Neurodiversity Works Here

This book defines neuro-diversity and neuro-divergence in a workplace context. It continues on to outline both the effects of neuro-diversity on employees and also the ways in which a manager can positively utilise their neuro-diverse employees to optimise organisational productivity and innovation. Finally, this book explores ways in which managers and team leaders can address and accommodate neuro-diversity needs of their employees to optimise organisational culture and enhance staff performance.

The work of queer autistic scholar Nick Walker has played a key role in the evolving discourse on human neurodiversity. Neuroqueer Heresies collects a decade's worth of Dr. Walker's most influential writings, along with new commentary by the author and new material on her radical conceptualization of Neuroqueer Theory. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the foundations, terminology, implications, and leading edges of the emerging neurodiversity paradigm.

Building on work in feminist studies, queer studies and critical race theory, this volume challenges the universality of propositions about human nature, by questioning the boundaries between predominant neurotypes and ‘others’, including dyslexics, autistics and ADHDers. This is the first work of its kind to bring cutting-edge research across disciplines to the concept of neurodiversity. It offers in-depth explorations of the themes of cure/prevention/eugenics; neurodivergent wellbeing; cross-neurotype communication; neurodiversity at work; and challenging brain-bound cognition. It analyses the role of neuro-normativity in theorising agency, and a proposal for a new alliance between the Hearing Voices Movement and neurodiversity. In doing so, we contribute to a cultural imperative to redefine what it means to be human. To this end, we propose a new field of enquiry that finds ways to support the inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in knowledge production, and which questions the theoretical and mythological assumptions that produce the idea of the neurotypical. Working at the crossroads between sociology, critical psychology, medical humanities, critical disability studies, and critical autism studies, and sharing theoretical ground with critical race studies and critical queer studies, the proposed new field – neurodiversity studies – will be of interest to people working in all these areas. Chapter 7 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

It starts from the premise that neurodiversity (conditions like Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and the like) is a normal, essential part of human biodiversity - without it we don't get Picasso, Einstein or Greta Thunberg! Yes, neurodiverse kids sometimes require a bit of extra help and patience, but they should never be viewed as disordered. Some Brains encourages us all look for our strengths and to understand that brains are like fingerprints - uniquely, wonderfully ours. All brains are special, All brains are smart, All kids have big thoughts, And all kids have big hearts. ALL KIDS ARE SPECIAL - JUST FOLLOW THEIR HEARTS

Neurodiversity in the Workplace presents a timely and needed perspective on the role and responsibility of employers and those working to increase the effectiveness of workplace practices to examine the many ways we preclude large segments of the population from employment; minimizing opportunities for building a truly inclusive work environment. This collection provides an opportunity to look at how discrimination can occur across the employment process and what can be done to minimize the exclusionary practices that prevent neurodiverse individuals from getting into the workplace, advancing, thriving, and contributing as each of us desires to do. With expertise from leading professionals, this book provides a holistic look at the application of leadership theories in a neurodiverse context and how the workplace can be adapted to accommodate for neurodiverse employees. This book also explores effective recruitment strategies by looking into applicant screening as well as interviewing and selection, adapting internal organizational resources to a neurodiverse workforce, and legal and regulatory environment considerations for autism hiring programs. Each chapter provides an overview of existing knowledge on effective workplace inclusion practices across the employment process, specific implications of research to date for a more neurodiversity-inclusive workplace, and what future research is needed to further inform these practices. This volume is intended to increase awareness about the challenges and opportunities in making the workplace more neurodiversity-inclusive, making it instrumental for I/O and other psychologists. This book is also crucial for management and business consultants; employers; diversity, equity, and inclusion specialists; human resource professionals; and others interested in neurodiversity inclusion more broadly.

WINNER: Business Book Awards 2022 - Diversity, Inclusion & Equality Category SHORTLISTED: getAbstract International Book Award 2022- Learning Impact Category An organization's employees are its biggest competitive advantage. Performance gains can be achieved through cost saving, process improvement or technology adoption, but the biggest difference is made by people. This means that recruiting, engaging and retaining the very best talent has never been more important. Crucially, these employees should be a diverse group of people with different approaches, skills and strengths in problem-solving and driving innovation. As well as focusing on gender, race, age and class, it is critical that businesses also develop a neurodiverse workforce if they are committed to outperforming the competition and achieving sustainable business growth. Neurodiversity at Work is a practical guide that explains what neurodiversity is, why it's important and what the benefits are. It covers how to attract, recruit and engage neurodiverse talent and provides guidance on how to adapt HR policies, processes and workplaces to ensure that all employees, including the 2 in 10 employees in the UK who are neurodiverse, can reach their full potential. Neurodiversity at Work is packed full of case studies from leading organizations like Microsoft who are already seeing the productivity, performance and financial benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace. Individuals in these companies are also experiencing benefits in their working environments. Also featured are interviews with prominent figures in the neurodiversity community and people who have successfully adapted their HR processes for neurodiversity, including members of the ND@IBM Program and the Head of People and Culture at Autotrader. With tips, advice, examples and 'how to' actions in every chapter, this is essential reading for every HR professional.

This book provides guidance on recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding practices that will allow employers to successfully hire neurodivergent professionals into inclusive, competitive employment. Today, 35% of 18-year-olds with an autism spectrum diagnosis attend college, yet they have a 75–85% under-employment and unemployment rate after graduation. While organizations are looking to expand their diversity and inclusion hiring efforts to include neurodivergent professionals, current recruiting and interviewing practices in general are not well-suited to this. With over one-third of the US population identifying as neurodivergent, employers need to address how to attract this talent pool to take advantage of a meaningful segment of the workforce. Readers of this book will gain an understanding of how to guide their organizations through the creation of recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding processes tailored to neurodivergent professionals in any field. Written by authors with extensive experience working in the corporate world and consulting with Fortune 1000 companies on autism hiring efforts, this book is targeted at employers, acknowledging their perspective. Structured as a reference guide for busy recruiters, hiring managers, and supervisors, this book can be read in its entirety, in relevant sections as needed, or used as a refresher whenever necessary. This book also provides a background on the thinking styles of autistic individuals, giving the reader a deeper understanding of how to best support neurodivergent jobseekers.