Introduction
We surveyed the IET Volunteer community in 2022 and found that nearly one in five respondents identified as ‘definitely’ or ‘possibly’ neurodivergent. This response reflects research findings for the general population: it’s estimated that 20% of people are neurodivergent in some way.
In November 2023 we released a report1 (Neurodiversity in engineering and technology) exploring the instance and experiences of neurodivergent engineers and technicians.
Our findings revealed that there’s a great deal of work to be done to improve the working environment for these valuable professionals.
Our research indicated that many of the barriers that neurodivergent individuals face in the workplace result from a lack of awareness and understanding among colleagues about neurodivergent conditions and how best to provide support.
This echoes the results of a 2020 study2 by the Institute of Leadership, which found that just one in five organisations offered leaders, managers and employees training to support neuroinclusion.
This toolkit is designed to help you understand more about several neurodiverse conditions and how they may affect someone’s ways of working. As you read through this document, you’ll notice an emphasis throughout that each neurodivergent person has their own unique traits and preferred methods of support – they are an individual and should always be treated as such.
Who is this toolkit for?
We’ve produced this toolkit for a broad audience, including:
- employers and HR professionals
- line managers and department leads
- colleagues of neurodivergent individuals
- neurodivergent individuals
- anyone who’s looking to learn more about specific neurotypes and how they can affect someone at work.
The traits mentioned within each section are identified as typical for each respective condition based on research. A neurodivergent individual may have some, all or none of the traits listed for their condition – they may also have traits that are not included in the list.
To support this toolkit, we have gathered a number of real case studies from neurodivergent engineers that detail the journey from realising support is needed to accessing and receiving this support.
References
1 https://www.theiet.org/media/paqhz25y/neurodiversity-in-engineering-and-technology-full-report.pdf (IET, ‘Neurodiversity in engineering and technology’, November 2023)