Category: Asbergers

Researchers, advocates rush to aid autistic Ukrainians

Posted on by Gregory Wood

by Laura Dattaro

Starting over: A child who fled Ukraine with her family attends school in Romania. The war in Ukraine has displaced millions of children, including those with autism, who now need services in unfamiliar countries. Andreea Campeanu / Getty Images

Two months ago, a two-story peach-colored building with a playground housed a kindergarten for 30 autistic children in Kyiv, Ukraine. But since Russia attacked the country on 24 February, the structure has served instead as a shelter, with the families who once received therapy and an education there — and the therapists themselves — now taking advantage of its secure basement, kitchen and food storage. All autism-related services, save for a few online sessions, have stopped. (For the group’s safety, Spectrum is not naming the center.)

The director of the foundation that runs the center, Iryna Sergiyenko, has pivoted too: Instead of running a school, she’s fielding requests from dozens of families with autistic children who need help and have, in many cases, fled Ukraine, as she has. Through messaging apps and a Facebook group she set up called ‘Ukraine autism HELP,’ Sergiyenko — who has an autistic younger brother — responds to a litany of common pleas: Will there be autism services where I am going? How do I explain why we left, and why my child’s father stayed behind? Are there any therapists who speak Ukrainian where I am?

She is one of many autism professionals scrambling to address the needs of Ukrainian autistic people whose lives have been upended. Across Europe and elsewhere, many have opened up their schools, connected families with therapists who speak Ukrainian, and collected medications and autism-friendly toys. They are raising money to support families or, like Sergiyenko, keep the lights on somewhere. One of the mothers Sergiyenko helped left for Bulgaria, noticed a lack of autism services there and immediately started organizing providers, with Sergiyenko’s support.

“That’s what we do,” Sergiyenko says. “We don’t like to sit still.”

“The biggest concern is that our kids really have fewer resources to cope, and in some cases lesser ability to understand what’s happening,” she says. Read more

Fighting Against Neuro-Discrimination in the Workplace

Posted on by Gregory Wood

By Damian Mellifont

I think this is an important topic.  In my work career I have faced discrimination and at that time I did not know about my asbergers.  If I had known I could have educated my employer and asked for accommodations.  – Greg

Neurodivergent researcher Damian Mellifont discusses factors that contribute to neuro-discrimination in the workplace and of those that ‘fight the good fight’ against it.

Fighting the Good Fight

Do you know what neuro-discrimination is? Put simply, neuro-discrimination (or sanism) involves discrimination against neurodivergent persons [1]. People who are neurodivergent have minds that function in notably different ways from the norm [2]. Sanists (i.e., neuro-discriminators) do not fight fair. Neuro-discriminators might jab away with sneaky microaggressions. Microaggressions are small acts or comments that over a period of time can cause emotional damage [3]. With no referee present, a neuro-discriminator has opportunities to mercilessly strike their target with big shots (i.e., open acts of discrimination). Unfortunately, many neurodivergent persons report experiencing discrimination in the workplace [4]. It is therefore important to raise awareness about the factors that contribute to this form of discrimination and of those that fight the good fight against it. 

My recently published article that was informed by a traditional review of the literature describes facilitators and inhibitors of neuro-discrimination in the workplace [5]. I will briefly discuss some of these factors before summarizing the ways forward.

Neurodivergence in the workplace – discrimination facilitators.

Bias against neurodivergent persons can play out in many troubling ways. Biased employers can resist employing these applicants [6]. Such neuro-discrimination is not constrained to job selection processes. Bias can also deny neurodivergent persons access to workplace accommodations [7]. Neuro-discrimination therefore has stamina and can hurt neurodivergent employees throughout their careers. Left unchecked, sanism has the power to knock these persons out of the workforce. And we are left with toxic workplaces where ignorance and intolerance are the winners at the expense of diversity and inclusion.

Silence is yet another facilitator of sanism in the workplace. Fears of stigma can deter staff from disclosing their neurodivergence [8]. Neurodivergent employees understandably do not want to be on the receiving end of ‘cheap shots’ following disclosure. It is at this time where colleagues and supervisors can change their views about a person’s competency [9]. By staying silent, however, some of these staff might be putting their productivity and wellbeing at risk [10]. This silence can therefore result in losses not only for the individual, but also for their employer. 

Neurodivergence in the workplace – discrimination inhibitors.

Education can assist in fighting the good fight against workplace sanism. Where education is missing, employees might draw on negative stereotypes about neurodivergent persons [11]. Educational measures can also promote useful workplace accommodations [12]. Greater contact with neurodivergent persons might further assist in redressing prejudicial attitudes [13, 14]. Furthermore, responsible workplace leaders should be supportive of cultures that are inclusive of neurodivergence. Where flexibility, cooperation and respect are promoted, workplace culture improves for all [15]. 

Ways forward 

The following actions endeavor to redress neuro-discrimination in the workplace [5] :

Recognize silence and bias as two facilitators of sanism in the workplace.

Conduct policy reforms that encourage a workplace culture where individuals are safe to disclose and discuss their neurodivergence.

Make sure that hiring panels are mindful of their responsibility to reasonably accommodate neurodivergent applicants.

Implement affirmative action to help to reduce the possibility of neurodivergent persons experiencing discrimination in hiring processes.

Provide mandatory education about the negative impacts of sanism and make it clear that such discriminatory behaviors are unacceptable.

Invest in studies to explore potential ways in which to increase contact among neurodivergent and neurotypical employees.

Sanists might be winning the early rounds in many workplaces. But the fight is far from over! Despite its fearsome and well-earned reputation, neuro-discrimination is not invincible. Employers who embrace the above-mentioned measures will be supporting greater diversity and inclusion while also ‘fighting the good fight’ against sanism.