#57: Book Review – The Canary Code

High-Level

2024 is heating up with more and more books about neurodiversity coming out. In this review, I will examine one book that is getting attention, “The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work” by Ludmila N. Praslova. It is a guide to help build neuroinclusive workplaces and to help neurodivergent people thrive at work.

Good

First, I appreciated how the book is organized with clear icons and sections. For example, some sections focus on employers, academic studies, or individual stories. Historically, readers like me with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), can get lost in the jungle of words that is the common format of most books. Being able to focus on specific sections based on interest or need is much appreciated. Biggest of all, taking the key points from all the chapters and including them in the first appendix also helps as some people want to get to the point so to speak quickly.

Second, the book does an amazing job of taking a deep dive into neurodiversity concepts in detail backed up by scientific research. The biggest among these that caught my eye are biases, the need for psychological safety, and the need for transparency to build trust. Many people know the basics about neurodiversity, but these deep dives are very much needed and appreciated.

Third, the book provides guidance and tools for helping organizations, managers, and neurodivergent workers to thrive and to make workplaces more neuroinclusive. They are crucial to transforming organizations because things must change for neurodivergent workers like me to survive and thrive. The tools cover everything from interviews, how managers can better manage people, making meetings more accessible, and more. The book also has checklists to help so people can start making changes.

Finally, the book has stories from multiple neurodivergent people from around the world. They shared their experiences of their difficulties at work, being victims of ableism and discrimination, and how they overcame their difficulties to survive and thrive. Many of their struggles resonated with me and I think they will resonate with many others as well by breaking down barriers and showing that people are not alone when they experience ableism, bullying, and discrimination. Most important of all, those stories offer hope.

Bad

First, the United States and the world have changed dramatically in the past few years. At the time of this writing, DEI is actively under attack and many organizations have reduced or eliminated their DEI programs and leaders as they face lawsuits and lower corporate profits. Also, many of the organizations detailed and hailed in the book as success stories have reversed course and have become less neuroinclusive with the reduction and elimination of remote work having the most devastating impact. I know of many neurodivergent workers at those organizations who have lost their jobs in the aftermath.

Second, the book correctly highlights the negative impact of meetings on neurodivergent workers and recommends minimizing them. Unfortunately, this reinforces the stereotype that neurodivergent workers cannot be executives, managers, or leaders. Because the higher up the corporate hierarchy a person goes, the expectation at many organizations is for more meetings, not less. Many neurodivergent people struggle in meetings and many will avoid climbing the corporate ladder to avoid having more. This in turn will continue to be a barrier to advancement as some will choose to be in a lower-level position and not move forward.

Third, although the book does a great job of detailing the barriers that prevent change from occurring within organizations, it falls into the trap of other similar books that state that neurodiversity is good for organizations and studies prove it, but they fail to address one of the biggest obstacles to neuroinclusion: executive leaders at the top. If a CEO says no to neurodiversity and neuroinclusion, nothing changes, and neurodivergent workers will still suffer. In addition, DEI initiatives that helped neurodiversity programs have been cut or eliminated because as corporate profits decline and as they face lawsuits, many organizations historically respond with cost cuts. It is hard to get organizations to change when executive leaders and shareholders demand that profits come first.

Final Thoughts

Despite the challenges facing neurodiversity and DEI today, I very much enjoyed “The Canary Code”. Many of the topics resonated with me since I am openly neurodivergent. The stories from neurodivergent people are very powerful. Also, the tools provided in the book can help those who are interested in making their organizations more neuroinclusive. Highly recommended.

5/5

One of the most powerful quotes from the book:

“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” -Paul Collins

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

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