It’s pretty common to believe that everyone around us thinks the way we do: in fact there’s a term for it, the ‘false consensus effect’. But we’re much more wrong than we know. Aside from the truly varied nature of human opinions and values, around 1 in 7 – that’s over 15% – of the UK population is considered to be neurodivergent. Referring to variations in the human brain and cognition, for many people, it means that they fundamentally interact with the world – broadly created by and for the neurotypical – differently.
Just like neurotypical people, their way of seeing the world is the one that makes sense to them – until they come up against expectations they simply don’t align with. One such person described the concept very eloquently, flipping the coin to describe Neurotypical Syndrome as…
…characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity. Neurotypical individuals (NTs) often assume that their experience of the world is either the only one, or the only correct one…
NTs are often intolerant of seemingly minor differences in others. When in groups NTs are socially and behaviourally rigid, and frequently insist upon the performance of dysfunctional, destructive, and even impossible rituals as a way of maintaining group identity. NTs find it difficult to communicate directly and have a much higher incidence of lying as compared to persons on the autistic spectrum.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I first read this – not because the person was wrong, but because they were very, very right. We all think differently, but for some people, this difference is profound. And by challenging our own assumptions, we have a lot to learn about each other.
Who is considered neurodiverse?
A typical list of relevant conditions includes Autism, ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, Epilepsy and Tourette’s. Some mental illnesses like Anxiety Disorder, OCD or schizophrenia are occasionally included.
Neurodiversity itself is incredibly diverse. A person with dyslexia or dyscalculia (associated with difficulties with reading or maths, respectively) is unlikely to face the social difficulties of many other conditions. Some, like Dyspraxia, might have more of an impact on motor skills like coordination than thinking. People with autism or Asperger’s might be the first we think of, but they are also the first to face some face some truly bizarre stereotyping.
Individual experiences also vary hugely – some people might experience their neurodiversity as a ‘Super Power’; some might find it debilitating on a daily basis. Some might be happy to accept that they’re just a bit different to everyone else; others might seek out, and benefit from, medical intervention. Nobody can define that on their behalf.
Where we are now
Since the term was coined in 1998, attitudes have undergone significant change – and yet in 2020, the Institute of Leadership and Management (2020) found 50% of managers were uncomfortable hiring neurodivergent individuals. The bias was highest against those with ADHD or Tourette’s syndrome (1 in 4 employers), followed by autism or dyscalculia (1 in 5) and dyslexia (1 in 10).
This attitude might mirror an overriding expectation that people should behave a certain way, and a lack of confidence in knowing what to do if they don’t. But the potential ramifications for employment are appalling: according to the Office for National Statistics, only 29% of autistic people are currently employed. (Data is not regularly sought out for other neurodiverse groups, although employment is at 42.6% for people with epilepsy and 26.2% for those with severe or specific learning difficulties.)
Changing minds
Neurodiversity can be an invisible phenomenon – many people do not disclose, and many may be undiagnosed. One expert has estimated that ‘at least 75 percent of adults who have ADHD do not know that they have it’. Autism was considered to be a male condition for decades, until it became clear that girls and women were – to the detriment of their mental health – more likely to be masking their symptoms. Many women are now being diagnosed later in life.
When Leo Capella from the National Autism Society (NAS) spoke to IIG in a Knowledge Forum, he said that ‘The question for you to bear in mind is, are there any undiagnosed conditions that could be affecting this person?’ The person you’re speaking to, with any number of traits that could be mischaracterised, might simply be different neurologically to those around them. Alternatively, someone you would never associate with it might be doing a very successful, if exhausting, job of pretending to be like everyone else.
Alongside other neurodiverse conditions, people with autism might not behave typically: in an extreme example, Leo mentioned that ‘Someone who is usually articulate could be mistaken for someone with a severe learning disability while in a state of meltdown’. More commonly, they might take jokes too literally (for instance, one man Leo described was terrified by a joke about his salary being docked). Someone with ADHD, on the other hand, might find it difficult to sit still during meetings. Someone with dyslexia might struggle to recall what was said in a lengthy discussion.
Many people will also show counteracting strengths, that they’ve developed in response to facing certain challenges. As Leo put it, many autistic people have ‘focused, logical and technical strengths… [alongside] the double-edged sword that is perfectionism’.
Neurodiverse people’s attributes vary enormously, and it would be a missed opportunity to limit understanding to one subgroup. Nobody is expecting a manager to memorise or intuitively understand the needs of every kind of neurodiversity. Instead, the answer is to get to know every individual – individually.
Everybody wins
The immediate benefits of hiring neurodiverse people are clear. Not only does it open the door to a greater pool of talent, but they’ve often been shown to make fantastic contributions. Staff within an Autism at Work programme for JPMorgan Chase were 48 percent faster and as much as 92 percent more productive than their neurotypical colleagues.
In 2017, the Harvard Business Review spoke to a number of businesses that were implementing employment schemes tailored for neurodiverse candidates – immediate benefits included ‘productivity gains, quality improvement, boosts in innovative capabilities’. In terms of software development, including neurodivergent people in the process can only make the end product more usable to more people.
But managers also noticed a far more significant change – that they had ‘begun thinking more deeply about leveraging the talents of all employees through greater sensitivity to individual needs.’ By managing each employee on their own merits, with respect to the challenges they faced and how they could best make contributions, employee engagement rocketed.
Wider employee bases also benefitted from adaptations like clearer, more direct email communications, as well as access to noise-cancelling headphones, flexible working hours and eliminating florescent lighting. When Leo spoke about the difficulties many autistic people have with new situations, he suggested ‘that change – let’s say switching offices – might be something to do gradually.’ Who wouldn’t prefer that kind of consideration?
Thinking differently
Leo emphasised the importance of ‘sympathetic, wonderful colleagues to gently explain’ unwritten rules, as well as suggesting to ‘Challenge yourself to think differently.’ Our expectations of conformity are so often damaging, across marginalised groups, but for neurodivergent people the difference can be profound and internalised. As Leo put it, ‘It’s about knowing where to give them the autonomy and thought of making sure that they can interact on their own terms.’
The Harvard Business Review also described how a major problem, ‘especially common in large companies, derives from the assumption that scalable processes require absolute conformity to standardized approaches.’ And yet, neurodiverse people’s ability to challenge just those things are exactly what makes them beneficial to businesses and communities.
IIG are proudly open to making all sorts of workplace adaptations, and taking steps like providing accessible documentation of our acronyms. By doing so, we hope that everyone can deliver their best work, in an environment that flexes to meet their needs.
Grace Thiele 