In 2021, we saw the formation of some specific groups that are ones to watch for 2022.īoth Harris and Valeur agree that neurodiversity can lean on the experiences of the broader Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) movement and connect into these rich resources to inform practice. We’ve seen great advice and toolkits from many of the usual HR and Business Forums, but these are not enough. So the story goes – but the reality is difficult to operationalize and that’s why there’s been a growth in business support groups springing up to help. However, it does make sense for businesses to have a neurodiversity strategy, because not all jobs require the same cognitive skills and a balance of specialist and generalist workers recruited into a balance of specialist and generalist work will be more efficient. It doesn’t make sense to ring fence certain jobs for a specific neurotype, any more than it makes sense to systematically exclude certain neurotypes, because the cognitive profile of the human species is more complex than that.

Increasingly though, these businesses are realizing that this isn’t just about Autism or Dyslexia, it’s about cognitive diversity.

Since around 2013, we’ve seen big international firms such as SAP and Microsoft running affirmative hiring programs to bring in Autistic thinkers and organizations such as EY and GCHQ play the same strategy for Dyslexics. Neurodiversity at Work has been building through the last 10 years as a phenomenon with a core in Social Justice and Talent Management. Charlotte Valeur, Founder of the Institute for Neurodiversity

Judith singer neurodiversity