There is often lots of learning (and unlearning) to be done when it comes to understanding neurodivergent conditions.

For instance, many of the standard parenting guidelines simply don’t apply to neurodivergent children, meaning parents often have to find their own unique ways of doing things. This can mean re-writing the rulebook to find an approach that works for each individual child and family.

Having the courage to take a personalised approach, even if it means going against expectations, can be a great blueprint for helping the working world to become more neuroinclusive.

In our latest episode of ‘Autism: In conversation with auticon’, we talk to some incredible parents who are definitely blazing a trail when it comes to advocating for their neurodivergent children, paving the way for a better future for all.

This Autism Acceptance Month, auticon is talking about the need to better educate people about autism and neurodivergence.

It is thought that 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent but with the number of people receiving a diagnosis of ADHD skyrocketing, and autism assessment services seeing unprecedented figures, it is thought that the figure of 15-20% of the global population is probably conservative.

If we are ever going to pave the way for our neurodivergent community to thrive, education is at the heart of that process.

But how do we tackle years of lack of awareness and understanding to really break through and make meaningful change?

We invited author, illustrator and advocate, Eliza Fricker, Hayley Hamilton, Neuroinclusion Coach at auticon and Eden West, Associate Artist at Access All Areas to join Carrie Grant MBE to discuss how best to educate people about neurodivergence.

One of the things we are really passionate about is shining a light on best practices, hopefully giving inspiration to others who might want to do more to make the workplace a more inclusive place for neurodivergent people. Sometimes when people from the neurodivergent community request accommodations to be made they can be met with a rejection because ‘if an exception is made for one person, it can open up the floodgates to other people requesting the same thing’. But, is that such a bad thing? Are these rigid ways of working outdated and harmful, not only the person but the business as a whole? In this episode Carrie Grant MBE discusses the benefits of neuroinclusion with: Charlotte Valeur, Chair of the Institute of Neurodiversity Kirsty Cook, Global Director of Neuroinclusion Services at auticon Matt Elliott, Chief People Officer at Bank of Ireland