‘As a company, we want to take neurodivergent employees into account… but they don’t tell us anything about their diagnoses!’
This is a common observation during lectures or workshops. HR managers and team leads increasingly understand the importance of neuro-inclusive approaches and processes, but sometimes stumble over the fact that their employees do not disclose their diagnoses.
We need to clarify two things here.
Being neurodivergent is not the same as having a diagnosis
Whether you identify as neurodivergent is up to you. For example, do you experience daily challenges because your work environment does not match how your brain or nervous system works? Then you can say that you are neurodivergent.
This also applies to many people who identify as introverts, highly sensitive individuals, gifted people who often feel misunderstood, etc.
Expecting every neurodivergent employee to share their diagnosis is like asking every road user to show their driving licence, even if they are pedestrians, cyclists or public transport users without a car.
Sharing a diagnosis is not a trivial matter
There is still a lot of stigma and prejudice surrounding these “labels”, and many people have experienced discrimination because of being labelled as having autism or ADHD.
It is therefore not surprising that someone is not open about this during an evaluation interview, let alone during a job interview. This first requires a certain psychological safety; the confidence that the (HR) manager has your best interests at heart.
If someone does share a diagnosis, be wary of the well-known lists or graphs of challenges and strengths per diagnosis. Every person is unique. Moreover, these lists do not take intersectionality into account (for example, someone may have multiple labels, which creates a unique dynamic).
My advice
Don’t be angry (or disappointed) if someone doesn’t share a diagnosis. Ultimately, it’s always about each person’s individual needs and strengths, neurodivergent or not.
That’s what you work on as a team: how can we improve our processes, what reasonable adjustments can help, and what is needed to make better use of strengths?
After reading this article, would you like to invest in neurodiversity and neuroinclusion within your company?
Dietrich is a software engineering expert turned neurodiversity consultant and trainer. He learnt the power of psychological safety and limiting cognitive load while leading software development teams, gradually discovering the value for his own ADHD and autistic brain. Today, he helps leaders and HR professionals to let their teams thrive with neurodiversity. More about Dietrich.