Ahead of our Building Inclusivity roundtable on Neurodivergent working, ACE shares a series of tools and stories designed to help your business create more welcoming workplaces.

Especially curated by ACE, these have been created by subject matter experts or shared by expert organisations, and will provide your company with the practical and informative support necessary for you to take positive steps in this space, no matter the size of your business or resources available.

Commenting on the tools, Claire Clifford, director of people, skills and culture at ACE said: “Following our work with the LGBTQ+ community, we’re now exploring how members can support the neurodivergent community in the workplace. As with our previous theme, we’ve collected a range of resources to help your organisation on its inclusivity journey and the creation of a welcoming workplace for all.”

Guides

A good – and basic – starting point is the British Dyslexia Association’s engaging video exploring what neurodiversity means.

Designed for people professionals the CIPD guide on Neurodiversity at Work was published in 2018 and shares practical examples from organisations already appreciating the benefits of a neurodiverse workforce and actively supporting their staff.

Stories

Tom Edwards’ inspiring yet practical Ted talk shares how puzzle-building leadership models can benefit companies and those struggling to fit in. Tom shares his experiences of living with undiagnosed Asperger syndrome.

Rebecca Bettison of EIC member AECOM has shared her personal experiences of neurodivergent working in a blog on our site.

Tools

Grammarly is great for supporting written tasks by providing spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence formation.  It can be particularly useful when writing reports or emails as it provides an instant check, highlighting errors or suggestions for different words. Other services provide similar functions.

Read&Write has many features, including converting text to speech and vice versa which is useful for people who process information more effectively verbally. There are other services which provide similar functions.

Best-practice

Support is available to businesses looking to offer more support to current and future colleagues. Access to Work offers grants to pay for practical support, help for managing mental health at work, and funds for support at job interviews.

People professionals can complete the LinkedIn online course, Hiring and Supporting Neurodiversity in the Workplace.

Finally, business may want to sign-up to the Disability Confident employer scheme.

View more on Building Inclusivity at our dedicated campaign hub.