Autism Fact #29

??Change starts with YOU. 

You can make the difference, so you might be in the minority of people who don't have a family member, friend or colleague who is autistic. That doesn't mean you aren't involved somehow or won't be. You may manage people who are on the autism spectrum, you might end up working with a neurodiverse colleague, you will end up meeting one of the 1% of the population on the autism spectrum. Be open, be proud to be ready and most of all please make a difference.

 So what can I do?

Take a look at some of the ways you can positively action ??

• Research and educate yourself – don’t know where to start? Try here: National Autistic Society or US Autism Society
• Educate yourself through the Autism Research Trust and Autism Centre of Excellence at Cambridge University directed by Simon Baron-Cohen, one of the world’s leading autism academics.
• You can start by playing an active role in championing inclusion in your company, this might look like a specific goal/action in your annual goals and objectives.
• Be an ally and offer to support or establish a neurodiversity employee resource group. Reach out - our team are always happy to share what we are doing.
• You can volunteer to support or promote neurodiversity in your office.
• You can start your meetings with a neurodiversity moment, in place of safety moment and start a conversation you don’t have to be an expert, just facilitate an open discussion on what neurodiversity means to folks in the team, including yourself.
• Think about the ableist language you use (see my Autism Fact #18)
• You can encourage your children to consider speech pathology as a degree or your children to become teachers qualified to work with kids on the spectrum.
• You can talk to your kids about autism spectrum disorder and how they might show and model friendship to kids that are different.
• Support and drive supplier diversity, you can purchase goods and services from the many businesses staffed by autistic adults. For example I order chocolates to be delivered to family members on birthdays from Harry Specters in the UK, a luxury chocolate company.  

There is a huge amount you can do to contribute beyond liking this post. I would love to hear about what you are doing to support; no action is too small.

If you know of any business that is inclusive of neurodiverse talent I encourage you to share and comment below ??

 Ultranauts | Software & Data Quality Engineering Services

Home | auticon

Ambitious about Autism | National charity for children and young people with autism

Harry Specters Luxury Chocolate Gift Boxes | Cambridgeshire (harryschocs.co.uk)

Rising Tide Car Wash – Parkland Car Wash | Margate Car Wash

ASDA launches amazing school wear range for those with sensory sensitive needs (familiesonline.co.uk)

EY US launches first Neuro-Diverse Center of Excellence in Boston | EY - US

Autism at Work Program | SAP Careers

Autism Hiring corporate (microsoft.com)

Disability Is Your Business | The Valuable 500

 #autismacceptance #talent #innovation #creativity #inclusion #reimaginingpeople #neurodiversitymatters