While Diversity and inclusion are always at the forefront of everything HR touches – part of D&I considerations is Neuro-inclusion. Neurodiversity seems to be spoken about a lot more, heightening profiles for autism spectrum disorder, and everything that falls under the umbrella of ASD.
What continues to be a mystery is how can organisations be inclusive when the neuro-diverse world can be so incredibly complex, with differences for every individual, not only that, what may work be working today, may not be the case tomorrow.
Demystifying the ASD world is not an easy quick fix, however, some simple insights can improve the experience in the workplace for someone who processes the world differently, it’s all connected with our senses.
Of course, everyone is aware of the five senses, sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. The human body is so much more complex than these five senses, and for a neurodivergent, there could be eight senses that when layered together can cause the utmost distress, in fact, a very traumatic experience both for them and someone looking on.
- Visual – sight
- Olfactory – Smell
- Tactile – touch
- Auditory – Hearing
- Gustatory – Taste
- Interoception – internal signals from your body
- Vestibular – regulates our balance and spatial orientation
- Proprioception – awareness of the position and movement of the body
This isn’t simply understanding a small amount of how a neuro-diverse person might be feeling than asking them to change what they are doing to fit in with the neuro-typical world, It’s about getting to know them, asking questions and having compassion for their needs, simply by meeting them halfway. By doing this, life seems less chaotic for the neuro-divergent and not a million miles from a typical world.
Things in an office environment to consider might be:
- Glaring lights, from screens or office lighting, could even be the sun through the window at a certain time of day.
- Overpowering smells – perfume, deodorants, food eaten in the room, and yes, even body odour.
- A light touch on someone’s back could feel too much, and some clothes can become intolerable to wear.
- A bland meal might be great today and spicy food the favourite, yet tomorrow it could all change. Bubbles in pop might be too much and the texture of food could induce a gag reflex.
- Internal signals could simply be repulsion or extreme rejection, inexplainable feelings linked to another sense.
- Spatial orientation could mean someone likes lots of space and feels more comfortable on a desk furthest away from others, or the opposite.
- Awareness of movement of the body and its positioning could mean someone needs to check they are sitting in their chair continuously (something most of us don’t give a thought to) or they appear to be rocking or fidgeting.
There are so many possibilities, therefore it is so important to get to know the individual and all their idiosyncrasies. There is a lovely description (I forget who came up with the analogy) dealing with layered sensory overload can feel like a bottle of cola.
Imagine getting up in the morning, the sun is warm through the window, and you get up and go to use the bathroom, however, someone is already using the bathroom, frustrated, you gig around a bit yelling to say you need the toilet now. Your bottle of coke gets shaken. It’s then time to hop into the shower, there’s no more hot water, the shower is cold, you quickly get showered in the cold, your whole body has goosebumps and against the towel, it feels unbearable. The bottle is shaken some more. You start to get dressed and your favourite socks have a hole in them, it feels like your toe will be cut off as it pokes through. Your bottle is shaken even more. You get downstairs for a quick coffee and some toast, the radio is on, the children are screeching, and your wife is screeching at them to calm down, over the top of them, you grab your breakfast and go into the other room to create some space between you and the unbearable noise. The cola bottle is shaken some more. By this time, you have about 10 minutes to get in the car and drive to work or you could be caught in traffic, and your coke bottle is being shaken at the thought of the traffic. You go to get your coat on and the children both want to say goodbye to you and hug you both at once, their excitement and bounciness are too much and they get in your face, and the cola is shaken even more. You eventually get in the car and drive to work, tapping your steering wheel the whole time, hoping you will get there on time. The cola is continually shaken. You get to work, walk into the office and the first person greets you with, ‘Good morning, what a fabulous day!’ ARGHHHHHHH the cola bottle explodes uncontrollably.
To some, this might seem insignificant, and like most chaotic mornings, you just get on with it. For others, the sensory overload is very real, to the point of exploding without warning. The smallest experiences can layer continually throughout the day, or even in a moment.
It just doesn’t make sense to ask someone with these sensitivities to ‘just get on with it’ or ‘learn to put up with it, because we all do’. It makes sense to be compassionate, and understanding, give space when needed, or find a creative way around certain situations that suits most people.
Being mindful that everyone has sensory modulation, helps a person to make sense of the world and their place within it. The difference is that for the neurodiverse, the sensory modulator can be Hyper, Hypo or both in different contexts.
- Senses can become uncomfortable even painful – resulting in an avoidance response
- Senses can be pleasurable even addictive – self-stimulatory response
- Senses can become unfathomable, and confusing – resulting in anxiety, fight, or flight/ freeze response.
Therefore, all input might be treated with the same level of priority, competing and compounding, until it becomes overwhelming.
It returns to putting people first. When you know your people, give them time and listen to them. Listening to understand, rather than to respond.
Small considerations, small adjustments, can really make the difference to someone’s complete experience, and ultimately, how they experience fulfilment within their role, accepted and understood within the organisation.
