Are employers losing out on skills of people with autism?

Headnote

A recent CIPD report found that almost three-quarters of employers' policies ignore neurodiversity. But given that about 10% of the population is neurodivergent in some way, can organisations afford to miss out on this important pool of talent? Jo Faragher reports.

Sarah Davis has autism and works for a charity. Her current employer is incredibly supportive of her, but her previous experience of recruitment and employment has, at times, been a negative one, as employers lack awareness of the needs of those with autism.

"At job interviews I get very high anxiety, so it helps to know exact timings, whether there will be a test, what time it will finish," she says.

"Then there are those questions interviewers sometimes ask with a hidden agenda or 'right' answer. An autistic friend was asked 'What do you think you'll be doing in five years' time?' and said 'I don't know'. She was given the feedback that her answer was wrong, but in fact none of us know what we'll actually be doing in five years."

Once in work, small adjustments can make all the difference and rarely carry a cost to the employer. Davis adds: "It can help to offer flexible working times to minimise my travel anxiety, or I ask colleagues to disturb my visual fields to get my attention, as I can get selective hearing when I'm busy."

Most importantly, Davis wants to be "treated like a human being at work, rather than spoken to in a patronising way...