New neurodiversity course helps employers understand how to best support employees

PowerED™ by Athabasca University has partnered with Career TLC to offer a first-of-its-kind training to help employers understand neurodiversity and how to best support the infinite variation of employees within the workplace.

“We used to expect that people would fit into our workplaces and, instead, our workplaces now need to fit for our people,” explained Tara Langan, a human resources professional and founder of Career TLC. “Nothing like this exists locally.”

Langan is the featured subject matter expert in PowerED’s new course  Neurodiversity in the Workplace.

Neurodiversity refers to the unique ways in which people’s brains work. The course offers insight into how workplaces can offer more individualized approaches to support employees and performance, rather than assuming everyone works and performs the same way.

Upward of 20% of the world’s population is estimated to be neurodivergent. More and more employers are being asked about their inclusion plans to support individuals who are autistic, have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or have other hidden differences that can’t always be seen.

“Neurodiversity matters because it impacts every element of our business.”

The importance of understanding neurodiversity

Langan’s interest in the topic isn’t just professional. She was diagnosed with ADHD, which contributed to her passion and curiosity about neurodiversity and prompted her journey into consulting on the topic.

She defines neurodiversity as the idea that there’s a natural variation in how we all think, beyond sense and how we experience the world around us.

Neurodiversity can reflect differences in memory recall, learning styles, sensory sensitivities, and communication (some people may be more verbal while others less so).

Neurodiversity is not a list of diagnostic criteria, she added, nor is it easy to lump people into specific labels or categories.

She believes there is a true possibility with this training to leverage workforce strengths and “normalize minds of all kinds together.”

Neurodiversity more common among Gen Z

Langan said there is a lot of stigma about neurodiversity. If organizations don’t start valuing and respecting how each employee operates, they run the risk of human rights complaints, burnout, and absenteeism.

Proper training and education are needed to ensure supports are in place. That’s especially important as research shows that neurodiversity is more common among Gen Z— those born in the mid-to-late 1990s into the early 2010s.

“This course was necessary because our future generations like Gen Z will start demanding that neurodiversity be respected.”

Course helps learners understand neurodiversity

The course was created to help learners understand neurodiversity, teach them how to tailor performance strategies, embrace inclusive hiring practices, and learn how to navigate the path to neuro-inclusion.

Participants will also have coaching sessions with Langan and are provided with “back to work brain bites,” which are tangible activities people can apply to their work.

“As someone who is neurodivergent myself, I felt it necessary to collect the voices, not only my own in the course, but also the voices of many in the community to help educate, bring awareness, and provide strategies that the workplace could immediately start adopting.”

Supports and neuro-inclusion enable success

At its core, neuro-inclusion is about respecting the human experience, Langan said

For example, employers assume that the standard job interview process of a 30-minute to one-hour interview with a verbal question period works for most people.

However, there’s a large percentage of people who are uncomfortable or find it physically painful to make eye contact directly in an interview, Langan said. This means that they’re getting judged quickly, yet they are more than qualified to perform the work.

To prevent this, Langan encourages people to be neuro-inclusive and consider whether or not something like eye contact is required for a position, before ruling someone out due to their interview performance.

“Being neuro-inclusive means you’re considering the human experience around you and that everyone is different,” she said

“Be curious about people around you, curious and empathetic about what they may not understand, and take a pause for consideration that an environment, system, process, or norm might not be as easy for someone else,” she said.

Learn more about PowerED’s new Neurodiversity in the Workplace course today.