Newsletter – February 2025
Spotlight On… What being autistic is like and why neurodiversity matters
Do you remember what it was like to tune a radio? Crisp sound interwoven with dancing static, the volume rising and falling, crackling, popping. Keep those sounds in your head.
Have you ever been somewhere with flashing lights? Bright one second, dim the next. Spinning and whirling just outside your field of vision. Try and hold that image too.
Do you wear perfume or aftershave? Does it trigger memories? Are those memories good or bad? Does it transport you to a particular place or time? Remember that scent as well.
Now, imagine adding all of those together. Turned up 1000-fold. Sounds grating on you, stopping you from concentrating. The light dancing before your eyes, distracting you from seeing what’s in front of you. And the smell filling up your brain with images and thoughts that aren’t in the here and now. The combined set of all three together placing you in physical pain. Now, can you please urgently put me together a costs budget pulling in all the data from the fee earner’s time recording, electronic and papers files. And make sure you don’t make any mistakes!
This was the reality of my working life as an autistic adult, albeit it was in commercial litigation, not costs! The sounds, images and smells of the office (which were entirely innocent and innocuous to others) placed me in physical pain due to sensory overload. Add in tight deadlines with zero tolerance for mistakes and it very nearly broke me. But it doesn’t have to be like that.
More than one in 100 people are autistic. There are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK. Autistic people may experience over (or under) sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures or pain.
But, as of February 2024, just 3 in 10 autistic adults are in work at all. Even less are in full time employment. And, of those who are employed, only 35% are fully open about being autistic with their employers (with 1 in 10 not disclosing to anyone at work at all).
However, an autistic team member can bring an entirely different perspective to the workplace and your team. They are a different neurotype after all. But – despite autism sometimes being talked about as a superpower – your autistic team members are not superheroes (for reference, I don’t have a cape and I’ve never worn my underpants on the outside of my trousers…). They’re humans who are different, not less.
You may also have heard the term “neurodiversity”. It’s shorthand for everyone’s brain being unique to them. And some people’s brains work in a different way. Across the adult population in the UK, these differences can come in many forms, with autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) being ones you’ve likely heard of. You could call these people neurodivergent. Albeit, as I say below, do check with them whether they’d agree with that!
We often hear people in business talk about wanting to access untapped pools of talent or find skills and viewpoints that aren’t the norm. You’ll absolutely get that with a neurodivergent team member. But, to get the benefits and their unquestionable skills, you must be prepared to make reasonable adjustments to stop that world-grating effect I’ve set out above. If you’re not willing to, then, at best you’re indulging in tokenism and at worst – well, let’s just leave that there shall we…
So, if you’re an employer, whether your people are in the office, at home or a mix of the two, please make sure you’re thinking about what adjustments you ought to be making. They usually don’t cost much. A set of noise cancelling headphones. Flexible working patterns to allow people to travel outside of rush hour. Quiet spaces in the office. Walking breaks. They’re always cheaper than an Employment Tribunal. And, best of all, they allow you to get the best out of your team. And who doesn’t want their team performing at their best? I should also mention that these kind of adjustments (and the fundamental trust it shows you have in your team) will likely see a productivity and performance boost across your whole workforce, neurodivergent or otherwise…
But, once you’ve met one autistic person, well, you’ve met one autistic person. Their needs and skills will be different from the next just as they would be with any other human. They may describe themselves as ‘neurodivergent’ or they may not. So don’t put them in a box because of a label please! Especially as, as we’ve seen above, a large number aren’t necessarily comfortable with disclosing their diagnosis (be that because of stigma, a lack of awareness or, sadly, previous poor experiences) and talking about it or attaching a name to it might not work for them.
I understand all of this can be daunting. That you may be frightened of saying the wrong thing. However, once you’ve acknowledged that you need to adjust, just asking what help the person would like without pre-judging the answer is a great start. And, if you’re still not sure what you ought to be doing or what your obligations are, then there is some great advice out there, like the National Autistic Society’s Employment Hub.
Ian McCann, CEO of Legal Studio
*Employment Data taken from the Buckland Review The Buckland Review of Autism Employment: report and recommendations – GOV.UK published 28 February 2024.