter" subsection I see nothing that would be bad advice for dealing with any employee, neurodiverse or not. Actually, it sounds like good advice--no matter who you are managing.