14 ways to future-proof your business with neuro-inclusion
(31st January 2023) - Guest blog: Terkel
A report from EY and Made By Dyslexia found that Dyslexic strengths align to the skills of the future (as identified by the World Economic Forum). These include visualization, creativity, cognitive flexibility, logical reasoning, complex problem solving, and more.
We asked our friends in the Terkel community to share one key piece of advice on how organizations can be more neuro-inclusive. Here’s what they said:
- Engage with your local community
- Work in tandem with experts and specialists
- Share success stories
- Offer flexible learning opportunities
- Foster an inclusive hiring process
- Post positions on neurodiversity boards
- Sign up for unconscious-bias training
- Allow assistive technologies and accommodations
- Understand the diversity of neurodivergent individuals
- Ask and listen
- Create a culture of safe misunderstanding
- Get curious about how someone performs a task
- Don't expect neurodivergent employees to self-advocate
- Be compassionately curious around peak performance times
- Engage with your local community
Community groups can be a gold mine for finding neurodiverse talent. Consider reaching out to government agencies, educational institutions, non-profits, or offices for disabilities. Develop strong relationships with key people at these institutions.
Volunteer for speaking engagements so that you expose neurodiverse individuals to your company and the opportunities you can offer. Connecting with community groups is a win-win, as we often task these groups by assisting neurodiverse people to enter the workforce.
Shawn Plummer, CEO, The Annuity Expert - Work in tandem with experts and specialists
An environment that is neuro-inclusive must be worked on, planned, and thought out. Organizations should ask for professional help in managing Neurodiverse Leaders. To begin, working in tandem with specialists who have expertise in dyslexic thinking skills may be very helpful in ensuring that they are better prepared to manage new professionals.
This entails being aware of the benefits of dyslexia and potential barriers in the workplace. As well fostering an organizational culture that values and promotes neurodiversity in order to foster better communication between neurodiverse leaders and their co-workers or employers.
Jim Campbell, Owner, Camp Media - Share success stories
Turn commitment into action and break down barriers to neuro-inclusion through the power of storytelling. For far too long, we have stigmatized neurodiversity in the workplace because of inadequate awareness, education, accommodations, and overall advocacy. A narrative of lack and limitations has shaped the opportunities explored by corporations, academia, and governmental bodies alike. It is about time that stories of success, empowerment, and growth shape the public discourse.
Stories have always affected culture and communication, as they have the power to create dynamics of acceptance, inclusion, and open-mindedness and replace fear and disenfranchisement. These stories can shape a candidate's recruitment experience, encourage an employee to open up to their manager, and ultimately change perspectives across organizations.
Not only will this simple yet powerful strategy positively impact the retention of neurodiverse individuals, but it will also create a more innovative and satisfied workforce.
Manuel Schlothauer, Founder, HeyManuel.com - Offer flexible learning opportunities
One key tip for organizations to be more neuro-inclusive is to provide flexible learning opportunities. Dyslexic individuals often think differently and may benefit from different teaching methods and learning styles. By providing flexible learning options, such as e-learning, audio and video resources, and interactive activities, organizations can create a more inclusive environment that caters to the diverse needs of their employees.
Tiffany Homan, COO, Texas Divorce Laws - Foster an inclusive hiring process
Many job postings and job criteria can put off potential neurodivergent candidates, as they feel they do not match the job requirements or have the necessary skills.
Instead, a job posting can include a welcoming note offering flexibility and asking candidates who require modifications or assistance to get in touch. When applicants come for an interview, interviewers can reach out and ask if they require any specific modifications or help to ensure that the interview process or social norms do not hinder their abilities.
Denise Hemke, Chief Product Officer, Checkr - Post positions on neurodiversity boards
Companies that want to be neuro-inclusive should post job openings on social media sites frequented by those with learning differences. Today, there are social media boards for everything.
Companies can share their job postings on these sites and reach out to individuals who may not know about the job or who fear they will waste their time by applying. Positions posted on these sites will encourage these individuals to apply.
So often, this population is overlooked or left out of the workstream. However, as noted in this report, these individuals possess skills that would be very beneficial to most companies.
Mary Kay Bitton, Head of Product Innovation, FLO Vitamins - Sign up for unconscious-bias training
Blind spots, known as unconscious biases, affect how we see, behave, and make judgments about others who are different from us. For instance, a hiring manager can reject the résumé of a candidate without a college degree, even if recruiters thought the candidate was qualified.
Unconscious bias training is a crucial first step in becoming an inclusive business because it provides individuals with a secure environment in which they can develop self-awareness and acknowledge their ingrained prejudices without fear of condemnation.
However, the constraints preventing historically disadvantaged talent from advancing have not been significantly reduced by training alone. The action does not always follow from awareness.
Eva Tian, Growth Strategy Manager, Mynd - Allow assistive technologies and accommodations
Creating a flexible work environment that can accommodate different neurological needs is an important step in becoming a neuro-inclusive organization. This can include a variety of different strategies, such as providing assistive technologies, allowing for accommodations to be made, and creating quiet spaces in the workplace.
Providing assistive technologies, such as noise-canceling headphones, ergonomic seating, and specialized software can help employees mitigate distractions, reduce overwhelm, and help cope with overstimulation in the workplace.
Organizations can also provide accommodations, such as extra break time, flexibility in meeting format and schedule, and other accommodations that can help employees with neurological conditions perform their best. Creating designated quiet spaces in the office can help employees who are sensitive to noise or overstimulation by giving them a quiet space to focus and work.
Cynthia Davies, Founder, Cindy's New Mexico LLC - Understand the diversity of neurodivergent individuals
Neurodiversity encompasses a wide range of conditions and abilities. These conditions include, but are not limited, to autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia.
Each neurodivergent individual is unique and may have different strengths, challenges, and ways of communicating and interacting with the world. By creating a culture of acceptance and providing accommodations, such as flexible work schedules or alternatives to group meetings, organizations can create a more inclusive environment that supports and values neurodiverse employees.
Additionally, organizations can also provide training and resources for managers and employees on neurodiversity, and actively seek out and recruit neurodiverse candidates to build a more neuro-inclusive workforce.
Nicole Corder, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Neurodiversity Works - Ask and listen
Organizations already have neurodivergent people working for them, but they are often silenced in the very situations where they can add the most value. Organizations need to ask for and actively listen to (without judgment) the thoughts, feedback, and ideas of people who are often viewed as different and authentically listen to.
Then, they should seriously consider what they hear, even when it might sound unrealistic and not actionable. Ask the neurodivergent person to figure out how to make it realistic and workable. This way, they will be included, and other neurotypical people will see the added value of the neurodivergent people and hopefully request their input in the future.
Jill Hosmer- Jolley PhD, Partner, Neurodiversity Partners - Create a culture of safe misunderstanding
It serves everyone when communication is clear. Historically, communication and social interaction challenges were considered to be one obstacle neurodivergent individuals faced because of an impairment in their processing and understanding.
Research following Damian Milton's Double Empathy Theory has helped discredit this notion by demonstrating that differences in neurotype lead to a bi-directional challenge with understanding; that is, neither neurotype is impaired.
Differences can create a problem. Set a judgment-free expectation of misunderstandings between people with differing neurotypes, sensory experiences, experiences of time, and even just gender, culture, or age. This will improve clear communication by reducing assumptions, as well as contribute to the psychological safety that all workers require.
Julia Harris, Founder & Chief ADHDer, Complex Strengths & The Neurodiverse Universe - Get curious about how someone performs a task
With toddlers and preschoolers, we are intrigued by and encourage exploration, discovery, curiosity, messiness, and thinking outside the box. We admire their ingenuity, messiness, and process of discovery.
For some reason, as these young people get older, instead of continuing to celebrate this diversity of thought, process, and discovery, we expect everyone will follow certain social, academic, and cognitive norms; however, this fails to recognize that not everyone fits into or follows these norms, and they are not wrong for doing so.
Some people continue to follow their curiosity without bounds, be creative, and communicate in unique ways. If we could keep the same approach throughout the lifespan that we have with toddlers and preschoolers, staying curious about the ways people explore, discover, perceive, and engage with the world, we will not only have more fun, but we may also discover solutions to our world's complex problems in a more efficient and effective way.
Courtney Edman, Coach of Neurodivergent People & their Parents, 2tametheshamE - Don't expect neurodivergent employees to self-advocate
We are only beginning to understand neurodiversity and its many facets, which means social awareness is low and adults are grossly underdiagnosed. Some of your neurodivergent employees might not yet know they’re neurodivergent, while others might go through an all-consuming process of diagnosis or self-diagnosis.
A neuro-inclusive organization will accommodate the individual needs of its employees without them having to educate their employer and constantly advocate for themselves. Team leaders must be able to ask pointed and informed questions in order to identify the pain points. Start with sensory needs, look at modes of internal communication, and account for hyper-focus in performance indicators.
Jadwiga Czub, Neurodiversity Consultant, Jadwiga Czub - Be compassionately curious around peak performance times
We all have a time of day when our brains function at their best. What time of day is it easiest for you to complete those high-focus tasks in your day? That simple question is one key to unlocking neuro-inclusion, as well as your team's peak performance times, so that innovation, productivity, and connection thrive in a neurodiverse workforce.
Carole Jean Whittington, Burnout Restoration Strategist, Mind Your Autistic Brain
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