Neurodiversity Works
Ross McQuarrie, Into Work
So, Into Work’s mission is to close the employment gap for neurodivergent people. The term neurodiversity was first coined in 1997 by an Australian sociologist named Judy Singer. And the term neuro derived from neuroscience, diversity specifically chosen by Ms. Singer, because of the political connotations and the fact that it would garner some attention. It acknowledges that individuals think and behave differently and respond in unique ways. Importantly, it therefore rejects the idea that everybody thinks, behaves, and learns in the same way. You’ll see some of the most common and less well-known conditions and diagnoses here. I know it can be really easy to get overwhelmed when looking at a list such as that, trying to get to grips with what the subject matter is. I know I certainly was, but that’s where Into Work came in.
So, why hire neurodivergent people? How do we help them harness our superpower? Things like being highly productive and creative and strategic thinkers. And crucially, we’re looking for that diversity of thought. And I know all of us can benefit from a different voice in the room at times. Into Work encourages and celebrates these differences, and these five pillars are a direct result of the feedback that people that have been through our services have provided. Lived experience ultimately means that we’ve walked the walk. And as you can see, a number of our staff and board members are either identified neurodivergent or disabled. This means that all of our practices and processes are identified by neurodivergent people for neurodivergent people.
So, how do we do what we do? Being from a recruitment background, I’m biased, obviously. Hiring the right staff is fundamental. The outcomes of the people that use our services are almost entirely linked to the quality of the people that we’ve got. It’s hugely important that we as employers make our organizations and processes as accessible as they can be. Into Work live and breathe this. Without accessibility, you can have the most bells and whistles, excuse me, processes, but they’ll struggle to deliver without accessibility. Trauma-informed practice was a phrase I’d never heard prior to my involvement with Into Work, but when you think about it, who better to represent you as a neurodivergent person than someone that knows exactly the challenges that you might face in the job market? The route into work is different for different people.
One of the services that we deem essential for people is to help the job seekers understand their rights to benefits, and also what going into work might impact their benefits. And you’ll see some of Michael’s story here. We’ve all heard of the political football about getting people off benefits and into work. It’s critical that people like Michael get the access to the right advice and the support, so that they’re not worse off by getting into work. Some of the application forms for benefits can be up to 80 pages long. That’s eight zero. Imagine anxiety that that might induce in a neurodivergent person. Sorry, wrong side again.
This is Gary, one of our colleagues at Into Work. Of the 480 assessments that you saw referred to in the previous slide, Gary actually personally undertook 140 of those. Gary’s visual impairment is so severe that he’s registered as blind. And if that’s not a neurodivergent superpower, I don’t know what is. Support Works is our service for job seekers, basically about helping them build confidence and their awareness with regards to employment life cycle. The courses cover things like helping them to identify their strengths and the types of roles they’ll thrive in, as well as what adjustments can be requested and their level of awareness, regards their options as a job seeker.
And this sample size in the last two slides of the 17 areas that were tested and evaluated, we saw improvements in every single one. Autism Works and Neurodiversity Works are our services for employers. We essentially work with you utilizing every lived experience to help tailor and provide training with the tools and insight that’s required. The training is geared towards things like what makes a work environment more inclusive, working alongside and managing neurodivergent people, how to offer them a job, and how to interact with them on that type of subject matter. In the last two slides, the sample size of 296 people that were evaluated post-training, all of them reported increased knowledge and awareness of neurodivergence as a subject matter. Put simply, they’re now better equipped to both hire and employ neurodivergent people.
So, what can we as employers do? We might make it as fair and transparent as possible, because that will ultimately be the best out of neurodivergent people. This might include flexible working patterns, clear working instructions for needs assessments in the workplace, or creating a neurodivergent resources group in your business. And some of the methods to ensure your hiring process is as friendly as it can be adhere. The benefits of hiring neurodivergent people are evident, and so let’s help us all close the employment gap for them.
Watch Ross deliver his session over on Vimeo >>>> DisruptHR Glasgow 6.0 – June 19 2025 on Vimeo
