Inclusive workplaces

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Nearly half of the staff at this agency are neurodivergent. The CEO says there are real benefits for her bottom line

 

[Levitat0r]

Nearly half of the staff at this agency are neurodivergent. The CEO says there are real benefits for her bottom line

Unique perspectives and previously undiscovered approaches.

 

[jsilver256]

We are there at my company. The problem is that it's a NT's world, and if you want NT money, you need to speak NT.

Which is why we have taken alternative routes for financing - not specifically to be rid of NT influence, but to be rid of overall greedy investor influences.

 

[Outdated]

We are there at my company.

I thought that article might interest you. People are a lot more productive when they're not constantly looking over their shoulder waiting for the next attack.

 

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I pretty much had to fight for my own place in the world almost everywhere I worked, it was always a battle to be me. Here's an excerpt about the Production Manager in a company I worked for many years ago. I gave as good as I got but it gets wearisome over the years.

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His problem wasn't just with my ego, it was with the fact that I was usually right and I knew it. He hated my guts, I thought he was actually a reasonable sort of bloke and by far one of the best organisers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I still admire him, he still hates me.

Pete's Printery leased out some of it's upstairs office space to a small sports magazine, no we didn't print it, that's not what we were geared up for. Towards the end of every day a young person would come down from their offices and empty all of their waste paper baskets into our big waste paper bale. On my first day in the job, after this person had left, Geoff asked me "Is it a boy or a girl?". There really was no way of telling by looks, this person really was completely androgynous, I really couldn't tell.

Geoff knew this, he kept on at it every day, "Come on! Is it a boy or a girl?", he liked the feeling of me not having an answer. About a week later Geoff was in the darkroom making plates when this person came down to empty bins, there was no one else around, I held my hand out to shake and said "Hi, I'm Andrew, by the way." She said "Hi, I'm Jane." and shook my hand. I said "I'm sorry but I'm a bit too busy to chat just now, but it's nice to know someone's name when you say G'day.", she said she agreed, we never spoke to each other again but it is nice to know who you're waving to and saying G'day to.

As soon as she left I shut down my press and ran into the darkroom, "Hey Geoff! I found out, it's a girl!". He asked me if I'm sure and I said "No, I'm not sure, I know! It's a girl!" He asked me how I know and I said "I asked her. She's a girl. She told me!" This panicked poor Geoff, he never thought of asking what it was that I'd actually asked but he spent the best part of that afternoon sneaking upstairs listening for tears or recriminations which were of course nonexistent.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

A phenomenon that is relatively well-known in certain tech pockets in the US. A few articles on the topic. As I have said in a few of my posts on other threads, I attribute my higher-than-normal functioning in my field as a result of my autistic logic, reasoning, independent, "out-of-the-box" thinking, and pattern recognition talents. I look at my colleagues, and frankly, what is isolating, is the fact that their brains seem to be incapable of operating on this level.

The Silicon Valley Syndrome, Autism and the Tech Industry

Is Silicon Valley a Breeding Ground for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Are Geeky Couples More Likely to Have Kids with Autism?

Communities Built on Neurodiversity Shine

 

[Levitat0r]

I pretty much had to fight for my own place in the world almost everywhere I worked, it was always a battle to be me. Here's an excerpt about the Production Manager in a company I worked for many years ago. I gave as good as I got but it gets wearisome over the years.

------

His problem wasn't just with my ego, it was with the fact that I was usually right and I knew it. He hated my guts, I thought he was actually a reasonable sort of bloke and by far one of the best organisers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I still admire him, he still hates me.

Pete's Printery leased out some of it's upstairs office space to a small sports magazine, no we didn't print it, that's not what we were geared up for. Towards the end of every day a young person would come down from their offices and empty all of their waste paper baskets into our big waste paper bale. On my first day in the job, after this person had left, Geoff asked me "Is it a boy or a girl?". There really was no way of telling by looks, this person really was completely androgynous, I really couldn't tell.

Geoff knew this, he kept on at it every day, "Come on! Is it a boy or a girl?", he liked the feeling of me not having an answer. About a week later Geoff was in the darkroom making plates when this person came down to empty bins, there was no one else around, I held my hand out to shake and said "Hi, I'm Andrew, by the way." She said "Hi, I'm Jane." and shook my hand. I said "I'm sorry but I'm a bit too busy to chat just now, but it's nice to know someone's name when you say G'day.", she said she agreed, we never spoke to each other again but it is nice to know who you're waving to and saying G'day to.

As soon as she left I shut down my press and ran into the darkroom, "Hey Geoff! I found out, it's a girl!". He asked me if I'm sure and I said "No, I'm not sure, I know! It's a girl!" He asked me how I know and I said "I asked her. She's a girl. She told me!" This panicked poor Geoff, he never thought of asking what it was that I'd actually asked but he spent the best part of that afternoon sneaking upstairs listening for tears or recriminations which were of course nonexistent.

This is the sort of thing that HR represents a filter for. That is the kind of commentary that you are supposed to unhear, but if you acknowledge it, then if it's as if you brought it to realization, and made it material, and now it is a liability. I know it sounds insane, because it is. What it is to be socially well-adjusted, is largely to know when something is not meant to be acknowledged.

 

[Levitat0r]

A phenomenon that is relatively well-known in certain tech pockets in the US. A few articles on the topic. As I have said in a few of my posts on other threads, I attribute my higher-than-normal functioning in my field as a result of my autistic logic, reasoning, independent, "out-of-the-box" thinking, and pattern recognition talents. I look at my colleagues, and frankly, what is isolating, is the fact that their brains seem to be incapable of operating on this level.

The Silicon Valley Syndrome, Autism and the Tech Industry

Is Silicon Valley a Breeding Ground for Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Are Geeky Couples More Likely to Have Kids with Autism?

Communities Built on Neurodiversity Shine

I used to pride myself on my technical talents, but what I found is that if nobody wants anything to do with you, you had might as well not have any. It's been a great motivator towards faith to find that my talents don't matter, but what does matter is connecting with others. Finding that nobody wants you puts you into a corner, and there's nowhere to go but up.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I used to pride myself on my technical talents, but what I found is that if nobody wants anything to do with you, you had might as well not have any. It's been a great motivator towards faith to find that my talents don't matter, but what does matter is connecting with others. Finding that nobody wants you puts you into a corner, and there's nowhere to go but up.

Definitely some truth to that. "You cannot help people who do not want it." This has been my frustration throughout my career. I watch intelligent, caring people, one after another, fumbling around with concepts that I can figure out in seconds. When I try to explain "the obvious", they are not in a mind to comprehend. They cannot wrap it around their heads that this is really easy for me.

I know that everyone has different intelligences, but with egos and hierarchies get in the way of open-mindedness and reason, there's no getting around that.

Having said that, I do have the respect as a mentor and educator, however, I am of the mind that it seems that, for some people, they want to figure things out for themselves (admirable) before simply asking me. However, having said that, I find that even those that do ask me are not able to comprehend the explanations (however seemingly simple) that I offer.

 

[Levitat0r]

Definitely some truth to that. "You cannot help people who do not want it." This has been my frustration throughout my career. I watch intelligent, caring people, one after another, fumbling around with concepts that I can figure out in seconds. When I try to explain "the obvious", they are not in a mind to comprehend. They cannot wrap it around their heads that this is really easy for me.

I know that everyone has different intelligences, but with egos and hierarchies get in the way of open-mindedness and reason, there's no getting around that.

Having said that, I do have the respect as a mentor and educator, however, I am of the mind that it seems that, for some people, they want to figure things out for themselves (admirable) before simply asking me. However, having said that, I find that even those that do ask me are not able to comprehend the explanations (however seemingly simple) that I offer.

People have highly variegated strengths and weaknesses, and of course the extreme case is savantism. But in more common terms, I think often when we find we have some talent then we have simply made some trade-off, and if someone else got a different trade, they will find us equally thick-headed about their own specialty. I'm certain that there are people who could dunk on me for all manner of things, either because they studied differently, or they wound up put together differently. Why am I not smart enough to play live music better? I've been shown examples. I know it can sound better. Is it because I'm dumb? From the perspective of someone more talented, yes. So, it's best to stay humble, because nobody is smart at everything, and it's better to feel privileged to contribute, than to view others as dense.

 

[Levitat0r]

People have highly variegated strengths and weaknesses, and of course the extreme case is savantism. But in more common terms, I think often when we find we have some talent then we have simply made some trade-off, and if someone else got a different trade, they will find us equally thick-headed about their own specialty. I'm certain that there are people who could dunk on me for all manner of things, either because they studied differently, or they wound up put together differently. Why am I not smart enough to play live music better? I've been shown examples. I know it can sound better. Is it because I'm dumb? From the perspective of someone more talented, yes. So, it's best to stay humble, because nobody is smart at everything, and it's better to feel privileged to contribute, than to view others as dense.

Though, to be fair, people with autism tend to get trashed, criticized, and belittled a lot, so I understand where the need to justify yourself comes from. I try to avoid the temptation to come down to the same level, at least now with more life experience behind me.

 

[Boogs]

This panicked poor Geoff, he never thought of asking what it was that I'd actually asked but he spent the best part of that afternoon sneaking upstairs listening for tears or recriminations which were of course nonexistent.

You're a cruel man!

 

[Outdated]

You're a cruel man!

You get what you give in this world.