Thread by @Autism_R_and_D

A #thread for #AutismAcceptanceWeek
#AutismAcceptanceMonth
Things #employers need to know, from a personal, very late diagnosed, #ActuallyAutistic perspective, with insights from career roles in organisational development and employment support.
#autism
#careers
#employment
1/

The first thing to consider is how to involve existing #autistic #employees.
These are the people with lived experience of being autistic in your workplaces.
How can you make it safe for them to share their experiences?
How can you value their expertise?
Why does this matter?
2/

Autistic people are used to being sidelined and marginalised, and being spoken over and ignored.
If employers are serious about #autism #inclusion in the workplace they need to fix this.
Some autistic employees may not even have disclosed for fear of stigma or discrimination.
3/

My first suggestion is to resource a #network for #autistic #employees so they can give and receive peer support.
This will also enable them to provide collective feedback on their experiences.
If some staff are comfortable being openly autistic, it will help others too.
4/

Research conducted recently indicates that general autism training on its own is not very effective in promoting autism acceptance.
The training provided needs to be tailored to the needs of individual autistic employees, and actually involve them (if that is what they wish).
5/

We need to shift the power balance if we’re going to prevent bullying and discrimination.
This paper by @MelRomualdez is particularly relevant - all employers should read it:
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…
#HR
#employment
#AutismAwareness
#AutismAcceptanceWeek
#AutismAcceptanceMonth
6/

This paper describes how disclosure can be: “an expression of autistic community and identity.” Participants spoke about “how their autistic identity was important to them, and how they felt a sense of obligation to disclose in order to pave the way for other autistic people.”
7/

But we can only pave the way for other people if the difficulties we encounter are known about and properly addressed.
Collective, or anonymous, ways of raising concerns (networks / surveys) can help to mitigate against adverse consequences for individual #autistic #employees
8/

Something employers mustn’t ignore is that autistic employees are more likely to experience bullying and abuse.
Individual autistic people who are subjected to this repeatedly risk being seen as the problem, instead of the #bullying culture in the organisation being addressed.
9/

There are structural mechanisms that can help to prevent #bullying and #abuse
Induction training for staff explicitly addressing unacceptable behaviours.
360 degree appraisal for managers.
Confidential staff surveys.
Exit interviews offered to all staff who choose to leave.
10/

My background in criminal justice means I’m well aware of how inadequate investigations of bullying and abuse sometimes are.
When I worked in regional government we ran training exercises for local government managers so they could develop appropriate knowledge and skills.
11/

For employers to show a real commitment to the employment and retention of autistic employees it’s not enough to focus on recruitment, and on-boarding.
Every aspect of employment from end to end of the process, has to be considered, and all policies and procedures reviewed.
12/

Prevention and early identification of concerns is the best way of supporting autistic employees to succeed.
Tokenistic and superficial interventions won’t bring about lasting change.
Training is only part of the solution.
There’s so much more work to be done alongside this.
13/

But don’t be daunted there is plenty of help available.
Seek to involve existing autistic employees, with appropriate support and remuneration.
Draw on external autistic expertise.
But please don’t ignore #autism #acceptance and #inclusion, until you’re facing a problem.
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