Five ways to take action and support neurodiverse people in the workplace

I am Emrys Moore, an associate solicitor at RPC, co-chair of our LGBTQ+ network RPCRAIN, and a member of our disability network, ENABLE. I have diagnosed ADHD and anticipate I'm on the autistic spectrum, although I do not have a formal diagnosis of this.

Here are five ways we can support and empower neurodiverse people in the workplace and promote inclusivity:

1. Visibility on processes: Being able to find the logic in a process, to understand why things need to be a certain way, either by providing enough information for that to be worked out or just by explaining it can be incredibly helpful in assisting neurodiverse people to navigate the workplace. This also extends to clarity around what resources are available to assist, for example what tasks can be delegated versus what you are expected to do as an individual.

2. Don't Generalise: that is, what works for some won't work for others. For example, I find online training much easier to take in than training in person, as even if I'm on video I can fit it in a way which does not feel disruptive to others. This helps me focus on the training both from the act of fidgeting itself as well as not worrying that I'm distracting other people.

3. Be Open-Minded: Tools and strategies which were designed to help neurodiverse people can also be very helpful for neurotypical people. As someone with ADHD I have tried so many ways of keeping track of time management and organisation and know why certain ways don't work for me. That means I can identify ways which may help other people in those areas.

4. Recognise Specific Strengths: For me, I have very strong pattern recognition skills, so tend to have good instincts about when things don't quite add up. My low frustration tolerance leads to me streamlining administrative processes that I find difficult to concentrate on when they have too many steps. As I have a limited verbal memory, I keep checklists of common tasks which can be useful resources for the team as a whole, especially new starters.

5. Difficult Is Not Objective: Things which can seem easy which are foundational to a harder task, may not be that way for somebody who is neurodiverse. For example, a piece of specific feedback I got while I was a trainee is what led me to looking into ADHD diagnosis. This was that my supervisors were confused that I was able to do an advanced task to a high standard, but made errors and took a long time to do a much "easier" task.