Most workplaces don't have a neurodiversity problem — they have a design problem. The same processes that filter out neurodivergent candidates also burn out the neurodivergent employees who slipped through. This lesson focuses on the three highest-leverage interventions: hiring, onboarding, and retention.
Most of the damage happens before the interview.
New employees who can't decode unspoken norms — most neurodivergent hires, plus most early-career hires of any neurotype — fail at onboarding because the actual rules are never written down. Write them down. Decision-making norms, meeting norms, who-owns-what, response-time expectations, how disagreement happens. A two-page 'how we work' document beats six weeks of guessing.
These are not exotic. They retain people.
A hiring manager rewrites a 'rockstar engineer' post into plain language listing what the role actually requires. Applications double; interview-to-offer ratio improves.
Takeaway: Vague job posts cost you candidates you wanted.
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I'm a learner. Here is a job post: ____. Identify five neurodivergent-unfriendly patterns and rewrite the most damaging two.
Open in CompanionI'm a learner. Help me draft a one-page 'how we work' document for a 6-person team covering decisions, meetings, ownership, and response-time norms.
Open in CompanionI'm a learner. Help me prepare for a disclosure conversation with my manager. Suggest a script, the specific asks I should bring, and the outcomes I should expect.
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