Why Autism in the workplace should not only be accepted but valued.

Do you think about the language you use on a daily basis? Figurative speech might sound a bit like this; This project is a piece of cake - it’s time to hop onto a zoom call with the clients - they’ve gone bananas! - your team cracks me up! 

To someone who hears and comprehends language literally it might look like this: 

WHAT ARE AUTISTIC STRENGTHS? 

LOYALTY | CLEAR SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG | ATTENTION TO DETAIL | ABILITY TO HYPERFOCUS | VISUAL THINKING SKILLS | MEMORY RECALL OF FACTS OR FIGURES | DIRECT COMMUNICATION

I wonder what the workplace would be like for neurodiverse people if we focussed on the advantages that they bring to a company, rather than the label that is justified in the support it requires. 

The presentation of autism in men and women can be very different. Men may have a clear presentation that can be easily identified. Whereas women have learnt to cope with social expectations and pressure from a young age, and this is called masking. We call it the camouflage profile of autism, where these exceptional women are able to pretend that they are coping in a social environment, but they can experience meltdowns and shutdowns which is an all consuming experience that many have reported to feel like extreme fatigue, or as if you are exploding from the inside outwards. 

Autism is a spectrum, and keeping that in mind gives companies the power to prepare for true potential.