Don't Wait Until April! Why Planning for Autism Acceptance Month Should Start Now.

April is just a few short weeks away, and the time of year when the world recognizes Autism Acceptance Month.

If you're unfamiliar, Autism Acceptance Month is an opportunity to recognize and appreciate the unique characteristics, abilities, and experiences of people with autism. Rather than focusing on "fixing" or curing autism, this month encourages us to embrace neurodiversity, the idea that all brains are wired differently and that this diversity should be recognized and accommodated in our modern world.

So, why am I writing this column in March? Well, it is that you are prepared.

You see, each April I am inundated with requests from companies asking how they can best mark Autism Acceptance Month (I love such requests! Keep them up). When asked, I always pivot back to what I believe is foundational - training your colleagues in how to support their neurodivergent colleagues.

Businesses often have the misnomer that neurodiversity is something "out there" to address. Many companies want to rightfully improve their recruiting and hiring processes to be more inclusive of neurodivergent talent. They should. However, I am always quick to point out that any business of a significant size already has neurodivergent employees working within it.

So, to mark Autism Acceptance Month this year, I encourage your company to offer your employees the opportunity to better understand neurodiversity and how neurodiversity fits within your workplace culture.

It's an easy step to take. For the past several years, my colleagues in Neurodiversity Pathways and I have been providing neurodiversity trainings to companies and organizations around the world. This includes a 90-minute Introduction to Neurodiversity in the Workplace training that we offer as a lunch-and-learn session. So, if your business is interested in marking Autism Acceptance Month, I encourage you to start here.

When businesses train their management and staff in neurodiversity, it can lead to a more inclusive and productive work environment resulting in increased creativity, problem-solving abilities, and innovation. By providing training and support for neurodiverse employees (and their colleagues), businesses can tap into the unique strengths and perspectives that these individuals bring to the table. Additionally, by creating a culture that values and supports neurodiversity, businesses can improve retention rates and attract a wider pool of talented job applicants. Overall, investing in neurodiversity training can lead to a more diverse and inclusive workforce, which can benefit both the business and its employees. Don't we all want that?

If you are interested in fostering greater neurodiversity in your workplace, I encourage you to attend a free Introduction to Neurodiversity in the Workplace session this Friday, March 24, 2023 at 4:00 pm Eastern (1:00 pm Pacific). You can sign up for this free session here.

Although my colleagues and I provide this introductory session for a fee to companies, we also believe in providing it to individuals at no cost so that we might better expand our society's understanding of neurodiversity.

We typically hold these free sessions at least twice a month as a public service, and they are always a highlight for me. Sometimes these sessions attract neurodivergent people themselves, sometimes the audience is composed mostly of parents, sometimes we find a healthy inclusion of educators or clinicians, and sometimes it is mostly individuals who just want to understand how they can be better colleagues. Having such a broad spectrum of an audience ends up leading to a rather dynamic discussion.

Autistic people and those with other neurodivergent conditions (such as dyslexia and ADHD) have strengths and challenges that are different from those without them. Autism Acceptance Month is an opportunity to raise awareness of this fact and to promote acceptance, understanding, and inclusion for individuals regardless of their neurodivergent condition. By embracing neurodiversity and celebrating the unique gifts and perspectives of neurodivergent people, we can work towards a more inclusive and accepting society for all.

I encourage you to not wait until April to begin making plans to foster greater acceptance for autistic people and those with other neurodivergent conditions. If you'd like to explore hosting an Introduction to Neurodiversity in the Workplace session at your own company, shoot me a note here on LinkedIn or reach out to my training partners at Neurodiversity Pathways.

Regardless, I encourage you to join us for an online Introduction to Neurodiversity in the Workplace session this Friday. Again, this is free and something that we do as a public service for any interested individual.

Join us this Friday, and I'll see you this April as we celebrate Autism Acceptance Month!

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John Marble is the founder of Pivot Neurodiversity and is a training partner and instructor with Neurodiversity Pathways. 

He is autistic.

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