Karla L. Miller at WP:
While the topic of disabilities often brings to mind visible markers — wheelchairs, guide dogs, sign language — many health conditions aren’t as readily apparent. It’s especially difficult to detect the barriers that prevent neurodivergent adults — those with attention deficit, autism, dyslexia, or other neurological differences — from accessing fulfilling full-time employment.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2.2 percent of adults are on the autism spectrum, although the condition often goes undiagnosed, particularly in women. Joseph Riddle, director of Neurodiversity in the Workplace, estimates that “fewer than 1 in 6 neurodivergent job seekers are employed full-time at the level they should be.”
When people do land full-time jobs, they often encounter internal barriers that make it difficult to keep those jobs. “Every workplace has what’s called a ‘hidden curriculum,’ ” says Riddle — an implicit set of assumptions and expectations about how people behave and communicate that can be difficult for neurodivergent thinkers to navigate.
