Why is there a gap to bridge?

• Neurodiversity, like ADHD and Autism, are new to our culture despite always being present in our history.
• Up until the 1990’s and early 2000’s there was a lack of widespread testing. Professionals who were trained were sent to schools to provide early diagnoses because early treatment creates the largest gains.
• We also did not have a lot of treatment options for these populations until recently.
• Due to population selection bias in research, there is little data on how to maximize professionals who are Neurodiverse.
• Most input comes from professionals with experience in this population, or is generalized from research on children or the college population.

Why don’t we see more Neurodiversity in the workplace?

Professionals who are Neurodiverse have ambition, families, and refined skillsets just like their peers. In order to get by, they focus on Masking as a strategy. Masking is the act of pretending to be “normal,” so that it is easier to get through everyday life without encountering an environment’s bias towards homogeneity or sameness.

We all do this in one form or another. We have a customer service voice,  corporate lingo to help us identify likeminded professionals, even a Microsoft Teams outfit.

However, Masking for the person who is Neurodiverse is a much more wholistic process that allows them to navigate the corporate environment despite preferences or behaviors that might set them apart and limit their growth. It is also a very energy intensive process that can make them more susceptible to burnout.