Autism

What is Autism?  

Autism affects the way a person experiences their environment and therefore the way they communicate. Autistic people often experience their senses more intensely than others meaning the world can feel overwhelming at times. There are many skills associated with Autism such as honesty and directness, attention to detail, an ability to find or create patterns, processing information and memory.  

Does autism present differently in women and girls? 

It is important that autistic women and girls receive a diagnosis (or recognise that they are autistic) so they can understand themselves and access support. However, because of stereotyped ideas about what autism looks like and who can be autistic, many autistic women and girls struggle to get a diagnosis, receive a diagnosis late in life or are misdiagnosed with conditions other than autism.  

Autistic characteristics in women and girls may differ from those of other autistic people. They might seem to have fewer social difficulties than autistic men and boys, but this could be because they are more likely to 'mask' their autistic traits (though the stress of doing so can result in anxiety and overwhelm). Some of the core characteristics of autism are having ‘repetitive behaviours and highly focused interests. Stereotyped examples of these include rocking backwards and forwards, and a fascination with trains. However, in autistic women and girls these behaviours and interests may be similar to those of non-autistic women and girls, such as twirling hair and reading books, and as such may go unnoticed despite the greater intensity or focus typical for autistic people.   

Some tools used to diagnose autism are designed to identify autistic characteristics that may be more common in autistic men and boys. This means the process may not be as sensitive to characteristics more commonly found in autistic women and girls. 

Why employ an autistic person?  

Many autistic people have a variety of sometimes exceptional skills, that enable them to thrive in roles ranging from sales assistant to computer programmer, and journalist to statistician, to name just a few.  

However, autistic people are often disadvantaged when it comes to getting and keeping a job because of other people's lack of understanding and support.  Autistic employees may need some, often simple, support within the workplace. As well as their individual strengths and talents, autistic candidates often demonstrate above-average skills in some or all of the following areas:   

• high levels of concentration  
• reliability, conscientiousness and persistence  
• accuracy, close attention to detail and the ability to identify errors  
• technical ability, such as in IT  
• detailed factual knowledge and an excellent memory  

This means an autistic person may well be better at a particular job than someone who is not autistic. By gaining an understanding of autism, you can open up new possibilities for your organisation. 

How does it affect your working patterns?  

Noise-cancelling headphones. These help to block out background noise in a busy office or warehouse; 

• A screen filter for a laptop or desktop PC monitor. This helps to make a screen seem less bright, minimising the risk of sensory overload 
• Use of a quiet, secluded part of the workplace. This is useful for avoiding all the noise and movement that can trigger sensory overload if it gets too much 

• Time management and project management apps. These can help with scheduling tasks and finding out what is happening on each day 
• Instant messaging and text-to-speech apps. For those who are non-verbal or are not confident in using the phone or face-to-face conversation, these apps can help to break down communication barriers  
• Ergonomic equipment such as keyboards, mice, trackpads and other tools like that can help to make an autistic employee feel more comfortable 
• Flexible hours- a working pattern to suit the needs and body clock of an autistic employee 
• Exemption from team meetings and social gatherings. This comes in the form of permission to miss team-building exercises, meetings, brainstorming sessions and team nights out 
• Exemption from meeting clients- this is down to communication issues some autistic people face, rather than anything else.  

Useful Links  

Adults (autism.org.uk)

Autism at Work programme

Where to get autism support - NHS (www.nhs.uk)