Autism Awareness Day: How HR Leaders Can Make A Huge Impact

April 2 is Autism Awareness Day. ?

If you’re an HR leader, you can make one of the most meaningful contributions to the autistic community: you can hire an autistic adult and you can help them succeed.

The most recent research shows that nearly 42% of autistic adults in their 20s have never had a paying job. [1]

On top of that, autistic people have a higher unemployment rate than any other mental disability. Other intellectual disabilities, like emotional or intellectual disorders, report a 26% unemployment rate.

Why is this? Autism is one of the most prevalent neurological disorders in the world. The CDC says there are over 5 million autistic people living in the US. [2] Why does such a large group struggle with employment, across the board?

Often, it’s because of applications that are hard to fill out, workplaces that are not inclusive, and existing staff that makes them uncomfortable.

Here, we will discuss how to avoid all of those pitfalls, so that you can make a difference.

Hiring Neurodivergent Team Members

One of the main characteristics of autism is struggling with social norms, expectations, and cues. Job hunting and interviewing heavily relies on all three of those things.

It’s just expected that you dress nicely for an interview. It’s normal to look the interviewer in the eye and shake hands upon greeting. Fidgeting or talking too quickly are seen as signs of nerves or even incompetence.

And yet, none of these things have to do with the actual job.

These old protocols and social stigmas are standing in autists’ way. Think about your hiring process, or the ones you’ve experienced.

How much of the hiring process is actually relevant to the job itself?

Is there part of your hiring process that could be a barrier for neurodivergent candidates?

It’s often simple things. The job description is too wordy. A one-on-one, in person interview is intimidating. Small changes can a make improvement.

The best way to hire autistic adults is to be open-minded about the process. Focus on the job itself, and the skills that you’re looking for. Remember that talents can shine in a variety of different ways.

Ask any HR rep, and they’ll tell you – the candidate that looked like an unlikely hire is usually one of their best.

Make sure you’re not missing out on fantastic, autistic team members from the very beginning with your job postings and applications.

Working with Autists

The purpose of streamlining your application and hiring process is obvious: to hire autistic adults.

Once you have, though, how can you best support them at work?

Many people think of accommodations as expensive desk chairs and new technology. These things usually aren’t necessary, though.

The first, best steps you can take towards being truly inclusive, is to ask questions.

The Job Accommodation Network [3] has an awesome list you can go through with yourself.

1.???“What limitations is the employee experiencing?

2.???How do these limitations affect the employee and the employee’s job performance?

3.???What specific job tasks are problematic as a result of these limitations?

4.???What accommodations are available to reduce or eliminate these problems? Are all possible resources being used to determine possible accommodations?

5.???Once accommodations are in place, would it be useful to meet with the employee to evaluate the effectiveness of the accommodations and to determine whether additional accommodations are needed?

6.???Do supervisory personnel and employees need training?”

Remember, it’s your job to ask the employee what they need to succeed. They shouldn’t have to tell you, especially not autistic people who may feel that making such a request could jeopardize their job.

In fact, the empathy and compassion of simply asking the questions often does more than fancy desk chairs and other expensive accommodations.

Here are some completely free ways to accommodate autistic employees, from the Hire Autism website [4].

• Noise-cancelling headphones
• Short breaks throughout the day
• Dimmed lighting
• Seating away from foot traffic to limit background noise
• Extra time during meetings to process information

Hire Autism also recommends assigning a mentor or buddy to new autistic team members to help them learn the social hierarchy. This practice could be good for all employees, not just neurodivergent ones!

Training People

You might be concerned about how the team members you have now will interact with an autistic employee. Do you have to having training seminars before bringing in the new person?

More than likely, extra training isn’t needed. Like we keep circling back to, conversations are the most important thing you can do here.

While it is absolutely vital not to “out” an autistic team member, just as you wouldn’t disclose sexual or gender identity, it is a good idea to prep your team. Go over the basics of neurodiversity, reasonable accommodations, and appropriate language.

(This is actually another practice that could be implemented with every new employee – basic compassion training with the existing team before their first day!)

Research Autism put together an excellent PDF called Understanding Autism: An Employer’s Guide [5] that discusses how to best train autistic employees. Here’s a short overview from their website.

• Get to know your employee
• Orient your employee and train him or her on specific job duties
• Foster a welcoming and supportive workplace
• Maximize your company’s existing support systems
• Give clear directions and performance feedback

Doesn’t this sound like how you want to treat all your employees?

That is the main point of this newsletter.

The best practices for hiring autistic adults, are the best practices for hiring good humans in general.

If you have an inclusive hiring process, you won’t miss any great candidates, autistic or not.

If your job environment is open-minded, friendly, and innovative, accommodations will be easy to implement, no matter what they’re for.

If your team is already full of good humans, you won’t have to tell them how to make new employees feel included.

World Autism Awareness Day is Saturday, April 2. Most research on autism is geared towards autistic children. But autistic kids grow into autistic adults. We need to know how to care for, support, and work with them as well.

Knowing the statistics can be jarring – and inspiring. Don’t you want to help an autistic adult beat that number, of 42% unemployment?

As an HR leader, you are one of the biggest keys to helping the autistic community. Make sure you have the tools to do so.

Citations:

1.??????Roux, Anne M., Shattuck, Paul T., Rast, Jessica E., Rava, Julianna A., and Anderson, Kristy, A. National Autism Indicators Report: Transition into Young Adulthood. Philadelphia, PA: Life Course Outcomes Research Program, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 2015.

2.??????Dietz, PM, et al. “Key Findings: CDC Releases First Estimates of the Number of Adults Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 Apr. 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/features/adults-living-with-autism-spectrum-disorder.html .

3.???????“Accommodation and Compliance: Autism Spectrum.” Autism Spectrum, https://askjan.org/disabilities/Autism-Spectrum.cfm.

4.??????“The Autism-Friendly Workplace.” Hire Autism, 31 Mar. 2022, https://www.hireautism.org/resource-center/the-autism-friendly-workplace.

5.??????“Understanding Autism: An Employer's Guide.” Organization for Autism Research, https://researchautism.org/resources/understanding-autism-an-employers-guide/.