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by Dan Neill, AXA Health
Yesterday was the closest I’ve been in many years to having a full blown autistic meltdown at work. “A meltdown is ‘an intense response to overwhelming situations’. It happens when someone becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation” It was nothing to do work or the people I work with. It was actually something that was supposed to be discussing Autism in the workplace. I listened to a webinar/podcast and fundamentally disagreed with the narrative that it portrayed . The stats, such as only 16% of autistics in full time employment , I can live with, they’re accepted and for the most part about right. What I found challenging was the overriding perception of negativity, the attitude of this is how you fit these people in. Some of myths were rightly dispelled only to be replaced by other things that are similar assumptions. I felt frustrated, angry and marginalised everything I’ve tried to achieve in helping people understand what being autistic is like felt for nothing. Rather than walk away from it all (which I was very close too) I regrouped and started to look for people who shared a similar view to me on this. I didn’t have to go far as over the last couple of years I’ve met and chatted with a number of people who are like me and have a similar viewpoint.
So narratives
The first thing we need to address is the use of the term spectrum it’s exactly that a spectrum, NOT a line that runs from high to low functioning. After yesterday I was anything but high functioning. Function is subjective to the individual and no one else. If we are talking about co-morbidities and learning difficulties then we need to talk about level of impairment rather than function, the two things are hugely different. In terms of starting to understand Autism the video below by Sara is a really good starting point to understanding the complexity and nuance of what being autistic is like.
The second is the perceptions around strengths and weakness. Yes there are areas where we find things challenging, more so than most. The other side of that is that because our brains work in a different way to most, we can have a fundamentally different perspective, use it. As an example lets take communication differences. Why do I need to use my eyes (to maintain eye contact) to prove that I’m listening to what you are saying. This is a social construct and has actually nothing to do with whether my ears are actually receiving the information you’re trying to impart. The reality being without looking at your face I’m probably more focused on what you have to say and how you are saying it, being eidetic I will probably be able to directly quote you years after you have forgotten about ever having said it. So when you see a job advert that says it requires “exceptional communication skills” what do you actually mean? Written, oral, presentation, analysis? From an autistic perspective we look at what you write and say. If you rely on the unwritten and implied rather than being able to directly articulate it, who are the ones with the communication difficulties? I wouldn’t say it’s the autistics. In terms of utilising the skills we have Helen Needham’s is recently diagnosed and a senior leader in a management consultancy and someone who I’ve been talking to a fair amount recently. Her speech at the house of commons highlights how taking a different perspective can provide a competitive advantage.
Hopefully this may have shown that taking a purely pathological and medical approach to autistics in the work place really doesn’t help move things forward. We need to be more creative and disruptive in how we look at and utilise skills in the workplace rather than focus on negative assumptions.
The overriding impression I was left with is that while we aren’t prefect here (simply because it’s going to take time), there is a genuine desire to understand and change is happening. The difference I’ve seen in AXA in the 2 years since I was diagnosed is huge. That’s why I think yesterday hit me so hard. We are a lot further forward in our vision and outlook than many other companies and organisations and that comes down to the fact that people are able to speak up if they want to and people do listen, they may not agree with everything I say, but we discuss it find common ground and build from there rather than just shutting down a debate. The support I’ve received from colleagues all over the business at all levels and all over the world has been a little overwhelming at times (in a really good way) and is what drives me to carry on. Innovation doesn’t just come from tech and the products we create, it comes from the people and how you view them and as far as I can see we’ve got that covered too.
D😊
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