In this recorded conversation, two former HR professionals—one with a background in workplace and online learning accessibility and the other a neurodiversity coach, writer, and former HR leader—examine the systemic shortcomings that make many workplaces inaccessible to people with disabilities and neurodivergent employees. They highlight the lack of proactive accommodations, the tokenistic presence of employee resource groups (ERGs) and employee assistance programs (EAPs) that fail to address neurodivergent needs, and the way essential learning and onboarding materials (often dense PDFs) are delivered in formats that do not consider diverse communication and processing styles. The speakers argue that without intentional, accessible communication and material design, employees are forced to navigate barriers that can feel discriminatory. They call for organizations to adopt more inclusive practices, such as providing information in multiple accessible formats and establishing genuine support structures for neurodivergent staff, to break down silos and reduce the feeling of being targeted or excluded.
Chapters
My background is in accessibility for workplaces and online learning. And Jen here, my, my colleague in HR, has some great HR experiences, and we'd like to share a conversation about accessibility in the workplace.
For those of you listening, I'm a writer, I am a neurodiversity coach, and I'm also a former HR leader turned neurodivergence advocate, which Britne Jenke and I have in common. So I've spent some time across industries in manufacturing, higher education, logistics and supply chain, and I've really seen firsthand how inaccessible many systems are for people who don't fit the mold. Um, so now I use my lived experience and professional background to help others navigate and challenge those systems that weren't necessarily built for with us in mind. So Divergent Talent Alchemy is my newsletter on Substack.
And I'm sure, you know, we can both imagine our audiences both have experienced what inaccessibility, what discrimination looks like in the workplace for those with disabilities and those with neurodivergence. But before we get into some of those personal stories that I know we're both dying to share, let's set the stage a bit. And thinking back on your HR career, what was maybe like the worst case of inaccessibility or discrimination against someone with neurodivergence that you saw?
Yeah, you're already hitting on it, but the lack of proactive accommodations. So organizations aren't necessarily really proactive. Like, I've worked in places where they— there's not even a neurodiversity ERG. There's all these other ERGs. But again, the mental health space, you know, you have your, your EAP program that HR reps are quick to email you as a CYA. But when you really peel the layers back, like what is actually being done to help people who think differently and who process information differently, there's not a ton of support there.
And I think that's one of the big persistent barriers that exists too, is just when information isn't communicated in the way that people need. And so you touched on this with different communication styles, but it comes down to, you know, the learning and development materials we create, the employee manual that you get in onboarding, all of these different methods of communication. Are they provided in the most accessible way? You usually have a PDF that you get sent, and if you get overwhelmed by a lot of text, you might not get through that entire PDF employee manual and understand it as well as you should. So when we start thinking about different communication styles, neurodivergence, and even disability, making our materials that we offer, our information, how we access things within the organization, taking some steps there to improve accessibility really can go a long way in breaking down some silos and barriers and people not having to feel like they have a target on their back back because we just have information that is accessible to all and we don't have to ask
