Sandra Patel
7th August 2019
Article by Rose Blackburn, Recruitment Business Manager
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-neurodiversity-rose-blackburn/
So, Neurodiversity is something that I have had a particular interest in since we had the lovely Nicola Thomas and Sean Allen speak at our Diversity and Inclusivity Breakfast Seminar back in February.
They spoke about ensuring and ENCOURAGING diversity in recruitment and creating inclusive recruitment processes within businesses. When I first thought about diversity within organisations, I thought about Gender, Ethnicity & Race and LGBTQ+. Neurodiversity was a word I had never heard of…although I understood the importance.
I met with the lovely Naomi Johnson at a forum we held and she has taught me so much about Neurodiversity and since then I have been super passionate about raising awareness and acceptance for an area of inclusion we should all be aware of but a lot still are not.
The terms ‘neurodiverse’ and ‘neurodiversity’ refer to people with different brains. There are a wide variety of neurological differences that include: Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and many, many more.
There are so many do’s and don’ts and a lot of MYTHS that I had no idea about until I met Naomi and started to look at Neurodiversity and in particular Autistic people in the workplace and what I found was really insightful and it really encouraged me to learn more.
Source Jessica Flynn – https://themighty.com/2018/07/autism-functioning-labels-low-functioning-high-functioning/
Everyone is on the Autism Spectrum in some way
*This is very trivialising for the difficulties faced by an autistic person, to take struggles specific to one group of people and say that they apply to humans in general can be offensive.
*If you can’t match an autistic person’s life experience, don’t claim their identity
Source: https://autisticnotweird.com/stop-saying/
Autism is a mental health disorder
*Autism is a neurological difference and exists in many different ways and individuals with Autism are unique, with a wide range of characteristics, from APD to Social Interaction.
Neurodiversity means Autism
*Autism would come under this, however, there are many other recognised types that we need to be aware of and include Asperger’s syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, epilepsy, hyperlexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Tourette syndrome (TS).
So what can we do as employers to support neurodiversity at work?
Recruitment
* Make job specs clear and concise with clear “must have” and “nice-to-have” skills and experience.
*Interview processes need to be looked at. Some neurodivergent people may be overly honest about weaknesses, struggle with eye contact, or lack confidence due to negative experiences in the past. Be aware of these things and don’t discriminate based on social aspects of the process.
*Make job specs clear and concise with clear “must have” and “nice-to-have” skills and experience.
*Also, physically making sure that interviews are accessible for those with APD or SPD, Anxiety and so forth.
Awareness
Employers should be proactive in providing information on neurodiversity for those with neurological conditions as well as for those without. Employees with certain conditions are not always fully aware of the ways in which it might affect their ability to perform particular work tasks. Having access to a network of employees can be an invaluable source of information and support.
Tailoring support to individuals
As above, everyone is different and support needs to be tailored for each person. For example, managers should lead on discussions and suggest solutions, communicate unambiguously and give advance notice of changes so individuals can be fully-prepared.
I hope this this has been insightful in some way …
I am speaking as a Neurotypical individual and will never claim that I can speak for the Autistic and Neurodiverse community, as I have not experienced the challenges faced on a personal level, however, I am always looking to understand more about this, so please do feel free to educate me on anything you believe to be incorrect or uneducated!
We are holding an event on the 11th September around Neurodiversity & Autism within the workplace, particularly aimed at Internal Recruiters and Talent Acquisition teams so if this is something that you would be interested in hearing more about, please do get in touch to reserve a place and discuss further. Rose.Blackburn@transition-partners.co.uk or 0113 457 1020.
Thank you for reading!