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A few years ago, she was employed by the local government's open data office, and she often hid in another department to do in-depth work. She likes her colleagues and her work, but the busy atmosphere can be overwhelming—"I'm making up," she told Technical.ly.

"I have known that I have ADHD since I was 26, but I have not been diagnosed with autism," she said. "When you are not diagnosed, you have sensory differences and you learn how to cope, otherwise you will suffer."

After the Social Justice Movement last summer, the commitment to diversity, fairness, and inclusive work has been the company’s top priority, but generally, DEI’s work centers on race and gender.

These efforts really need to be paid attention to, because people of color and women are systematically excluded from the field of technology. However, although the personnel operations team is refocusing on their practices and policies around inclusiveness, they should also look at their practices in support of neurologically divided employees.

In countless ways, people with neurological differences—the term representing people with neurological types such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and dyslexia—are often excluded, discriminated against, or forced to Does not cater to their workplace work or support their needs. A study by Drexel University found that people with autism have been underemployed or unemployed for a long time. Nearly 42% of young people surveyed have never worked in their early 20s, and non-whites have fewer job opportunities. It is estimated that nearly 80% of people with autism do not have a full-time job.

But the technology industry provides a very real development opportunity for many neurologically differentiated people. Although everyone is different, the common characteristics of neurological disagreements include the ability to perform in-depth technical work and a strong attention to detail. In 2013, Newtown Square-based SAP launched the Autism at Work program to hire people with autism, while Newtown-based Ultranauts Inc. specializes in recruiting neurologically divergent candidates for software testing and data analysis. About 75% of its employees have autism and work remotely for this software consulting company.

We know that neurotic people can become good employees, but there are some obstacles in the recruitment, interview, and onboarding process that may make people unemployed. The refactoring of some common processes will greatly affect your ability to hire and support people with different nerves.

Ancona is now a feedback analysis project manager for a federal agency. She said that although she was not diagnosed with autism until she was in her 30s, she felt that most of the employment decisions she made had left her surrounded by neuroses. . She started her music teaching career, but felt something was wrong with this role, and she left shortly after starting this position. Wanting to continue working in art, Ancona transitioned to the marketing department of an art organization, where she fell in love with HTML.

In Philadelphia, Ancona joined the joint community Indy Hall and learned lightweight coding while meeting with a group of technicians. At the Code for Philly edtech event, she signed up to participate in a volunteer activity for visualizing the budget of the local school district and experienced a "huge career change."

"People really supported my self-study of technology, I became obsessed with open data, and I started to learn to make maps," she said. "Somewhere there, I was recruited by the city."

About two years later, she took up a position in a remote federal agency that needed to travel from Philadelphia to Washington every week. She said it was a difficult transition.

The cost of cover-up - a tool used by neurologically divided people to integrate into society or work to avoid harassment or discrimination - commuting to Washington, cooperating with many different agencies, spending time in crowded trains and offices "Too many," she said.

After Ancona described it as a "collapse" at a meeting — "In retrospect, this is just an emotional statement I made," she said — she contacted Dr. Edward Brodkin of the University of Pennsylvania, who was with an adult Work. Autism. In her 2019 diagnosis, she said that her suspicion that she might have autism is true. She was "completely exhausted".

This kind of work experience has been experienced by many neurologically disagreements and other disabled people for a long time. For many disability advocates, this pandemic has been forced to use remote work for a long time.

Marta Rusek is a digital strategist for a voting-focused non-profit organization outside of Washington, DC. She works remotely in Philadelphia and described some of the "green flags" her employer displayed to adapt to her autism. She currently has a flexible working time because she has some sleep problems and received a full remote work allowance so she can be with friends, family and doctors.

Remote work also allows people to better control their working conditions, such as noise levels, temperature, and ability to rest, which helps alleviate overstimulation. The adaptation process may mean eliminating a lot of red tape, and companies should want to help their employees achieve everything they need to succeed. Rusek said that although this is especially true for people with disabilities, this sentiment should apply to all employees and their workplaces. Rusek said: Yes, some neurological differences-specific changes can be made for a more inclusive workplace. , But in general, "a very good company will ask what is best for you."

Rusek was diagnosed with autism at the age of 30, and in the years since, she has fine-tuned her attention to certain red flags. She was fired after her diagnosis was disclosed during a 90-day review. She can now find out when she was listed as a "symbolic interview." She can find toxic workplaces only from job descriptions.

Other red flags include no other neurotic people in the company's employees, or manual labor requirements for irrelevant tasks are included in the work list. Job descriptions can also exclude people who are temporarily disabled, such as people who have recovered from an injury, breastfeeding mothers, or people who are weak due to COVID-19.

Rusek said that in today's remote world, a huge red flag is that the technology used by the company is inaccessible. There is no reason not to use subtitles or ASL in virtual and mixed events, and people can use accessible language and practice in meetings.

As an autistic patient, after working for many years, Rusek said that she learned a lot about how she views herself and the value of work.

"I'm not very suitable for the pop culture version of autism, although no one sees it. Sometimes I get to know myself again," Rusec said. "When you don’t know your key information, it’s difficult to establish an identity. I say this because I have reached a point where I will not fuck as much as I did when I was young. You either like what I can do for your company Things, or you don’t like them."

For people who want to implement inclusive recruitment and employment practices, including those with neurological differences should not be a huge improvement.

The Philadelphia-based Neurodiversity Employment Network advises companies that want to hire neurodiversity people with best practices. The organization also helps people with disagreements through the interview process and succeeds in these jobs.

The first thing companies can do is to re-evaluate their interviews. Cait Rosica, the director of the organization, said that some neurotic people are not suitable for the “glamour” aspect of the traditional interview process. The organization's executive director Joseph Riddle (Joseph Riddle) said that generally, hiring managers are looking for people who can do the job and fit the existing company culture, but fit to a culture “should not be a requirement”.

"You can't create a culture by copying a person, nor can you control a culture," he told Technical.ly. "If you build, they will come. When we emphasize neurodifferentiation, we see a lot of benefits, when we see other recruiters do it themselves. When they are more inclusive, they have the ability to build A better company."

He said that very open-ended interview questions such as "tell me yourself" are not the best way to understand any candidate. You will often see a prototype, and what you need to know is probably on their resume. Riddle and other experts who have spoken to Technical.ly agree that what the recruiting team can do is to provide candidates with a list of topics or questions that you will discuss during the interview.

Riddle said that one of the biggest impacts you can have for companies that want to hire and support neurotic employees is to pay attention to how the company communicates and provide multiple ways to communicate. While one person may thrive in a face-to-face meeting, another may be better through a written report or phone call. Providing a variety of methods to complete the work can ensure that employees do their best to complete the work.

This happens with neural differentiation. https://t.co/RYnZvlIZB5

-Body Barometer, MM (@laurenancona) December 6, 2021

"My general advice in conversations around accommodation is that we like people to make requests, but it's really just a tool," Riddle said. "We arrange accommodation for ourselves every day. Managers should only consider what tools they can provide for their employees. You can determine this without a diagnosis."

Thomas Edwards is a professor at Temple University and the interim director of the newly established Department of Engineering, Technology, and Management. He has a doctorate in business administration and specializes in management. When a family member with autism told him that a manager had treated him badly, Edwards devoted himself to supporting the neurologically divided employees.

You can watch his full TED Talk, but his main takeaway for the recruiters is to let the divisive people show you what they can do instead of telling you. This is especially true for technical positions, where candidates can show or explain how they deal with past technical challenges than they think they "bring" are more important.

Edwards said that once they find a job, both employees and employers should be familiar with the process of applying for accommodation.

The professor said that from the employee's point of view, you can focus your requirements on performance and define it as "this is the work I need to perform to the maximum." These requirements can range from requiring a quiet space to work, or asking them to obtain written instructions. The job of managers is to ensure that every employee can make their own contributions, and they should find a way to achieve these.

If you are a manager, please do not schedule people with autism in a 30-minute zero-context meeting.

— Tired Squishmas? ? ? (@squishthoughts) December 13, 2021

For everyone with neurological differences, the challenging part of navigating in a new job will be different.

Brian Dotsey started working in a financial institution that handled account issues for clients. He started his work in collaboration with the Neurodiversity Employment Network. He said the organization connected him with two employers who support neurodiversity, and they changed the interview process to support him.

"For me, the main difficulty in finding a new job is just getting used to all the small things that change or the transition between workplaces-how to keep track of time, where to eat lunch, different organizational styles, which colleague is responsible for what tasks? Kind of," Dorsey said. "Most of these are just small issues that the work direction usually tries to cover. I try to mention any place where the process can be improved. Companies usually don't mind constructive criticism of the new recruitment process."

A few months after receiving the diagnosis of autism in Ancona, she decided to "come out" to work. Although she is delivering all the necessary items, she backs down from anything that is not strictly related to her role. After 15 years of masking, Ancona is tired.

"I go out to work because I don't know anyone else with autism, but even if it's just doing statistics in an organization with hundreds of employees, I know I'm not the only person," Ancona said.

She contacted the diversity association of her institution and asked if she could contact her colleagues. She gave three lectures about what she learned from the neurosis and how it affected her work. She did not make a suggestion, but felt it was a good starting point. The goal is to help people understand her experience.

After these conversations, four women—especially women of color—stretched out their hands to her, acknowledging that they may also be neurologically differentiated and have never known what autism in women is like. Diagnosis of people who are designated as women at birth is rare, because medical professionals have long focused on men’s conditions.

Those who are actually diagnosed are usually diagnosed in their later years, and people of color are less likely to be diagnosed. The scholar and advocate Morénike Giwa Onaiwu didn't get the diagnosis until after evaluating their young children. The doctor pointed out that their children had many of the same behaviors as Oniwu, and suggested that they also be evaluated.

"If I know this, the way I behave, the way I look at myself, and the way I treat myself will all change a lot," Onitake said in a Facebook Live conversation about how COVID-19 affects people with autism disease. "I hate myself for so long for not being able to do what others can do, thinking about how different I am and how I hate it. Now I understand that I have no problems. If I understand this, my life will be great. Are not the same."

Two years later, Ancona is now working to establish an employee resource group for neurologically divided employees in her federal agency. At first, she was not sure if she wanted to do this work in a professional way, but the proposal to create resource groups and influence inclusive practices has now become part of her paid work.

Some of her formal suggestions include making it clear during the interview that you can ask for convenience and how employees will do so. It is also important that candidates can conduct interviews remotely, and employees should not be forced to turn on their cameras during virtual meetings that highlight physical disabilities or irritation.

"The comfort level in the environment has a huge impact on performance-the control of light or sound, visual stimulation, and the level of people's contact with you," Ancona said. "In addition, assigning work blocks or breaks on your own calendar, or when people can visit you when they have time, are all formal arrangements."

For people who work in this field or who aim to make their workplaces more inclusive, one thing should be clear is that neurodiversity is just that—diversity. People who are neurologically differentiated may not be able to access the diagnostic medical process, and both Ancona and Rusec said that they are honored to be able to afford it.

And those with the same conditions will be different from each other. An interview process or job setting that is suitable for one person may not be suitable for another person. Although some people may choose to reveal their diagnosis in an interview, others may never. The purpose of adding these practices to your company's repertoire is to make anyone who might apply for a more popular and comfortable experience. Change your interview, entry, and management standards in order to involve people with different nerves and benefit everyone.

Ancona said: "The more people who can accept this job, the more it will be more helpful." "We don't have enough people doing this job, and the more people involved, the more credible it will be. . If someone in your life diverges, or even if you don’t, you can speak for the people in your workplace."

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