Developing a neuroinclusive culture can help neurodivergent people feel included and valued. About 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent, so that’s a huge number of people of working age who can benefit from this.

Often, policies that are inclusive of neurodivergent people benefit both neurodivergent and neurotypical people alike. Inclusive cultures will promote staff loyalty, reduce turnover and help your organisation attract and retain neurodivergent talent.

When an organisation has a neuroinclusive culture, the team have created a work environment where neurodivergent people feel comfortable being themselves. For example, many neurodivergent people may not feel comfortable sharing their neurodivergence with their employer due to harmful stereotypes, stigma and misinformation. When organisations can show they are learning more about neurodiversity and working towards being more inclusive it sends a powerful message, internally and externally.

Taking part in the Neurodiversity Employers Index (NDEI®) can give your organisation a clear idea of how neuroinclusive your organisation is, as well as guidance on changes to make for better inclusion. The NDEI® is the first gold-standard evidence-based framework to help your organisation become a leader in workplace neuroinclusion. The best part? It's free for a limited time only. The submission period for 2024 opens on Tuesday 8 August.

There are steps that you and your organisation can take to help develop a neuroinclusive culture. Here, we’ve listed six recommendations to help you get started. These ideas are evidence-based and can support your path towards a truly neurodiverse workforce.

Every organisation is different and has different team sizes, structures and capacities. It’s important to consider how to apply these suggestions to your workplace.

1. Support staff to develop a neurodiversity network

Neurodivergent people are the experts of their own experience. Neurodiversity networks can empower people with lived experience to create change in your organisation to support an inclusive culture.

The neurodiversity network should be available to anyone who identifies as neurodivergent, diagnosed or otherwise, as well as parents of neurodivergent people and allies.

Members of this group could regularly meet to:

• Make recommendations about positive changes to make your organisation more neuroinclusive
• Offer each other peer support
• Organise inclusive socials

It’s important to listen to neurodiversity networks and implement as many changes as feasible. If every recommendation they make is ignored, the network will quickly feel like they are not being taken seriously and their involvement won’t lead to meaningful change.

If your organisation is small, and there aren’t enough neurodivergent staff to participate in a neurodiversity network, consider developing a group for inclusion. This invite could be extended to anyone with a marginalised identity, including neurodivergent people.

Next steps

• Use your organisation’s internal communications channels to recruit members to run the neurodiversity network.
• Encourage the group to establish regular meetings, shared goals and working practices. They may have specific targets, such as making meetings more neuroinclusive, or developing more inclusive recruitment processes, or arranging inclusive socials.
• Think about practical steps for how the networks’ suggestions can be implemented. For example, giving them a slot at leadership team meetings.
• Establish whether there is a budget to support the network. If not, what other support can your organisation offer?
• See if there is an opportunity for a member of your senior Leadership Team to openly support or ‘sponsor’ the network. Ideally, the sponsor could talk openly about their experiences or connection to neurodivergence.

2. Find opportunities to be open about neurodivergence

There are lots of opportunities to be open about neurodivergence. By making accommodations and talking about neurodivergence, we normalise it. Normalising neuroinclusion lets neurodivergent people know your organisation is one where difference is valued; a key first step towards attracting fresh talent.

Creating content about neurodivergence

When managers and senior leadership members are open about their neurodivergence, it creates an environment where employees and prospective employees feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work. Here are some practical ideas for doing this:

Personal stories from managers Ask senior leaders or managers to create a blog, quote or article about their connection to neurodivergence for your organisation’s website or social media channels. They could include their own experiences of neurodivergence in the workplace, what has helped them, and the challenges they have overcome.

Industry-specific content If you can, you could create a piece specific to your industry to go on your website. For example "Why the [industry name] industry is a great fit for someone with [neurodivergent condition]" or "[neurodivergent condition] strengths that help me in my role as [job title]".

Mark awareness days

You can connect these to #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek, or other relevant awareness days.
Don’t just do this once. If you can, create several pieces of content like this over time, with different staff, rather than a one-off piece.

If you do not have any openly neurodivergent staff members

If you don’t have any openly neurodivergent staff members, you can still create content to signal that you are making your organisation more neuroinclusive. For example, you can create a piece about the practical steps your organisation is making to be more inclusive, and why this is important to you.

You could also arrange for a speaker to talk at your workplace. If you want an inspirational speaker with combined professional and lived experience, you can book our Chief Executive Dr James Cusack for a fireside chat podcast episode. James is the first openly autistic chief executive of a national UK charity and our former Director of Research.

3. Run neuroinclusive meetings and events

When you have meetings with visitors or a public event, it’s a great opportunity to showcase best practices to them.

Here are a few examples of how everyday workplace activities such as meetings and events more can be more neuroinclusive.

Inclusive meetings

• Sharing an agenda in advance in good time so people know what to expect.
• Understanding that different people may have different needs when at a meeting. One gperson may want to use a fidget toy, another might take detailed hand-written notes. For online meetings, giving people the option to have their camera on or off.
• Using supportive technology, such as AI notetaking.

Inclusive events
For events, when considering accessibility, think about neuroinclusivity. For example:

• Asking staff and visitors if they need any accommodations.
• Offer a quiet space, which someone can access if they feel overstimulated or need some time away from the main event space.
• Sharing information in advance, such as photos of the space, or details of how to find the location.
• When selecting a venue, when possible, consider the acoustics. Is the space likely to be loud with lots of echoes? Has anything been done to reduce noise such as carpeted floors, curtains or sound-absorbing panels?
• Think about the lighting. Can the overhead lighting be dimmed slightly? Replace any flickering lightbulbs.
• If asking for feedback, include a question that considers sensory differences.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. You may find other ways of making your meetings and events more inclusive. If you set up a neurodiversity network they could help develop guidance that works best for your organisation.

4. Signposting for support, accommodations and reasonable adjustments

It’s important to make sure support and reasonable adjustments are available for neurodivergent staff. It’s also important that people are reminded of them so they can access them easily if needed.

The best support and accommodations for neurodivergent people:

• Are person-focused rather than condition-focused
• Are developed with the person who requires them
• Once agreed, are implemented quickly
• Are reviewed regularly, as people’s needs change over time

Opportunities to remind people about support

• As part of someone’s welcome journey or induction
• In reviews or 121s with line managers
• Internal communications, such as on slack, round-up emails or staff intranet
• Awareness days or when sharing staff stories about neurodivergence
• When your organisation takes part in the NDEI®

Activity:

• Write down the key opportunities to raise awareness about the adjustments, support and accommodations you offer.
• Ask any neurodivergent staff or the neurodiversity network what else you could offer.

Ideas for support and accommodations

• Autistica and DARE reasonable adjustments for autistic staff toolkit
• Access to Work
• Occupational health assessments
• Workplace adjustment assessment
• Wellness Action Plans

5. Embrace flexibility

Flexible working environments bring out the best in neurodivergent people. Offering flexibility benefits both neurodivergent and neurotypical staff as it empowers staff to take ownership of their work and creates a culture of trust, creating loyal staff.

Flexibility looks different for different organisations and different roles. Many people can easily do their desk-based jobs remotely, but if someone’s job is physical, this won’t always be possible.

For shift-based work, flexibility could include making it easy for staff to swap shifts with each other. Or ask staff for their preferred shifts and aim to give people their preferred time whenever possible, rather than sticking to a strict, inflexible rota. Conversely, some people prefer structure and find uncertainty difficult, so making shifts or rotas consistent can be beneficial. The best way to learn what works for your team is to get their feedback.

There are lots of ways organisations can be flexible. Opportunities for flexibility at work include:

Flexible work hours

Part-time work, compressed workweeks (e.g. four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days), compressed work hours (e.g. a nine-day fortnight), job sharing, employee choice in shifts, seasonal or project-based flexibility. Results-Only Work Environment (total flexibility on how someone works provided they meet their results). Freelance or contract work.

Flexibility with leave

This could include buying annual leave, compressed work hours, sabbaticals, extended leave or family-friendly policies.

Flexibility with spaces

Remote work, customisable workspaces, working from home stipends.

Activity

Using the list above, think about:

• Which opportunities for flexibility would work for your company. Feel free to include any others we haven’t listed above
• Who they might support or benefit
• The next steps needed to implement these changes
  

6. Training for staff and line managers

Training can help people know more about neurodivergence, leading to better understanding and a more supportive and open working environment.

All staff would benefit from training on neurodivergence. But it is especially important for line managers, senior management, HR staff and anyone working in inclusion.

Line managers are the most important point of contact for any employee. Managers must access quality training to support and get the best out of neurodivergent line reports.

Pro tip: When searching for quality training, make sure it values lived experience, has been developed with neurodivergent people and is evidence-based.

At Autistica, we’re delighted to offer expert training based on gold-standard research developed with neurodivergent people. Read more about our commercial offering here.

There are lots of ways to develop a neuroinclusive culture. These ideas are just a starting point. We hope that by incorporating some of the ideas suggested in this guide, you can start or continue your journey towards creating a more inclusive working culture that values difference.

The most important thing to take away from these suggestions is that there is no substitute for working collaboratively with people who have lived experience. When making changes in your organisation, it’s essential to gather ideas from neurodivergent colleagues, as they are the experts of their own experiences. They may not be able to speak for all neurodivergent people but they are likely to be brimming with ideas and creative solutions to help you on your neuroinclusion journey.