written by Cara-Lea Suttie - Student and Graduate Employment - Neurodiverse Peer
The workplace can be a challenging place for everyone, but for people who are neurodiverse, there can be distinct and special challenges that neurotypical people don’t face. In Canada, neurodiversity is considered to be a disability, which means neurodiverse people are covered by the Employment Equity Act. If you are able, I would highly recommend reading up on what this means for neurodivergent folks. However, if it falls into the tl;dr category for you, let me sum it up - employers are expected to make reasonable efforts to remove barriers and make accommodations for employees with disabilities if it won’t cause undue hardship for the employer. Again, if it is possible, I truly encourage you to research on your own, as there are nuances involved.
With that said, let’s talk about how to ask for accommodations you need.
Step one: Assess Your Needs
Your employer can’t know what will work for you. Every neurodiverse person is different, even when dealing with a similar type of neurodiversity. So, it is important for you to know what challenges you are facing.
Some of the common areas where neurodiverse people can experience challenges are:
- Communication. Some neurodiverse people struggle with written communication, while some struggle with verbal communication.
- Organization. Staying organized with varying tasks can be a challenge for some neurodiverse people.
- Environment. Many neurodiverse people find certain environments to be too overstimulating, or sometimes not stimulating enough.
Step two: Research Possible Accommodations
While every neurodiverse person is different and will have a different combination of needs, there are definitely other neurodiverse folks out there with similar challenges – and they have figured out accommodations to make work work. That means it is time to break out your Google-Fu and start finding options that might work for you.
Some commonly used accommodations are:
Noise-cancelling headphones or a quiet workspace to help manage sensory issues
Apps to help with organization
Extra time for tasks that may be more challenging
A quiet or low-stimulus area for breaks to help reduce overwhelm
Alternative communication methods, based on what the individual finds most effective
Step 3: Plan Your Request
Once you have assessed your needs and researched some viable accommodations, plan out what you are going to ask for. The more detailed you can get, the better. This can be any format that works well for you – a word document or a spreadsheet are common. Express what the need is, what the possible accommodations are and why you believe they would work for you.
Here’s a sample of one way you could structure this:
| Challenge: | I get overstimulated when the office gets very loud and I am unable to perform my tasks because of the overstimulation. |
| Accommodation: | I would like a pair of Loop Ear Plugs as they lower ambient noise but I can still hear people speaking to me and have conversations. |
| Outcome: | This will allow me to continue to focus and work through times when the office gets too loud for me, while not cutting my ability to continue to communicate as needed. |
You will also want to gather any supporting documents you have – these can include medical records if you are choosing to disclose your diagnosis. You are not legally required to disclose the nature of your disability, so this is something that you will need to use your own discretion and level of comfort to decide. There are advantages and disadvantages to disclosing, so consider carefully. McMaster University has created a great resource around this that can be found here: Disclosing Your Disability.
Step 4: Book An Appointment With HR and/or Your Supervisor
Now that you have created your plan, it is time to communicate your needs with your HR department and/or supervisor. When you meet with them, you will offer your documentation and your requests, but you will also need to be willing to be flexible and open to negotiation. Remember that the goal is to give you the opportunity to do your job to the best of your ability, so your employer should want to support you but they will also have to look at what is feasible for the company you work for.
Step 5: Keep The Lines Of Communication Open
Once your accommodations have been implemented, keep the lines of communication with HR and/or your supervisor open. Give feedback on how the accommodations are working and if you hit any snags or additional challenges, make sure to communicate that so you can re-negotiate or try something different.
It is important to remember in this process that it is ok for you to feel unsure, or nervous. However, if you approach it from a perspective of wanting to perform your job to the best of your ability – you will be asking from a place of doing the right thing for your employer and your employer should respond well. Even if they don’t, remember that it is their legal responsibility to meet your needs as long as it doesn’t cause undue hardship – so you are well within your rights to ask for the support you need to be an effective employee.
