After Max's Speech at The Autism Show, Max had a lot of great feedback and this week was mentioned by Problem Shared, This is what they said!
Did you know only 21% of autistic people are in any kind of employment? (ONS, 2021).
At last Friday’s #AutismShow, autistic activist Max J Green offered the provocation that employers must do better. Neurodiversity is the least discussed area of Diversity and Inclusion, despite proof that hiring neurodivergent individuals has a wholly beneficial impact on business.
Max posed the question, why hire an autistic individual?
- Autistic people solve problems in ways neurotypical people may not even consider
- Autistic people bring natural integrity to a workforce
- Neurodiversity is an authentic representation of society; we want companies to be microcosms of the real world
- Autistic people can have great memories, special interests, and immense passion
- Autistic people are often incredibly persistent, and show great attention to detail
Autistic data analyst and author Michael Barton noted that 72% of autistic employees don’t share that they are neurodivergent in the workplace because of its potential effect on their career. Ultimately, neurodivergent people’s biggest challenge at work is simply a lack of understanding from neurotypical people. And companies are missing out as a result.
Michael set out a simple list of reasonable adjustments employers can adopt to create a neuro-affirmative work environment:
- Ensure employees have fixed desks so they have a consistent sense of place
- Reduce sensory distraction in the office
- Include plenty of break time into the working day
- Offer remote working
- Provide neurodiversity training to managers
- Give clearly written/spoken instructions and mentorship where possible
- Understand neurodivergent employees’ individual needs by checking in regularly
- Invest in organisational tools and tech
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