The autism and Aspergers-friendly employer meter

New for employers - Learn how to hire and keep autistic employees

Following recent academic researchers and posts written by autistic and aspergers I created the employer autism-friendly calculator. This enables employers (as well as employees) to assess to what extent they are autistic-friendly. When employers see it’s totally doable, they will hopefully open more jobs for autistic people and aspergers. I’m aware many don’t even know if they have autistic employees (that might be because many autistics are afraid to disclose that, I’ll write about it soon, or because autistics are extremely less employed), but regardless, it’s a good way to get a decent picture of what is an autistic-friendly employer.

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Tips for employers on how to work with autistic and Aspergers successfully

A recent study looked into factors that enable successful employment of autistic and aspergers adults from the employer’s point of view. It’s important because such researches are another step towards opening good jobs for people with autism and aspergers (while being compensated properly, like neurotypicals). However, it’s worth mentioning that while there are common characteristics for autistic people, each one is different (just as there are common characteristics for neurotypicals, but each one is different). 

The data was collected via interviews with managers in Sweden and Australia (and some directors from relevant organizations helping to facilitate the employment of autistics, among others) who had successful experience of employing autistic people and aspergers. Successful employment was defined as someone who was employed for over 6 months with a minimum wage or above compensation, in a full or part-time job.  

Three top factors were associated with autism successful employment. They might seem obvious, but it’s worth getting into details:

Knowledge and understanding of autism:

Learn about autism. Understanding of autism by managers and co-workers was associated with the creation of a good working environment with minimum conflicts and misunderstandings. Clear, explicit and consistent communication is also important. 

Work Environment: 

• Managers should get ongoing autism-experts’ support to successfully manage challenging situations (in that sense, I think autistics are as experts as it gets).

• Managers should have regular meetings with the autistic employee dedicated to discussing work and provide feedback. This will give the employee the confidence to reach out to the manager when things are not clear (instead of stop working and waiting). 

• Have a designated specific manager to the employee.

• Routined tasks, preparation for new tasks and upcoming changes, and setting expectations help improve job performance and reduce stress. ‘Surprises’ and disruptions are less welcomed. 

• Break tasks for sub-tasks. As much as possible.  

• Try to reduce noise and loudness. 

• The employer needs to keep an open mind and flexibility for changes in the work environment and in the job description. This may include reducing the lights and enabling the autistic employee some time-outs. 

• Initial integration with small teams works better. 

Job match to skills, strengths, and interest. 

Well, that’s pretty obvious and also applicable to neurotypicals. What was interesting to see is the frequency of the autistics’ abilities and skills as reported by the managers. Here are some examples:  40% reported attention to details, passion, and task-focused. 35% reported high intelligence, loyalty, and dependability. 30% reported good memory and honesty. 

And what do autistics and aspergers say?

I went through some online posts trying to find additional tips that other autistic people gave employers. I generally believe in just asking them. I read through this long Reddit post, in which an awesome manager asked autistics how to deal with an employee who finds it hard to complete tasks, as well as through this beautiful blog post by Ashlea Mckay (autistic) who wrote to employers.  I have decided to list the tips below, although (and actually because) they repeat some of the tips mentioned in the research: 

1. Leave the assumptions at the door. If you have seen one autistics, you have seen one autistic. Got questions, ask your employee. 

2. Ask autistics how they want to be referred to. Many prefer to be referred to as autistics and think that the phrase “a person with autism” equals to the term “a person with manhood/womanhood” (thanks Keren, for this great explanation).   

3. Split tasks to small chunks as much as possible. Someone even offered to recommend the employee to use the Pomodoro technique (short sprints fo 25 minutes each, with 5 minutes break in between and a longer break after 4 sprints). 

4. Provide constant feedback and have regular meetings for that. 

5. Don’t be vague in tasks and communication. 

6. Be open to a conversation about autistics needs in the workplace

7. Some autistics have sensory overloads. It could be sound, bright lights and more. Be flexible with your employees and let him/her adjust his work environment. 

Neurodivergent, got more tips for us? Please go ahead and offer them in the comments. You can also find the sharing options there (so managers will see these tips).

Employers? Here’s the lean autism at work guide for hiring your first autistic employees.

From our neurodivergent readers - My Best and Worst Work Experiences as an Autistic Person

By KJ Boardman

My worst job

My worst job was working retail in a hardware store. This wasn't an environment I could truly thrive in. For one, I didn't have much interest in hardware to start with. 

Over time I began to remember some of the uses of the products, but I never truly felt educated enough about them to be able to be informative to customers. I wasn't working to my strengths, which would be necessary to flourish as an autistic person. 

Additionally, I logically knew how to work the till, but I would become overwhelmed and forget what to do while I was serving customers. I do think my manager got frustrated with me and this further increased my anxiety. 

The job wasn't all bad though, as I enjoyed ordering in new stock because it was methodical and I got to be alone. I was also allowed to ring a support person if I got overwhelmed during a shift. 

I eventually left the store when my boss had a bipolar relapse and breakdown because her behavior affected us, employees, badly. 

My best job

My best job was as an assistant for learning disabled people who were doing self-advocacy. I have always been drawn to people who are a bit different and self-advocacy is something I truly believe in. The job aligned with my values and that's very important for me as an autistic person. 

The idea of the job was that I was there to do any tasks the members couldn't do themselves, such as writing detailed notes. 

What I found best about this job was that it was very inclusive and I was valued for my differences. I felt that I was doing something important and making a positive contribution through my work. 

 My manager, whose working life revolved around people with disabilities, went out of her way to be caring towards me. Working for someone supportive definitely helped me to both believe in myself more, and be a better employee. 

By KJ Boardman

3 great tech career choices for autistic adults and how to get qualified.

Startups and tech companies can provide good jobs for autistic people and Aspergers for several reasons.

(i) Many of these companies allow remote (work from home) employment to some extent or even have their all employees work from home full time.

(ii) Some of these companies are more open to the concept of diversity at work, which means they will be more open to adjusting themselves to your needs as an autistic person (here’s the autism at work lean guide to hire your first autistic employee).

(ii) The different roles in these companies might not require a college degree and you can self-teach yourself from home with online courses or online schools. 

I’ll review below the different roles you might consider (not all of them though), and where you can get the background qualifying you to apply for such positions.

Software developer/engineer

What you do:

It’s safe to say software developers are the foundations of almost any tech company. Most of their core work is coding the different elements of a product (website, app, other types of software). The salaries are high and there are many remote jobs for this type of role. While the nature of the role might require less social interactions, it does involve it to some extent (it differentiate between companies).  Nevertheless, it’s a good job for autistic adults. In fact, in a survey conducted by Stackoverflow, 2.6% of responding developers identified themselves as autistics or Aspergers.

How to become a developer:

Online coding bootcamps.

These are relatively intensive and structured coding courses with close online guidance that take several months (some are full-time and some part-time). The purpose of these bootcamps is that you’ll be able to find a job as a developer after completion. They are not free, but some of them enable you to pay only after you get a high-paying job (they get a portion of your salary for a while). LambdaSchool and Thinkful are just two examples of coding bootcamps. There are also offline coding bootcamps, in which you go to class every day for several months, but I guess this might be less appealing for autistics adults and Aspies. 

Learn alone

This article explains what it means to be a developer and offer resources to learn for free (from zero to interview preparation). 

CodeAcademy is a free tool that teaches you how to code for free (they have a premium plan as well). 

Where to find software development jobs:

There are many well-known platforms:

• You can find jobs on Glassdoor, and in addition, see what current and past employees say about the employer, see example interview questions and even learn about the salaries for a specific role you are interested in. 

• AngelList is another website in which many startups and tech companies post jobs. You can find many remote jobs as well. The site serves more startups than big tech companies.

• Linkedin is a huge career/professional-oriented social network (Facebook is for friends, Linkedin is for work) in which many jobs are posted. 

• I sometimes post autistic-friendly jobs for developers on Spectroomz Job Board.

• Stackoverflow is the Wikipedia for developers and they post many jobs.

• There are different platforms you can find remote freelancing jobs as a software developer, but if you are just starting it’s less likely you’ll find a full-time remote position. If you insist on working remotely as a freelancer you can find different projects on Upwork and build yourself there. 

Note:

In addition, if you learn or know how to code you can also work as a Quality Assurance tester (QA) which is basically a relatively repetitive role of searching bugs and problems in a code other developers wrote.

QA has been mentioned as a good job for people with autism and Aspergers because of its low stress and repetitive nature. You can find these types of roles on the same websites I mentioned above and there are online courses for that as well. Here is an example of one course, but I’m sure there are more. 

Designer (UI and UX)

What they do:

UI (user interface) designers mainly work on the visual aspect of a product (e.g. how the app looks, colors, etc). A UX (user experience) designer deals with making the product usable, how easy and intuitive it is to navigate the app, for example.

Here’s a good description of what designers do (and as you’ll read, it does require some social interaction with users). 

How to become one:

Like coding bootcamps, there are design bootcamps. SpringBoard, Bloc,  Flatrion, General Assembly and CarrerFoundery are notable. 

Where to find designing jobs:

You can find jobs in the same websites I mentioned regarding software development jobs (Glassdoor, AngelList, and Linkedin). In addition, you should know Dribble. You can find jobs and also look at the work of other designers. Upwork and 99designs are two sites you can find remote freelancing designing jobs. I also post designers’ jobs on Spectroomz job board.

Marketing

What they do:

This one is close to me, as this is where I come from.

Generally, marketers and growth are the people who make sure potential customers hear about your product, give it a try, and keep using your product.

It’s definitely something you can do remotely from home or any other place but it does require social interaction as well (like other roles I mentioned).

Autistic people can be very data and detail-oriented, and marketing teams could use it a lot.

You can be a B2B marketer (business to business) which means you market your product to other businesses (for example, an analytic software to help other businesses understand what their users do on their website), or a B2C marketer (business to consumer) that market the product to consumers (for example, a site that sells clothing to women).

There are a lot of tactics you can use to market your product. For example, email marketing, paid acquisition (advertising your products on platforms like Facebook or Google), SEO and content marketer (writing and/or promoting content that people will find on Google and will lead them to your site), or public relations (making sure reporters write about your company).

Each of these tactics (and many more) could create a different role itself, it really depends on the size of the company you work for. In big companies, there will be people only doing just email marketing or Facebook ads. In small startups usually, a marketer will do everything. 

How to become one: 

• From personal experience, the best way is simply by doing. There are many companies that hire marketing interns or have marketing positions for people with no experience, and this is a great way to learn. Let’s take email marketing for example. At first, you’ll start with helping to draft the emails, then help send them using common tools and analyze the results in order to optimize. In no time, you’ll know the basics of email marketing. What takes time is improving yourself from 70% to 100%. But that comes with experience.   

• However, if you want to learn the basics about a specific tactic you can find online courses on Udemy, and autistic-friendly courses on Spectroomz Hub which lets autistic students pay what they can.  

• There are many blogs, who might be overwhelming at first, but if you’ll take it step by step (decide that you’ll learn the basics of each tactic and search the blogs for a specific topic, you can make it). Some of these blogs are mentioned here. 

• Unlike coding and designing there are fewer marketing bootcamps out there, and that’s the reason I launched one for autistic adults who want to become marketers. The current batch is full, so you can join the waitlist.

• Note: the process of becoming a marketer is less structured, but unlike designing or coding, you can get your hands dirty a lot sooner and learn from your mistakes. Reach out to me if you feel you want some guidance, I’d love to help. 

Where to find marketing jobs:

I post marketing jobs on our Job Board. You can also find jobs in the same websites I mentioned regarding software development jobs (Glassdoor, AngelList, and Linkedin). 

The fact I presented just a few types of roles doesn’t mean I think autistics and Asperger’s can’t become GREAT product managers, customer success managers, or data scientists. I’m sure there are many already (whether they are diagnosed or not).

I chose to present these roles because I believe they are in a sweet spot of three elements:

(1) you can learn them alone and from home, here’s how I learned SEO;

(2) you can find opportunities to do them from home to some extent;

(3) you can find roles in which the social interaction that is required is mild (unlike business development for example). 

Please tell me what you think in the comments and share this post with your other NDs. 

Cheers!

btw, If you are an autistic who is looking to work from home, you will definitely find “32 remote jobs for autistic or Asperger's people, test which one fits you best” relevant.

From our neurodivergent readers - real employment experiences of autistics and Asperger’s

“What works for me as a 37 years old high functioning aspie for work is to have a lot of variety in my work so I won’t lose interest or change jobs often. I only take jobs that are below my level so I don’t need to take work home and don’t have to stress about taking classes or having to perform too much when I have a bad day/week and such, you could say low-wage blue-collar jobs fit me too. Sometimes call center, I did some electronic shop managing as well.

And with colleagues, I feel its best to not have too many or not at all. Usually, for most aspies, colleagues are the worst and give a lot of stress concerning social interactions and especially the group pressure or those team building things, they are the worst. We’re not a team player by design.

But I learned to walk amongst the humans very well over the years. I like to think I possess a lot of different masks. Especially since those jobs kinda gave me a huge dataset to work with concerning human interactions. It was a long but really good learning process. 

I consider myself to have it easy due to me being over philosophical and a lot of data. So I do a lot of thinking about it in a weird objective way. Almost like I know how to live like a human. But I’m not willing to by choice. Or because it takes too much effort.

I have a cab driving gig now. It’s perfect.”

Submitted by anonymous aspie.

Want to submit your own experience? email me to erikbrodch [at] gmail [dot] com