Written by Susan Fitzell

The difficult conversation we need to have before diving into neurodiversity in the workplace

We understand that the reason businesses exist is to make money. So naturally, an employer wants people who can best contribute to that goal. From the start of the industrial revolution, the ideal employee had no “hindrances” in helping the company meet its goals. As such, types of work were divided along gender lines. The striation is evident even today. Thankfully, the needs of society in the 1700s are not the needs of today. Further, current issues need innovative, out-of-the-box solutions, so a cookie-cutter “ideal” doesn’t have to exist for many roles.

Written by Susan Fitzell

How do you overcome unconscious bias when interviewing to hire a neurodiverse team?
Difficulty recruiting and hiring neurodiverse talent is a common scenario. It happens because hiring practices favor neurotypical people. A talk of mine about the unconscious bias surrounding neurodivergence was recently nominated for a Virtual Speaker’s Hall of Fame Award. It got me thinking a bit more about how unconscious bias keeps neurodiverse people from being hired, even when a company is motivated to employ neurodiverse people.

What Is Unconscious Bias?
Unconscious bias is preconceived notions about what people may be like based on a single attribute. It is often made up of stereotypes, experiences, and things we have heard. Even if we consider ourselves open-minded, we can still have unconscious bias.

Written by Susan Fitzell

32+ apps to improve teaching and accelerate learning for school and career
Technology has revolutionized the way we approach learning. When I think back to my schooling and how I struggled through lectures and fell asleep on my textbooks trying to cram for my exams, I am a little jealous of the technology college kids have at their fingertips today. But mostly, I am excited for the opportunities it presents for different learning preferences and the neurodiverse to learn effectively.

Recently, I had the honor of being a guest on Shock Your Potential, hosted by Michael Sherlock. We discussed ways to learn faster to advance your career. In our conversation, I presented some ways to hack your brain to help you take in and retain information more effectively. And each of these methods has a corresponding app that you can download — often for free — to help you accelerate learning.

Written by Susan Fitzell

There’s one approach to neurodiverse hiring that has not received much notice in the United States: apprenticeships. Data from the United Kingdom (UK)(HM Government, 2020), where renewed interest in apprenticeships has spurred relevant research, indicates that 89% of employers said apprenticeships helped companies develop skills pertinent to their organization. Over 74% of employers said apprenticeships helped them improve productivity and the quality of their product or service.

I remember a time when teens who weren’t into academics and preferred to work with their hands had the option of becoming an apprentice. Starting in secondary school or after graduation, they worked side-by-side with a plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. They learned the trade hands-on. These opportunities are almost non-existent today. Now, they must (usually) go to a tech school. More school!

Written by Susan Fitzell

For all the acceptance that neurodivergence has been receiving, including workplace initiatives to recruit and train neurodivergent talent, we still have a long way to go to attain equity and full inclusion. Stereotypes still impact hiring patterns. Hiring practices are standardized around these stereotypes.

I am guilty of espousing the idea that neurodiversity is a competitive advantage. I’ve quoted corporate studies confirming the belief that having neurodiverse teams fuels innovation.

Written by Susan Fitzell

Much of my work is helping professionals see that they’re not “bad at learning”; they’re simply trying to learn in a way that doesn’t work for their brains. While my work naturally helps many neurodivergent people, it applies to neurotypical people with different learning styles.

One of the things I wish I could put on billboards everywhere is that people need to stop fighting the way their brain works and instead lean into it. If you learn in a way that works best for your brain, you can process much more information faster. When I joined Michael Sherlock on her podcast, we discussed helpful tech tools for learning and how to hack your brain to learn more quickly. Here are some of my favorite brain hacks from that conversation.

Written by Susan Fitzell

Innovation and creativity are the lifeblood of business. To get to both of those, you need different perspectives and ways of thinking. That is why companies hire consultants and agencies.

A more effective way for businesses to gain different perspectives and divergent thinking is to hire a diverse team. Neurodiversity is just as important as other forms of diversity. A neurodiverse person’s brain is wired differently. They experience the world differently than neurotypical people and often have entirely different perspectives.

Written by Susan Fitzell

How the Law Supports a Neurodiverse Workplace

There are countless reasons why it’s a good idea to create more neurodivergent-friendly workplaces. Research has proven that a neurodiverse workforce increases productivity and gives businesses a creative cutting edge by harnessing the entire spectrum of human thought processing.