For Autism Acceptance Month, this piece shares a personal reflection on neurodiversity, inclusion, and employment through the lens of parenting and recruitment. It explores what inclusion looks like in practice, and how often “difference” is still misunderstood in school, post-secondary settings, and the workplace.
"Here is your #AutismAcceptanceMonth donut, Dad. Now please accept my autism," my son, Sebastian, said with a smile as he handed me a delicious-looking blue-glazed pastry with colourful sprinkles yesterday.
I introduced Seb, who is on the autism spectrum, last year when he started a door-to-door fundraising job. That did not quite work out, and he was comfortable with me sharing that experience.
Unfortunately, in spite of all the effort and goodwill, people who are just a bit different often do not fit into the mould of what we expect in the workplace. Seb is now participating in the Pacific Autism Family Network's employment program, Paper Planes Café at the Vancouver Airport. I wanted to use Autism Acceptance Month and Seb’s journey as an opportunity to reflect on how important it is that we continue to recognize and support (neuro)diversity in meaningful ways.
As a parent and as someone who works in recruitment, I see the unfairness firsthand. It is so easy for “different” to be dismissed. It starts in playgrounds and schoolyards, where students form groups and unintentionally exclude others who do not fit in. It continues in college, where student groups form in similar ways, and it does not stop after graduation. It becomes more complex in adulthood, when those same dynamics show up in the workplace. People form groups and unintentionally exclude others who do not fit in. You hear things like, so-and-so says things that make me uncomfortable.
In the spirit of diversity, this is the reality we still need to face. Otherness has many forms, and something as simple as different interests or communication styles should not lead to exclusion. There is still a long way to go, and too often, inclusion is still more talk than practice.
In many workplaces and post-secondary settings, neurodiverse individuals are still not supported enough, especially those who are not immediately “visible” in their needs and therefore get labelled as “different” or “odd” without proper support.
I am very thankful to places like Paper Planes Café and Pacific Autism Family Network that provide adults with diverse abilities with real-world, paid training and employment experience in environments that understand and support them. Next time you are at YVR, visit them in domestic arrivals by the baggage claim.