I've been thinking about...Neuro-diversity

So until about 6 weeks ago I knew nothing about autism, so why the sudden interest? Do I know any autistic people?, not that I am aware of. Had I recently met someone who confided in me that they were an autistic person?, no. I don't even think I know someone who knows someone who is an autistic person, well not that I know of anyway. I haven't even seen the movie Rain Man. Even now, I still don't know much about autism, I just know a bit more than I knew 6 weeks ago. I guess what this says is I have learnt something recently.

Actually on reflection, the extent of my knowledge of autism is probably more than I realise, I have been binge watching The Big Bang Theory and it's main character Sheldon Cooper on re-run for about 10 years.

It all started during a dangerous visit to a bookshop, I have become particularly adept at collecting books, and therefore the danger is a financial one. A title jumped out at me, it's colorful text, one backwards letter and the actual words of the title spoke of diversity and inclusion. It peaked my interest in growing my cultural intelligence knowledge. The book, Un-typical - How the world isn't built for autistic people and what we should all do about it. It's author, Pete Wharmby was diagnosed in his mid 30's, so is speaking from experience, although points out, its just one mans story of his journey.

Wharmby recounts the stats which he quotes as being 1:25 to 1:100 people may be autistic, many of whom are undiagnosed, that's a huge range, Officially, the Neurological Foundation states that there are around 93000 autistic people in Aotearoa*, many of whom are probably undiagnosed.

My interest is around the relevance and impact of this condition in a workplace setting, in the chapter "Employment and other hazards" Wharmby talks about his experiences in a working environment and the experiences of those he engaged with to write the book. The inherent hazards include, sensitivity to a range of inputs such as temperature, light and sound, any sort of negative attention or feedback, otherwise known as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD), and for a community that prefer rigid routines, hot desking, which is a horrendous experience to deal with.

I guess many neurotypical people might find these issues uncomfortable as well, for the neuro diverse, matters such as schedules, deadlines and clarity are all yearned for and environments that impact on and create extreme sensitivities are to be avoided.

In 2017 a survey was carried out by Altogether Autism and while it only had a small response rate, its showed that only 6% were in full time employment. Three barriers were identified which contributed to autistic people keeping a job including lack of awareness and acceptance of autism, poor recognition of support needs, and poor social attitudes in the workplace.

IOSH recently conducted a survey on LinkedIN asking neuro-divergent people if they have told their employer about their situation, https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/iosh_as-we-look-more-at-neurodiversity-at-work-activity-7107755460509753345-kYdE?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop.

The results showed 56% of respondents were a flat out no with a further 15% thinking about it. Of those who have talked to their employer 4% stated that this had not gone well and 25% reported a good outcome. (Noted there were two posts to what appeared to be a similar survey, this link shows one of the survey results.)

I have been thinking about autism and what organisations can do build a business that is welcoming to neuro-diverse people.

• Transparency is key, be clear on what, why, when, and how. Provide instructions in writing, autistic people can have difficulty with retention of verbal instructions.
• Clarity is a regular theme, we are talking more and more about curiosity, an autistic person may well be extremely curious and ask lots of questions to ensure clarity and that the job task and deliverables are clearly understood. In this world implicit communication probably wont get the job done the way it is intended.
• If you're interviewing, an autistic person may well be an applicant, do candidates get to see the work area?, do you share the interview questions up front and, do you make sure what you say in your job add is consistent with the level of experience and qualifications you are actually prepared to take.

I recently asked a high profile business leader during a webinar about how ready and willing todays governance community in New Zealand is to be more culturally intelligent (considering the widest definition of culture, i.e. not just ethnicity). The response was that many boards are trying to do this, but are not ideally placed in terms of their own capability in this area. It was stated that many directors are not equipped to deal with the current environment where being both open minded and open hearted is becoming a pre-requisite.

How welcoming is your organisation to the neuro-diverse community?

• https://neurological.org.nz/conditions/brain-disorders-and-support/autism/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpc-oBhCGARIsAH6ote8nVHPMvzqE8oGkaOeNgVwvtEnm5iLhqgUl1KxjwlQCKZFgS0M2DLkaAhYtEALw_wcB
• https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/hiring-autistic-employees-a-smart-choice/