Increasingly, more companies are making a concerted effort to hire and train autistic employees. This is an untapped pool of potential workers, as 80% of autistic people are unemployed, despite being educated and wanting to work. To improve your ability to hire and retain workers with autism, it’s important to understand the autism spectrum and accommodate workers accordingly. When interviewing and training these employees, know where they fall on the spectrum and assess what they can do and how they function. Provide clear, individualized instruction and regular feedback to autistic employees; don’t expect them to understand nuances and follow insinuations. Know that change likely will be stressful for them, so try to keep schedules and work responsibilities as consistent as possible. Consider pairing autistic workers with a mentor who can comfortably introduce them to the workplace and be there to provide guidance, reassurance, and support. Read the full article.
