My brilliant brother was the first person in my family that realized he was neurodiverse - neuro-spicy as I like to call it. One day on our regular family FaceTime call with his daughters during COVID, he brought it up out of the blue. You know, just like all the neurodiverse people do.

“I think I’m autistic,” he said as plainly as he might recite a guideline for a housing code at work. “What makes you think that?” I asked. I didn’t know anyone who was autistic that functions like he does. The kid is so smart. He has been a civil engineer and a house planner for Habitat for Humanity. He has a wife and kids. I mean, I’ve known him for his entire life. How could I not know?

As he described the behaviors that led to his diagnosis, I felt a moment of panic. Mostly because we had a lot of those things in common. I always thought it was just because we spent a lot of time together, 24/7. Of course we were similar. Turns out, we’re both autistic.

Neurodivergence Is Different For Everyone

For my brother and I, that shows up when we get overwhelmed pretty easily with other people’s big emotions. We have very particular ways of doing things. We don’t handle rapid shifts and changes well. It looks a little different in everyone and you don’t necessarily need a doctor to tell you when you are. It’s all over Instagram and TikTok. I don’t recommend the WebMD approach (but I know we all do it).

Even today, with all the content online that adds humor to the symptoms of being neurodiverse, there’s still a stigma at work. I couldn’t find a lot of data on getting diagnosed as autistic later in life or the impact for neurodivergent job seekers and at work. In my sphere, I’m definitely seeing more people talking about their diagnoses. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much about what companies are changing if anything for neurodivergent job seekers.

I have to imagine it’s a little like coming out at work. It’s not like you just became gay. You’ve always been that way. Just now you’re talking about it and wondering how it will influence the way you live your life. Especially at work.

Job Postings For Neurodivergent Job Seekers

It also means if we want inclusive job postings, we should probably consider that this growing audience has different needs from the content you keep copying and pasting out of ChatGPT. The old way of writing job posts has always created barriers for entry. This group is certainly no exception to the rule.

Want to make your job post more inclusive of neurodivergent job seekers? Start here.

• Create more clarity so there’s a mutual understanding of what the job really is. For example, explain that things change every day instead of saying “fast-paced environment.”
• Keep your postings shorter to make sure readers' attention spans don't run out before your word count.
• Explain the details. Talk about the next step, timelines to be expected, and process.
• Clearly list the accommodations offered. Don’t make people ask for them. Just add a link that includes a list of what accommodations are available and how to request them.

Hell, that’d probably help everyone - neurodiverse or not.