Five Ways Employers Can Better Accommodate Autistic Employees

Many Autistic people are unemployed or underemployed.  I think the reason for this is because many potential employers are not accepting and accommodating enough for them.  Here are five ways employers can better accommodate Autistic employees:

1. Do not force your employee to make eye contact with others.

 Many Autistic people have trouble making eye contact when talking to other people because we cannot process both auditory and visual stimuli at the same time.  It is very uncomfortable for us to look at someone while talking to them because the combination of auditory stimuli (what the person is saying to us) and visual stimuli (looking at the person who we are conversating with) is often overwhelming for us.  It does not mean we are not listening to you when we do not look at you.  We just have a different way of processing information inside our minds.

2. Allow extra time for your employee to respond to you.

Because an Autistic person may process information a little differently than a neurotypical (non-Autistic) person would, it may take us longer to figure out what you're saying to us.  Also, many Autistic people use other forms of commucation besides verbal words, such as iPads, letter boards, writing, and picture boards, so it may take longer for them to respond to you.

3. Allow your employee to stim.

For those of you who are not familiar with stimming, it's a type of coping mechanism that occurs naturally in many Autistic people.  Many of us stim to regulate our moods, or as a response to stimuli around us.  Some examples of stimmming mechanisms include body-rocking, hand-flapping, jumping, etc.  Fidgeting with objects can also count as stimming.  Usually, stimming is harmless to the person doing the stimming, and the people around them, so please allow us to use our coping mechanisms.

4. Allow your employees to take breaks.

Autistic people can become "burned-out" very easily, which may cause physical and emotional distress and may effect our job performance.  To avoid employee burnout, allow us to take breaks when we need them.  For example, allow us to have "stim breaks" when we need them to allow us to stim freely when we need to.

5. Give clear, precise instructions about your employee's task to them.

Many Autistic people need very detailed instructions on how to do our jobs, and many of us need them in steps.  We cannot process too much information at once.  It may be overwhelming for us.  Some Autistics prefer verbal instruction, while others, like myself prefer visual instructions, such as pictures or large-print text.  If you are not sure what your employee prefers as far as what type of instructions they prefer, ask them.
 
In conclusion, Autistic people are good workers and we can work hard and to the best of our ability given the right accomodations.  I firmly believe that if more employees took the time to gove Autistic people these accommodations, Autistic people will have much more success in the workforce.

For more information about Autism, go to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's website.