Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity refers to the idea that all humans have diverse cognitive profiles, neurological abilities and strengths and weaknesses, which should be recognized and respected.  Neurominorities are on a spectrum of cognitive functioning, who think differently and perceive the world in different ways – often due to conditions such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological differences. Businesses are increasingly recognizing that neurominorities can bring much needed talent and skills to workplaces if reasonable adjustments are made to enable their full professional potential.

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Businesses are increasingly recognizing that neurominorities can bring much needed talent and skills to workplaces if reasonable adjustments are made to enable their full professional potential. The webinar presented latest practices by leading multinational enterprises on becoming neuro-inclusive places to work. Presenters were Nat Lyckowski & Diane Delaney (IBM), Mariana Guez (Orange), Aline Bravo (EY) and Elliott Morrison (HSBC). International Sign interpretation and live captioning were provided.

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Webinar "Neuro-inclusive companies: unlocking the potential of neurodiverse employees" 19 April 2022

The webinar “Neurodiversity in the Workplace: The Power of Difference” on 27 January 2021 covered topics such as the concept of neurodiversity and the different groups it covers; proactive neurodiversity adjustments that benefit all employees; the Neurodiversity Toolkit of the Business Disability Forum (BDF); and avoiding tokenism and stigmatization in neurodiversity inclusion. Speakers were Nancy Doyle, CEO and Founder at Genius Within CIC, Adrian Ward, Head of Disability Partnerships at Business Disability Forum (BDF) and Neil Milliken, Global Head of Inclusion at Atos. Ilka Schoellmann, Technical Specialist on Equality and Non-Discrimination at the ILO moderated. Live captioning and International Sign were provided.

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Webinar "Neurodiversity in the Workplace: The Power of Difference" 27 January 2021

Discriminatory hiring practices and obstacles in the workplace have long contributed to the unemployment of a large majority of adults on the autism spectrum. These challenges have only been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, new ways of working, including the use of new technologies and remote working, have created opportunities for employees who previously found it difficult to thrive in traditional workplace environments.

This virtual event included moderated panel discussions with individuals on the autism spectrum. It was organized by the UN Department of Global Communications and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Specialisterne Foundation.

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World Autism Awareness Day 2021 - Inclusion in the Workplace in a Post-Pandemic World

For years IBM, the international IT-company, and Specialisterne Foundation, the Social Business headquartered in Denmark, have applied leadership working together to include neurodivergent persons such as autistic persons in workplaces around the world. In this session, they will invite participants to get an insight into the vision, model and experiences from across business units and geographies.

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Specialisterne Foundation and IBM "Inclusion of a neurodiverse workforce", 11 February 2021

Natalia Lyckowski, Neurodiversity@IBM Global Business Resource Group Co-Chair, joins the program to discuss the importance of addressing neurodiversity in the workplace, and the stages of representation. Discover the strengths and challenges that neurodivergent talent bring to the workplace, and how to create an environment where everyone can do their best work.

Cornell University is offering an online self-paced course targeting HR professionals — Autism at Work. Course content explores these emerging initiatives in business to actively recruit and hire individuals on the Autism Spectrum. Participants are encouraged to assess implications for human resource (HR) policies and practices within their organizations and investigate opportunities and challenges encountered across the employment process in designing and implementing these initiatives. Participants will learn the importance of creating a workplace culture that embraces a diverse workforce, how to build internal and external support systems to promote success for employees who are neurodiverse, and use metrics and analytics to determine the program’s effectiveness at individual and organizational levels.

Cornell University researchers have been gathering qualitative data on the barriers and facilitators of job acquisition and retention for Autistic individuals, with a specific focus on improving Autistic individuals’ performance in the interview process and within the work environment (as well as gaining insights for how employers may alter their interview practices).

Results of interviews with employers, individuals on the autism spectrum, and employment service providers consistently identified that interviewees often struggled with the interview process in specific ways – incompletely answering questions (giving “yes/no” answers to open-ended questions), struggling to understand the context of unstructured questions (e.g., “tell me about yourself”), managing and regulating emotion to unexpected events or questions during the course of an interview.

Research on neurodiversity in the IT workforce, conducted as part of the IDEA Hub at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) reports that high-tech firms need to take advantage of the talents of a growing neurodiverse workforce—including workers on the autism spectrum, and those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, dyslexia, and other conditions—in order to support neurodiversity and foster a more inclusive work culture.