Panel Discusses Neurodiversity In The Workplace & Breaking Down Barriers
The final day of the conference started with a panel discussion, moderated by DE Executive Director Candee Chambers, on the significant talent opportunity of individuals who identify as Autistic or neurodivergent.
”Even if you don’t know it, you have a neurodiverse workforce. We all have different brains,” noted Attorney and Advocate Haley Moss. Joining Haley on the panel were: Susanne Bruyère, Professor of Disability Studies at Cornell University and the Director of the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability; Matthew Saleh, Research Associate at Cornell’s Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability; and Tina Schmitt, Talent Acquisition and Retention Manager and Project SEARCH Business Liaison at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Candee asked what the biggest knowledge barriers were to taking advantage of this talent opportunity. Tina replied: “starting out with an executive champion” and the ability to talk to hiring managers. “HR really has to be their support system,” she emphasized. “Over 85 percent of people with autism are unemployed. There is something incredibly wrong with that picture.”
Responding to the question of, “How do you suggest that we help other employees understand?” Haley offered that she describes neurodiversity as working with people who are bilingual when she slips up with the “language barrier.”
“A lot of us are engaging in normative assumptions,” Matthew observed. “We really want to connect [hiring criteria] to what is important to the job.”
“Which means you need to recheck your job descriptions,” Haley added. Too often, the hiring process tests not so much who is good at the job, but who is good at this specific process, she noted.
Being accommodating is not just a legal process, Matthew stated. “It is a way of being and existing.”
If you give the message at the top of the organization that “this is part of our business initiative,” it sets up the mindset, Susanne stated. Matthew cited a study that found a career webpage is one of the most cost-effective ways to show people your message. Furthermore, the best websites go beyond just EEO statements at the bottom of the page and don’t use just one stock image. “You want real people,” he advised.
OFCCP has recommended that the CEO, and other executives, do videos, Candee pointed out. Susanne immediately confirmed that when employers do that, they hire significantly more people from this talent group.
Tina said that Project Search is the biggest program on which she has worked. It involves workers rotating through jobs to get a good match. Her personal favorite is a job audition rather than traditional interviews. “We might walk around and show them the people on the floor. We have to change those standardized practices,” she said.
“If companies have internships, they are six times more likely to hire persons with disabilities. Suzanne noted. “We can train like crazy, but we cannot forget to inform people.”
Candee noted that some organizations do not have people with disabilities on their board. “People just tend to think [diversity] is [limited to] race and gender.
She also pointed out that remote work can be an excellent accommodation. “You might want to think about how people are effected by going to the office; it doesn’t have to be a neurodivergent issue.”
However, Tina cautioned that “virtual interactions can also be problematic in terms of neurodiversity.”
Mathew noted that disclosure to employers “is very complicated, but if you hire more diverse people, you will have them as mentors in your organization. “
Susanne reported that research shows people are more likely to disclose if they see evidence that the employer wants people with disabilities in their workforce.
When Candee asked for final words of advice, the responses were:
Tina: “Hire with your head and your heart.”
Haley: “Time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
Matthew: “Interrogate your idea about what is ‘normal.’”
Suzanne: “Feel empowered because you are really in a position to make changes in your organization.”