Neurodivergent employees face major accessibility barriers. But what if they were empowered to help fix them?
That question is more important than ever, as millions of neurodivergent job seekers and employers are entering the workforce. Most of those employees are highly skilled and qualified, yet they still face burnout, anxiety about disclosure, a lack of basic accommodations, and other obstacles.
Companies can take a huge step forward not only through policy changes, but by incorporating the feedback of neurodivergent employees and making them active participants in shaping what accessibility looks like. This “co-design” approach, in which employers and neurodivergent employees collaborate, could be a game-changer for how businesses operate. To make it happen, companies have numerous options, including Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), self-advocacy platforms, sensory control adjustments, and structured workplace needs assessments, as opposed to relying on HR to solve issues from the top down.
While challenges remain, neurodiversity has become a much more familiar concept in recent years, and appreciation for the skills and talents neurodivergent employees contribute has grown. For example, Understood.org’s 2025 “Neurodiversity at Work” survey found that 64% of employed adults agree that people talk more openly about their neurodivergence now than in the past. Meanwhile, Indeed Hiring Lab found that the percentage of job postings mentioning neurodiversity-related keywords jumped from 0.5% in January 2018 to 1.3% in December 2024. Major companies, including Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, JPMorgan Chase, and many others, have implemented hiring programs to include employees with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, and other diagnoses.
Research has also shown the value of the co-design approach. In a 2025 essay for Human Resource Management Journal, researchers from Turkey, England, and the UAE note that many HR interventions “fail to capture and combat neuronormativity, focus narrowly on awareness training or disclosure protocols, remain top-down, compliance-oriented, and [are] unable to dismantle the deep-rooted organisational norm of neuronormativity.” To address this issue, the authors suggest “a participatory, systems-level approach grounded in critical pragmatism and sociotechnical systems theory (STS).” STS is an organizational/design framework that views a workplace or system as an independent combination of people, tools, machines, or processes.
This approach is a viable alternative to the so-called “medical model” of disability, which pressures people with disabilities/neurodivergence to adapt or conform to society’s needs, rather than vice versa. The authors add that the co-design approach leads to a more collaborative workplace culture, enhancing team dynamics, innovative approaches to problem-solving, and overall performance. As they explain: “By engaging in co-design, neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals may synergise their complementary skills, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are not only valued but leveraged for collective success.” In other words, the co-design is beneficial not only in supporting employees who are neurodivergent but by bringing together the best of both worlds by utilizing the strengths of both neurotypical and neurodivergent employees.
How ERGs Can Make a Difference in Inclusion
Employee Resource Groups, or voluntary, employee-led groups formed by individuals with a common identity, experiences, and interests, are one of the most viable pathways for enabling neurodivergent employees to redesign the workplace. In her article “What Neurodivergent Employees Can Reveal About How Work Really Works”, Tabby Farrar, Head of Search at the digital agency Candour, describes how using an ERG allowed her company to incorporate valuable feedback from their employees who are neurodivergent, saving time and greatly improving efficiency. “Finding the details of a single task at Candour used to mean checking a spreadsheet, opening project management software and then updating another spreadsheet to record the time spent on it,” Farrar writes. “The system had worked when we were a much smaller business but as we grew it became increasingly cumbersome. It took feedback from colleagues with ADHD or autism to make us rethink how we were organising work.”
Thanks to the constructive feedback of neurodivergent employees on the various challenges they were facing, Candour was able to reorient its approach to planning tasks, running meetings, and sharing information. As Farrar explains, the benefits of this approach “have extended well beyond the employees who first raised the problems.” For example, Candour’s new task management included a calendar-style view that was easier for employees with autism; the option of Kanban, Gantt, and timesheet views for employees who find those easier to navigate; multiple options for time logging; and the introduction of task reminder notifications ahead of important deadlines, with team members given the ability to choose the frequency and format that best helps them stay on track. Through these communication and planning adjustments, Candour, a U.K.-based organization, saved thousands of pounds worth of working hours. This success represents a practical, effective model for other companies to follow, utilizing the “co-design” approach in which the feedback of neurodivergent employees is incorporated into the workplace.
Farrar encourages business leaders to be engaged and interested in how one person’s work style preferences can benefit the entire company (as it did for Candour). As she puts it: “Something one person needs is likely to be needed elsewhere.” Just as importantly, she notes that accessibility adjustments can and should be about more than just the bare minimum to meet legal requirements. Employees who feel seen and validated are more likely to stay with the company and take pride in their work. Farrar encourages companies to “offer anonymous feedback solutions, [and] dedicate time to employee resource groups and two-way communication channels between the teams delivering for your business and the leaders in charge of policy and process.”
Other Organizations Adopting a Co-Design Approach
Apart from Candour, other companies have found similar success through adopting the co-design approach with employees who are neurodivergent. One of those organizations is Schneider Electric, a French multinational company specializing in energy technology. Schneider has made a point of listening to its employees who are neurodivergent and/or have physical disabilities, recognizing their ability to reveal systemic barriers in the workplace that might otherwise remain invisible. As the company explains on its website: “Many disability-related barriers remain invisible until someone names them. Employees across Schneider have helped reveal those barriers and inspire change—from digital design adjustments to improvements in physical spaces.” They write that one employee’s simple question of “how can we make it easier for everyone to navigate our sites independently?” led to the creation of a pilot program, “Accessible Navigation & Wayfinding”, which includes digital beacons and audio navigation to assist people with visual and mobility challenges.
Schneider has also bolstered its efforts to hear from neurodivergent employees by creating Disability, Accessibility, and Allies (DAA) resource networks in the U.S., Canada, France, Mexico, Central America, and more recently, India and China. These groups incorporate feedback from employees with disabilities/neurodivergence, along with building support. Schneider also says it’s made progress in global digital accessibility standards, accessibility learning for all employers, physical workplace improvements, and more. “Our progress continues to be shaped by employees who share their experiences,” they write, “through ERNs, awareness events, or storytelling campaigns. Their insights remind us that inclusion isn’t a one-time achievement; it’s an ongoing commitment.” Schneider embodies the “nothing about us without us” approach to neurodivergent inclusion, recognizing that understanding and including the feedback and perspectives of neurodivergent employees is a net gain for everyone. Through their efforts to implement a co-design approach, Schneider and Candour both gained valuable insight into the correlation between acknowledging employee experience and achieving change for the better. They also benefited from adopting a big picture approach, recognizing that inclusion can and should extend beyond accommodating one individual employee to reevaluating how the entire company operates. Without the feedback of neurodivergent employees, barriers and flaws in the system would have remained invisible.
Katie Coats, Lead Senior Disability Business Partner at Business Disability Forum, also emphasizes the importance of giving neurodivergent employees a voice in shaping accessibility and inclusion. “Employee engagement…allows us to bring together different types of data to tell a fuller story,” Coats writes. She notes the difference between quantitative data, which uses survey results and pulse checks to illuminate patterns and trends, and qualitative data, which uses conversations and messages with employees to show why those trends actually exist. “When engagement is missing, there is a real risk of harm,” she writes. “Assumptions fill the space where people’s voices should be.” She adds that by listening to colleagues and employees, including those who are neurodivergent, “we ensure that our work is grounded in real-world insight, and that change happens with people, not to them.”
Insights from Neurodivergent Professionals
Along with the testimonials of business leaders, neurodivergent employees have shared how being included and validated has helped them professionally.
“There is such a supportive environment at Vodafone,” Danny, a Customer Account Security Manager at technology communications company Vodafone, is quoted as saying by Flexa.com, adding that he has found “allies and mentors who understand and accommodate my neurodivergence. I have been actively involved in various initiatives, including ADHD calls, autism calls, and volunteering activities. My experiences underscore the importance of a supportive workplace that values diversity and inclusion, this is why I am proud to work for Vodafone.” A senior engineer at MBDA with Asperger’s Syndrome writes that “from disclosing my condition comfortably to joining the Neurodiversity Committee, I’ve found a sense of belonging and purpose. This committee has helped me understand the full spectrum of neurodiverse conditions, appreciate diversity in all its forms, and grow in confidence. Through initiatives like the STEM ambassador scheme, I’ve even discovered a passion for inspiring the next generation.”
Pivotal Accessibility, a digital accessibility and compliance consulting firm, stresses the importance of “nothing about us without us” in workplace design, identifying 5 levels of participation: Visibility, Access, Consultation, Influence, and Leadership. On the visibility level, people with disabilities appear in campaigns, reports, or public communications. With access, people with disabilities can use services, attend events, and participate in the process. Consultation goes a step further in allowing people with disabilities to share their experiences and preferences. With influence, feedback has an impact on requirements, priorities, designs, and policies. Finally, leadership allows people with disabilities to take on recurring roles in governance, delivery, and decision-making. Pivotal Accessibility asks companies to put “Nothing About Us Without Us” into practice by asking questions like “Which decisions affect people with disabilities?” “Who should participate?” “What will participants be able to influence?” As they explain: “‘Nothing About Us Without Us’” does not ask businesses to transfer every accessibility decision to disabled customers or employees. It asks them to stop treating disabled people as distant beneficiaries of decisions made elsewhere.” Pivotal notes that turning “Nothing About Us Without Us” from a slogan into action leads to better information, earlier identification of risk, and a better understanding of how practices and policies work in practice. They write that all businesses using “Nothing About Us Without Us” as their guiding principle should be able to answer the question: “What decision changed because disabled people were in the room?”
Ongoing research, as well as the companies and individuals that have seen success from utilizing the co-design approach, attests to the importance of allowing neurodivergent employees to reshape accessibility and inclusion. Creative Spirit can help your company make “Nothing About Us Without Us” a reality through HireDifferent Academy, our comprehensive training and certification program to build workplaces where neurodivergent employees are appreciated and seen. You can learn more about how to get involved here:
https://www.creativespirit-us.org/hiredifferent-academy/.
Sources
Coates, Katie. “Nothing about Us Without Us: The Power of Employee Voices.” Business Disability Forum, 26 Aug. 2025, https://businessdisabilityforum.org.uk/nothing-about-us-without-us-the-power-of-employee-voices/.
Farrar, Tabby. “What Neurodivergent Employees Can Reveal about How Work Really Works.” The People Space, 21 Oct. 2026, https://www.thepeoplespace.com/insights/practice/what-neurodivergent-employees-can-reveal-about-how-work-really-works.
Iqbal, Saef. “How Businesses Can Apply ‘Nothing About Us Without Us.’” Pivotal Accessibility, 17 July 2026, https://www.pivotalaccessibility.com/2026/07/how-businesses-can-apply-nothing-about-us-without-us/.
Özbilgin, Mustafa F., et al. “HR-Led Co-Design for Neuroinclusion: A Critical Pragmatist and Sociotechnical Systems Approach to Transforming Neuronormative Organisations.” Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 36, no. 2, 2026, pp. 192–204, https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.70018.
Schneider Electric. “Nothing about Us, without Us: How Employees Are Shaping Disability Inclusion at Schneider Electric.” Life @ Schneider, 3 Dec. 2025, https://blog.se.com/life-at-schneider-electric/2025/12/03/employees-shaping-disability-inclusion/.
Flexa. “Neurodiversity at Work: How Employees Are Supported in the Workplace.” Flexa, 16 Aug. 2026, https://flexa.careers/blog/neurodiversity-at-work-real-stories-of-speaking-up-and-feeling-supported
