Day 6: Supports and accommodations for autistic staff

Today’s topic is about supports – what accommodations can a manager provide to help autistic staff?

Typically, they involve:

• Clear communication about policies and work – clearly explain what work policies with catch names mean and give explicit instructions about a person’s work. An “open door” policy might confuse some people and make them think they have to leave their door open all the time, and giving someone vague instructions that a neuro-typical person might easily understand could cause others to do the right task the wrong way
• Providing social cues or clues – some people may not understand the social environment of the neuro-typicals and may need a little help getting on in such an environment or may need to avoid it completely. On the flip side, your neuro-typical staff may need to understand that a co-worker’s reluctance to participate in social activities does not mean they are a bad team player.
• Altering the physical environment to remove irritants – autistic people might need fluorescent lighting changed, noise reduced, or distractions removed. They may also need to wear noise-cancelling headgear and their colleagues may need to learn to accept that and work with it.
• Giving notice of change – some autistic people like regularity and may need careful and advance warning of change – such as in a schedule – and the manager may need to explain why the change is happening – e.g., to explain that it is not a fault of the employee, or what change is attempting to produce.
• Providing short breaks and flexible work hours – autistic people need time to relax, work off stress, or stim. Fellow staff need to understand this and allow for it during stressful work times. Specialisterne taught this to our staff in the autism hiring pilot, and also taught the new recruits to take time each day to have a walk or relax in some personal way.
• Developing an understanding of autistic behavior – autistic people may prefer to be alone, may not look you in the eye, may perseverate on certain topics, or may stim by getting up in a meeting and walking around the room. Training your neuro-typical staff to tolerate, expect and accept this behavior helps.

These points are adapted from Marcia Scheiner’s “An Employer’s Guide to Managing Professionals on the Autism Spectrum”, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017.

What I find ironic about them is that, barring only a few things I listed, these are accommodations all employees would enjoy, and managers can all easily implement. Who doesn’t want clear instructions on their work? Advice on how to deal with one another, or insight into why their fellow staff are aloof? A comfortable physical workspace? Advance notice of change? Breaks – which are allowed by labor law?