She adds: “Disclosure implies something has been hidden and you have to reveal this to others, and we don't have this same expectation for other conditions.
"Furthermore, not everyone will come with a diagnosis or even know they have X or Y [condition].”
Kirby says that the last stage of creating accessibility within an organisation is to have transparent processes and policies – "if somebody needs to have help and support, they know where to go, what the pathways to having that are, and managers need to know that as well.
"In some organisations there are neurodiversity champions or there are employee resource groups where there are individuals with more knowledge about processes for support and can signpost people to what is available internally in that organisation and this can be very helpful."
This aspect of creating accessibility helps to retain neurodiverse staff, and is recognised widely as an increasingly vital area to develop.
Community
Accessibility is largely about building community amongst neurodiverse peers so that they can support one another and encouraging them to draw from their lived experience to help improve understanding among other neurotypical colleagues.
Hamilton describes how at Zurich there is an “Accessibility and Inclusion Network, an employee resource group set up to promote the inclusion of employees with disabilities and mental health challenges and to better understand their needs so that we can take practical action to meet them. Within that we’ve a group that focuses expressly on neurodiversity.”
Mercer has an Allyship Programme for allies who are outside of the neurodiverse community.
Likewise at Aviva, colleagues are encouraged to ally with and for each other.
Briggs says: “It’s important to have senior role models. Most senior execs are not diverse. It's about those outside of the communities standing up, being an ally and advocating for them. Getting them to act, not just talk. For example, Aviva Investors’ record of voting against non-diverse boards.”
He describes how Aviva has recently completed a reverse mentoring programme with senior leaders and members of our ability community, “so they can share their experiences of being neurodivergent in the workplace.” All of these programmes apply to other diversity groups as well, such as race, gender, LGBTQ and disability.
Another path that companies can take towards better supporting neurodiversity in the workplace is to join Gain.
Zurich is a founding member of Gain, which Hamilton says he firmly believes “is a force for good here, bringing together and sharing insight from a range of lived experiences. There’s a broad and influential network, a wide and growing range of resources and it runs collaborative cross-industry events that encourages those attending to share ideas and experiences.”
