At Wynne and Co we’re pleased to acknowledge Neurodiversity awareness week this week, however it’s important to ensure that this doesn’t turn into a token gesture – this needs to be an ongoing consideration for business and society alike.
Let’s be honest – at Wynne and Co we were largely uneducated about ND until Sarah Wynne’s own diagnosis in Jan 2024 – since this time we’ve educated ourselves and have found a significant number of ND individuals in our workforce and our client bank. We’re working with both to try and level the playing field, rather than forcing them to “fit” into a neuro typical world.
We recognise that ND people can bring strong skills to business, but also we can’t deny that there are also challenges too. However with the right support ND individuals can thrive – these can be very simple adaptations.
We’ve even changed our recruitment process to be more inclusive, and obtained level one “disability confident employer” status – we’re aiming for level three this year. I feel like the fact the paperwork for this being on my to-do own list is slowing it down…….
Many “conditions” fall into the category Neurodivergence – the most recognised perhaps being
- ADHD
- Autism
- Dyslexia – the irony that I struggle to spell this isn’t lost on me….
- Dyspraxia
- Dyscalculia – I can’t even say this…
- Tourettes
All of these have a range of severity of symptoms, but also some significant strengths – problem solving, creativity, strong empathy, high emotional intelligence, meeting deadlines, attention to detail – the list goes on.
Think about changing the narrative and your own mindset – do you care if your ADHD employee is late for work twice a week as you expect them to conform with 9-5, is it better to focus on the fact they can get half as much work done again as another employee when they hyperfocus? Maybe you could alter their working hours instead of constantly telling them off?
It’s time for change – to think outside the box – to level the playing field!