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Why Neurodiversity Works for Creativity

In other words: Neurodiversity works For creativity, for innovation, for purpose - and for everyone Read the full article here: open.substack.com/pub/neurodiv...

open.substack.com

How making work work for neurodivergent brains can unlock creativity, innovation and problem-solving

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By creating accessible routes for exceptional minds, we don’t just help disabled and neurodivergent people into work We build organisations that are more creative, more empathetic, and better able to solve complex problems

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Another Rory Sutherland line I love: “Complementary talent is worth more than conformist talent.” That matters because neurodivergent people may not always be “well rounded” in the way workplaces expect But teams do not need everyone to be the same shape

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As Rory Sutherland puts it: “innovation happens at the extremes. You are more likely to come up with a great idea by focusing on one outlier than ten average users

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By modelling inclusion of those edge cases, we can develop the psychological safety to be different Not just for neurodivergent people - but for everyone

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The effect was bigger than three interns. As soon as the programme began, other people came forward to disclose their neurodivergent conditions They had been hiding it — and not getting the adjustments they needed to be their most productive

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The Employ Autism programme was pitched as an exchange of knowledge Autistic people got to experience office work and see whether the roles suited their skills and what adjustments would enable them Employers got to understand what accessibility really means inside their own organisation

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All three of us had struggled to fit into the usual recruitment process But all three of us were recognised for our talent and productivity once we were actually in the roles

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When I joined a media agency through an autism internship programme, three autistic interns came in for three months. All three of us were paid All three had access to training All three were offered full-time roles

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Supported internships and job trials are one answer By trialling someone’s ability at work, managers learn how to adapt to difference And candidates get the chance to demonstrate their actual talent

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What if we hacked recruitment systems in the same way? What if we stopped using hiring processes to test who can perform “normal” best — and started designing ways for people to show what they can actually do?

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This is the same problem-solving ability you see in disabled people who find workarounds in a world that simply wasn’t designed for them It is not a deficit It is a skill of necessity when system fail to adapt

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Creativity involves hacking Finding new routes through a problem Bringing together different strategies Trying lots of things until something sticks Because of our systemic thinking, hyperfocus and alternative perspectives, neurodivergent people can be natural hackers

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Because autistic people are often too “different” for systems designed around neurotypical people In interviews, social and communication style matter more to a hiring manager’s impression than the actual ability to do the job

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Autistic people can have unique analytical cognitive styles: systems thinking, attention to detail, hyperfocus, visual problem-solving, and ability to spot inefficiencies These are exactly the kinds of skills organisations need So why are autistic people still disproportionately underemployed?

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Recruitment software promises to take the pain out of hiring But what if it is also removing a whole pool of talent? If your process rewards the “standard” interview, the “standard” career path and the “standard” communication style, it will filter out people whose strengths show up differently

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The creative and tech industries have spent decades building a brave new world online But this new world has not created the utopian vision of accessibility hoped for Bureaucracy continues to reward conformity, and new systems further solidify old obstacles

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4/ There is a huge pool of untapped talent Disabled and neurodivergent people are often natural problem-solvers, because everyday life is full of obstacles to overcome And yet too many are excluded from inflexible workplaces

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3/ Diversity of thought and experience — the differences between us all — is essential to creating excellent work We need disagreement to create and innovate But we also need psychological safety, so that people can disagree without fear

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Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

The old model of work asked people to mould themselves to fit into a company: to trim the eccentricities that make them who they are, for a better "cultural fit" But conformist organisations aren’t just stifling and boring They don’t innovate

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Reposted by Amy Walker

The good news: the infrastructure already exists Coaching, supported internships, peer support, Access to Work — these work, at smaller scale, RIGHT NOW We have the evidence. What is missing is the commitment to make support accessible to everyone who needs it

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

And yet the proposed response is to make financial support harder to access — before any of the alternatives Fonagy calls for are in place Cutting support without replacing it isn't reform - it's removal

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

This systemic failure impacts a huge swathe of society 23% of adults in England now meet criteria for a common mental health condition. 15–20% of people are neurodivergent And these groups have significant overlap

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

The gap between need and support is ever widening Professor Fonagy has called for earlier intervention, less dependent on diagnosis, delivered in workplaces and communities Not longer waiting lists or tighter PIP thresholds

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

The Fonagy interim report — the UK government's independent review into autism, ADHD and mental health — is clear: Distress is REAL, it's more impairing than ever, and the systems designed to respond aren't working That doesn't create a case for cutting support

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Neurodiversity Works @neurodiversity.works · 06/04/2026

The headlines have talked about "overdiagnosis" of neurodivergent and mental health conditions This is a distraction from the story the UK Gov's interm review actually tells Here's what the government's own report actually says — and what it means for neurodivergent people 🧵

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Reposted by Amy Walker

Steven Kapp @drstevenkapp.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Neurodiversity movement: autism is difference *&*disability. 1st Autism Acceptance Day for this paper showing strengths eg enhanced auditory perception can contribute to challenges eg speech divergence. *Holistic classification* needed for assessment, support. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The Strengths of Speech Divergence in Autistic People: Implications for Assessment and Support

This narrative review analyzes the visual and auditory advantages that autistic people with speech divergence (A-SD) may have compared with autistic people without speech divergence (A-NoSD) or non-a...

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Ultimately the goal should be ensuring that people with real developmental and support needs can access help when they need it Is constantly reappraising labels the way to do it, for either of the groups Uta Frith identifies?

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The biggest empirical support for the spectrum must be how highly heritable autism is We see children with high support needs born to parents with autistic traits - maybe they're in the "broad phenotype", but where do we draw the boundary if not by unusal level of support needs?

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As for sarcasm / fluency of conversation, presentation varies contextually Someone may appear socially fluent at work or in structured conversations, yet struggle in unstructured social situations Even in that more stereotypically autistic group there's huge heterogeneity

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I take issue with there being no 'scientific evidence' for ear defenders or masking We don't have empirical backing for many, many things in psychology but absence of evidence is no reason to dispense with things that seem to be working or have explanatory power

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Uta Frith recognises that many of the people diagnosed later are not just “quirky” or “over-sensitive”. They may have dropped out of school or significant mental health difficulties These are real support needs, regardless of how closely someone fits a diagnostic construct

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But it's VERY clear how this discussion will be interpreted publicly and politically The headline becomes: “Most 'Autistic people' aren’t really autistic - they're special snowflakes, who want special treatment / benefits / extra time on exams to get an unfair advantage"

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There is an obviously a huge systemic problem in autism diagnosis Access to support often depends on getting a formal label rather than identifying needs directly A needs-based approach would make a lot of sense here, and that is what many neurodiversity advocates argue for

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Bound to be a lot of discussion today off the back of Uta Frith questioning whether the autism spectrum has become too broad As someone who would surely be in the second "hypersensitive" (although I'm actually pretty hypo-sensitive!) group, I have some thoughts..

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If you're about that too, let's connect!

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Progress on #accessibility at work is far too slow and a major detriment to productivity, innovation and health outcomes I want to do anything in my power to drive change towards #disability friendly opportunities Including helping people create their own opportunities - we can't wait for business

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This has always been important but it feels like we're at a critical point in the UK, with #disability #welfare policy under scrutiny by the new Gov Getting people into good jobs and making the most of their potential necessitates employers creating #accessible and #inclusive workplaces and jobs

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I'm particularly focussed on #disability and #neuroinclusion at work I started a campaign called @neurodiversity.works before gaining full time employment, to advocate for greater access to #accessible opportunities, including specialist #autism and #neurodiversity internships

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Getting used to Bluesky - I guess replies don't show up on our main profile feed so let me repost...

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If you're about that too, let's connect!

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