5 things you can do right now to make your workplace more neurodivergent-inclusive (that don’t have to cost you anything except a bit of time and consideration):
Provide clear agendas for all meetings, with plenty of advance notice. Let us know what to expect, if we need to prepare anything in advance, if it will be interactive (and what that will look like) and what the key objectives and outcomes are.
Remove grey areas where you can. Yes, we all have to deal with ambiguity in our lives, but often this can be avoided or reduced with a bit of thought. Give clear deadlines, specific time-frames, lists of tangible actions and expectations. If something is mandatory, be clear about this. If it’s optional, make sure it’s clearly signposted as such.
Give clear instructions. Lots of them. If it feels like you’re over-communicating, it’s probably just about the right amount for us. Maps and floor plans, even video tours, of offices and venue locations are a huge help. Make sure processes and procedures are clearly explained, preferably in multiple formats. Give opportunities for us to ask clarifying questions, and don’t interpret these as us being difficult or picky. Update instructions with the answers to these.
Provide information in multiple formats. Having access to written, visual and spoken formats allows us to consume it in the ways that work best for our brains. Providing recordings of meetings to re-watch, or transcripts to read through, can be really helpful. This also works both ways, so allow us to provide input in various formats. We may not speak up immediately in a meeting or workshop. Provide opportunities to send written thoughts afterwards to allow for processing and communication differences.
Make your processes around requesting reasonable adjustments and accommodations transparent, visible and accessible. Preferably provide a list of what is available as a starter for ten . We often don’t know what we can ask for, so having a guide is useful to start the conversation. Don’t assume that one size fits all.