Last Wednesday I went to a monthly meetup for neuro-divergent professionals, where we can talk about our experiences and how we work.

Some context. I’m on the spectrum, what was called Asperger’s (I still use the word, but it cuts through and describes me perfectly). I’ve known I was different my whole life; I have letters from a child psychologist in the mid 80s saying I have a “large vocabulary for an 8 year old” which is as close as the 80s got to a diagnosis. It wasn’t until a family member was diagnosed that I could put a label on it and understand how it has affected me.

The number that stopped me

JPMorgan Chase’s Autism at Work programme came up. In one tech role, people hired through it were 90 to 140% more productive than colleagues who had been in the job for five to ten years. While that study has existed for some time, that’s the first time I’ve seen it quantified and it really surprised me at the size of the gap between neuro-typical and neuro-spicy. I’ve always known that when I get the chance to focus I can get through a lot of work, but I had never seen anyone put numbers on it.

Focus has a price, too. Running flat out all day can end in autistic burnout. For me it means I use my word budget and need calm time with nothing too socially taxing. I like my bus or train ride home because I get an hour to unfocus, frame the day properly and process it. Often it’s just sitting with thoughts, other times it’s listening to podcasts (shout-out to the Imp and Skizz podcast).

The other thing that stood out was how fast neuro-divergent people pick up new subjects. The example was someone who learned Java over a weekend.

Access control was a brand new domain to me when I joined ICT and I really struggled with so many interconnected features and products, industry acronyms I didn’t understand because I wasn’t hands-on with the tools. Mobile credentials and the Protege GX thick client took longest - understanding card encryption, or the process to configure a door interlock. But with time they became what I was a domain expert for. So not a weekend to learn, but I got there.

JPMorgan’s video is below. It’s very dry and corporate, but relevant.

JPMorgan Chase on its Autism at Work programme.

Working for head pats

Several people said they’re happy to work on their own, but like some reinforcement that they’re on the right track. Someone called it working for head pats. Someone else said gold stars.

That’s me too. I’m happy to dig into areas I’m inexperienced in and keep going. If I can pop up for air every now and then and get a bit of reassurance, that helps a lot. All that means for my manager is a check-in occasionally will help, I’ll yell out when it’s needed.

At a minimum, I can use “Working for head pats” as a funny descriptor for how I like to work during job interviews.

Telling people

Disclosure came up. One guy got no responses to his applications with his neuro-divergence on the first page of his CV, and only started getting replies once he moved it to the end. Others said it’s a benefit to most employers, apart from the ones who are scared of it or don’t know what it means.

I feel the employer out first. When I interviewed at ICT I had a feeling plenty of people there were on the spectrum, so I said I was too. I wouldn’t do that everywhere.

We’re not all Sheldon Cooper. We’re not unfeeling automatons, which seems to still be too commonly thought. We feel everything and have to manage all of it. We feel emotions and external stimuli at much higher, more intense volume than neuro-typical people, even if it’s not always shown on the outside. While neuro-typical people can focus on the person in front of them talking when in a noisy room, I can’t - I hear all the conversations, so separate meeting spaces are appreciated for any deeper discussions.

What works for us works for everyone

You don’t need to tiptoe around us. Be blunt. Treat us like we’re German or Dutch and ask for what you want directly. If I’m doing mental gymnastics to work out what you mean we really should pivot - flowcharts and pictures are wonderful aids. The upside is that neuro-typicals benefit from the clarity of communication too.

If you’re an employer nervous about hiring someone like me, ask what they need and be direct about it. Not everything can be accommodated for in a modern office (private office with extra soundproofing), but not sitting under the blasting air-con is a good start, or not sitting them amongst a bunch of rowdy telesales people. All I needed at ICT was not to have constant foot traffic behind me - pretty easy really to accommodate, and we did later rearrange the office to avoid having people backing onto main walkways.

AI

Several people said they’ve had more compliments on their communication since AI came into the workplace. We use it to write instructions and messages that give neuro-typical people what they need. Neuro-typical people are now writing prompts that are direct and clear, which helps the neuro-diverse community too. Being cheap with your tokens, explaining clearly what you want and don’t want… it’s bliss for us humans, too.

It was an excellent session and I can’t wait for the next one.