Opening up about Neurodiversity at Work & Getting Access to Support

Last year I wrote an article on my journey to getting diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. Ahead of neurodiversity awareness week (18th-24th March) I want to re-shine a light on this topic at work and how I've tried to find community, support and resources to help me in my job. My hope by being open and candid is to pave a path to remove barriers, stigma and shame around being open about this aspect of people's lives at work.

I want to shine a light on the little known about Access To Work UK government scheme (https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work). I found out about ATW 6 months ago when researching an ADHD coach. Access To Work provides grants of up to ￡62k per year to go towards people with disabilities and adjustments at work that go beyond reasonable adjustments required by your employer. As long as you are employed or even self employed, you can apply for this grant - and importantly you do not need to be diagnosed to apply!!!!!

Last week, after a 6 month application process and assessment, my funding has been approved to provide software, noise-cancelling headphones, funded 1:1 sessions for an ADHD coach and also neurodiversity awareness training with my employer. I can only talk about my personal experience with ADHD, but ATW covers a broad range of disorders.

More information below and my inbox is open if you'd like a chat about the application process and assessment.

https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/eligibility

Internally I've been seeking ways to help bring conversations around neurodiversity into the workplace. Since publishing my article last year, several colleagues have reached out for 1:1s to discuss their own experiences, people in my network too. Many of these individuals remain undiagnosed by choice. I have also come across groups of people forming Neurodiversity Boards and Advocacy Groups within their agencies to help provide a safe space for individuals to share their experiences and gain confidence opening up to their employer when they realise they need some additional support.

Openness about neurodiversity at work is not limited to those who have a diagnosis or have an official condition- it is for managers who manage neurodiverse team members, it is for all the parents of SEN children, the carers of family members, those who have physical disabilities and those who's disabilities are less visible or even invisible.

Connecting on a human level and removing the sense of shame about saying 'I need a little extra help' has resulted in so many individuals feeling supported, safe and ultimately happier in their jobs because they are not masking or hiding a fundamental part of themselves. I was taken aback that after one of the internal sessions led by an agency neurodiversity board (championed by the CEO), there was a 50% increase in people opening up to their managers about their condition. How amazing is it to have that type of transparency and for an employer to understand the makeup of their workforce and how to improve people's lives at work! It also shows the need for increased investment in awareness and bias training, to ensure that turning up to work is accessible and productive for the entire team.

That said, opening up about something deeply personal is just that, personal. You may choose not to share your condition publicly, but it is important for employers to create a safe space for individuals to have 1:1 conversations with managers, HR and ensure you have access to resources available to you, should you feel you need the support.

These conversations have also revealed to me there is a lot more work to be done around understanding neurodiversity in the workplace. Many companies have done a huge amount to focus on progressive DE&I policies and departments, but neurodiversity is still an under-researched and funded topic in these spaces.

So, in light of being open - my downright weaknesses are timeblindness, owning multiple planners and thinking a new one will make me more organised, using multiple note taking apps that are SO unstructured, writing down notes and never building in the admin time to write up my thoughts and skipping from one idea to the next like it's going out of fashion. I come up with great ideas and struggle to put them into action.

Flipping that over, I'm great at reading people, building personal relationships and when I have clear goals and objectives, smashing them out of the park and going above and beyond. I just need a little grace to get organised (my new coach is going to be in for a fun ride with me :))

There is more work to be done - it's clear there are still many individuals out there sitting in silence and fearing the stigma of opening up at work.

I hope to see productive and helpful conversations over the coming week as we shine a light on Neurodiversity Awareness. As always, my inbox is open to anyone who wants to talk on this subject.

https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/introduction

#neurodiversity #accesstowork #mentalhealth