Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood: Social Barriers to Inclusive Neurodiverse Workplaces

This symposium explores the social barriers to creating inclusive neurodiverse workplaces and the challenge of overcoming them. Neurodiversity refers to the inclusion of neurodivergent people, those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other related neurodevelopmental conditions, in neurotypical spaces. Although neurodivergent employees offer many desirable skills and abilities, the social difficulties associated with these conditions often stand between neurodivergent applicants and long-term employment. We argue that resolvable misunderstandings drive these social difficulties and that knowledge of the origins of these misunderstandings is essential to creating inclusive neurodiverse workplaces. The papers in this symposium explore these misunderstandings in two theoretical and three empirical papers, which draw on qualitative and quantitative data collected using open-ended surveys, experiments, and a case study conducted in the field. Neurodiversity Exclusion in Organizations: A Neurotypical Stigmatizing Perspective Author: Dana L. Ott; U. of Otago Author: Emily Russo; Autism Spectrum Australia, Aspect Author: Miriam Moeller; U. of Queensland Are Image Norms Creating Misfits in the Workplace? Career Aspirations of Neurodivergent Individuals Author: Amy Hurley-Hanson; Chapman U. Author: Cristina Marie Giannantonio; Chapman U. Author: Amy Jane Griffiths; Chapman U. Not as Simple as Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes: Understanding Autistic Empathy at Work Author: Maira Elize Ezerins; U. of Arkansas, Fayetteville Author: Lauren Simon; U. of Arkansas Author: Elizabeth Follmer; U. of Washington, Bothell Author: Timothy J. Vogus; Vanderbilt U. Naming and Framing: How Self-Disclosure and Information about Autism Affect Employee Selection Author: Debra R. Comer; Hofstra U. Author: Janet A. Lenaghan; Hofstra U. Author: Andrea Pittarello; Hofstra U. Author: Daphna Motro; Hofstra U. What Dandelions Teach Us about Daisies: Autism, Allyship, and Inclusive Socialization Author: Nikki Drader; U. of North Texas Author: Virginie Lopez Kidwell; U. of North Texas