The 9900 Special Intelligence Unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is dedicated to everything related to geography, including cartography, interpretation of aerial and satellite photographs, and space research. Within this unit is a small unit of highly skilled soldiers, who have remarkable visual and analytical capabilities. They can detect even the smallest details, undetectable to most people. All these soldiers have one thing in common; are on the autism spectrum. Their job is to take visual materials from satellite images and airborne sensors. With the help of officers and decoding tools, they analyze the images and find specific things needed to provide the best data to mission planners. The IDF has found that soldiers with autism can focus for longer periods of time than their neurotypical (non-autistic) counterparts.
SAP, a world leader in enterprise software solutions, is harnessing the extraordinary observation and concentration skills of people with autism for software testing. SAP has committed that 1% of its global workforce will be autistic by 2020.
Organizations such as IDF, SAP, Microsoft, Walgreens, and Freddie Mac have recognized the extraordinary strengths that many people on the autism spectrum possess. This is not a gesture of corporate goodwill; these organizations seek to improve the bottom line and see people with autism as a means to help them get there. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that approximately 1 in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), occurring in 1 in 42 children and 1 in 189 among girls and occurs among all racial, socioeconomic, and ethnic groups. groups This is an increase of 1 in 150 occurrences in the year 2000.
Our son Trevor was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at age 5. He initially displayed delayed speech and continued social awkwardness and other emotional and communication difficulties. Even as a young child, Trevor showed tremendous concentration skills through activities such as puzzles and, in his passion areas, he could memorize and recite the most detailed facts. As he grew older, his passions moved to film and photography. During his first two years in junior college, he majored in film studies, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree cum laude in film and media studies from Arizona State University. Trevor now works for my wife, Patty, and me, where he focuses on film reviews, photography, and marketing of his and others’ books on autism.
Having Trevor as an employee has been an excellent experience for all of us, but at the same time I have learned that after more than 30 years working for companies like Microsoft and Accenture, a leader must be aware of how a person with autism thinks and works. The changes I needed to make weren’t big enough to completely reorganize my leadership toolbox; but they were so important that I had to act consciously to ensure that our styles fit together.
If your company is embarking on an initiative to hire more people with autism, now is the time to act. Take a look at these 15 tips that have worked for me and can help you create the most supportive and productive environment for your employee with autism (Note: There are two schools of thought on how to refer to a person with autism. There is the camp of ” person first” that says “person with autism.” There is the camp of “identify first” that says “autistic person.” Neither term is universally right or wrong. I use both terms with no intent to offend.)
- Suppose different processing speeds – Some people with autism process information at a different rate and may not “think straight.” Allow the employee time to process requests and comments before discussing in depth. Sending an email first with a verbal follow-up works well with Trevor.
- Beware of nonverbals – Nonverbal social communication, that is, facial expression and eye contact, may be lacking in people with autism. Don’t overly interpret this as rudeness, unhappiness, or some other negative feeling. Also recognize that the employee may not pick up on nonverbal cues from you or co-workers.
- Minimize unplanned interruptions (even the fun ones) – “Hey, birthday party in the break room right now” is fun for many neurotypicals, but for the person with autism it can be an unwanted interruption to their schedule that they’ve already worked out. Be aware of unplanned interruptions by giving advance notice when possible and allowing the employee to opt out if it is not critical to the business. At the same time, do not exclude the employee from the activities; this could hurt his feelings.
- Accept employee input in workstation settings – Because many people with autism have heightened sensitivity to things like sight, touch, smell, and sound, your workspace environment could have a significant impact on your ability to be productive. Allow the employee to have a say in their workstation setup, ie use headsets, dim lighting, or work further away from common areas, which will help them be more productive.
- Develop measurable goals with monthly “done” records – This works particularly well with Trevor. We have a monthly meeting where we review his general objectives and what will be done during the month to bring him closer to each objective. At the end of the month, we review what was actually done that month, provide feedback, and establish what was done for the next month.
- Make use of mentors to help with each goal – Trevor has mentors specific to his photography, movie review, and book marketing lines of business who advise him on his work, provide feedback, and answer questions. These mentoring sessions have proven to be effective in helping him tap into subject matter expertise that we cannot provide, and he has learned to discern and incorporate input into his work.
- Provide more written and visual instruction, less verbal instruction – Generally speaking, people with autism learn visually and more easily understand ideas and direction when they can see them and ask questions rather than just hearing them. Another helpful technique is to ask the employee to write a verbal instruction and then discuss what was written to ensure clear understanding.
- Use a calm tone of voice – Loud or severe voices tend to disturb people with autism more than neurotypical people. Being mindful of using a calm voice will help minimize confusion and distress.
- Use “feedback sliders” – Accepting and incorporating positive and constructive feedback is absolutely crucial for professional growth and the employee should not be exempt from feedback. Effective technical feedback is what I call the “feedback slider”; a positive comment (the bottom of the bun), then a constructive comment (the meat), followed by a reiteration of the positive comment (the top of the bun). This bite-sized approach is easier for the person with autism to absorb and reduces overreaction to constructive feedback.
- Encourage them to be the go-to person on an issue. – Trevor is my go-to person when I need information on how a person with autism will react to my articles, presentations, and videos. He knows that I trust his input and that my work product will be better because of his perspective. Identify an area where the employee excels, promote them as a subject matter expert with their team, and encourage the rest of your team to use the expertise. He just tries not to interrupt them when you ask.
- Be frank about what, when and why – Autistic people tend to be very literal and are at their best when they are not allowed to decode unspoken or “between the lines” communication. When defining assignments, make sure there is clarity on what needs to be produced, what the deliverable needs to look like, why it is important, and when it needs to be done. Asking the employee to create a mockup of the deliverable and reviewing the mockup is a great way to ensure alignment and minimize rework due to confusion.
- Keep appointments and meetings on time and give advance notice of schedule changes. – People with autism tend to be very aware of schedules and have difficulties with unexpected schedule changes. At the same time, there is no such thing as perfect adherence to schedule. Try to give advance notice, when possible, of meetings or projects that will be late or if you might be late for a meeting with him. Also take the time to explain why a schedule change is needed; this can help the employee accept the change. If you’re a leader who regularly shows up late or doesn’t respect meeting deadlines, this could be a good opportunity to work on your time management skills…
- Allow employee to opt out of social events – Socializing can be a job for many people with autism. Trevor usually runs out of energy after about two hours of socializing, especially if he is actively participating in the socializing. He encourages the employee to join the social events, but let him opt out or leave if he feels overwhelmed or stressed.
- Don’t underestimate intelligence or the ability to deliver – People with autism have different abilities; they are not less intelligent or less able to do something. They just march at their own pace. Every time I underestimated Trevor’s ability to do something, he proved me wrong. Don’t be afraid to challenge the employee with a big task or an aggressive deadline. Chances are you’ll be up to the challenge.
- accept the differences – The attitudes and opinions of co-workers and managers towards people with social and behavioral differences are fundamental to a healthy workforce. Creating a welcoming work environment benefits not only the employee with autism but the team as a whole. Understanding the differences and assigning tasks that take advantage of them not only creates a happy team, but also leads to better results.
1 in 68 is born on the autism spectrum. These children become adults and will be a key asset in the workforce. If you are or will be in charge of someone with autism, be prepared to make the most of the relationship and help your employee with autism thrive and deliver results for you and your organization.
