56 - Designing Inclusive Spaces: Neurodiversity, Accessibility, and Mindful Communication

Welcome back to Blended!

 

Today, we’re talking about inclusion – one of our favorite topics here on the show! But we’re thinking about it from a different angle. Not from the team we build or the people we hire, but the environment around us. We’re talking about inclusive spaces.

 

This might be familiar to you, or maybe it’s a concept that’s fairly new but, guaranteed, you’ll be hearing about it more and more.

 

As awareness of neurodiversity grows, designing spaces that cater to the needs of individuals with diverse cognitive and sensory processing styles is becoming increasingly important. By integrating neurodiversity into design, we can create environments that are not only more inclusive but also enhance the wellbeing and productivity of all individuals, fostering greater creativity and collaboration in both work and community spaces.

 

And it’s not just neurodiversity we have to consider. More than a quarter of Americans have a disability, which is often intersectional with other areas of diversity as well, like race or age. So accessibility in all its forms is incredibly important to make sure we’re creating environments where people with all types of diverse needs can thrive.

 

Today, our panel are talking all about formal diagnoses – the challenges, barriers and interplay with work – the basics of inclusive spaces, and some of the ways leaders and organizations can make changes to improve cultures and create more equitable working environments for everyone.

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

 

[01.26] Introductions to our Blended panelists.  

·       Dan Roth– Strategic People Operations Executive 

·        Dr. Tiffany Jameson– Organizational Psychologist and Founder and Managing Partner at grit & flow 

[07.15] The group explore diagnoses for neurodivergence – how people are diagnosed, the varied reasons for the recent increase in diagnoses, the barriers to achieving a formal diagnosis, and the importance of gaining a diagnosis for access to help.

“The criteria that were used for ADHD and autism were very white, boy centered. Girls don’t present like a boy in school, and so they were being missed… There’s now a lot more awareness by pediatricians… And, as more kids are being diagnosed, their parents are going: ‘Oh my goodness, this is very familiar!’ And they go after a diagnosis for themselves.” Tiffany  

“A lot of people fake it till they make it – and they don’t make it. It’s called masking, where you’re pretending to be what society calls normal, and it’s hard to keep that front up.” Tiffany

“From a diversity, equity and inclusion standpoint, let’s not beat around the bush – that term has been weaponized.” Dan  

·       Increase in diagnoses

o   Increased awareness

o   Updated criteria

o   Child-parent knock-on effect 

·       Burnout

·       Masking

·       Barriers to diagnosis

o   Cost

o   School system

o   Limited accessibility resources

o   Stigma

·       Societal expectations

·       Bias

·       Requirement to get a formal diagnosis to access help

·       Cultural impact

·       Generational trauma

·       Parental projection

·       Insecurity/fear

·       Parental grieving process – expectations

“A lot of parents will reject diagnoses, not understanding the proactive measures it allows for.” Dan 

 

[32.42] The panel discuss the basics of inclusive spaces – what they are, what they can look like, and why we need them.

·       Inclusive spaces look different for different people

o   Sensory impacts

o   Lighting

o   Clothing

o   Movement

·       Self-awareness

·       Pace of change for US vs global

·       Advanced communication methods

·       Triggers

·       Rejecting ego

·       I vs we

·       Building psychological safety

·       Knowing/understanding what you need

·       Self-advocacy

·       Asking/listening

·       Ongoing conversation/process

·       Accommodations in hiring processes and potential biased impacts of using them

·       Social anxiety in working environments

·       Education

·       Change management

·       Step-by-step improvements

·       Work from home/work from office

·       Companies ticking boxes/policies ‘for show’

·       Compromise/finding the middle ground  

·       Issues with general education – setting kids up for success/failure

·       Unique point in time

o   Different generations working together

o   Different perspectives and concepts coming together   

o   Different levels of understanding/acceptance

o   Difference in communication styles

·       Overwhelm

·       Grace

·       Empathy

·       Looking at people holistically

 

“An inclusive space is something that’s individualized, it’s person-centered. So what’s inclusive for me isn’t necessarily inclusive for you. So that’s where it can get confusing – how do we generalize inclusion? But there are some best practices, so we think about places where people can get what they need to enjoy the experience, like they belong and have a right to be there.” Tiffany

“The reality is that no one has conquered this idea of the inclusive space, especially in corporations… There’s so much that goes into it, I don’t believe we’re at a point where it’s possible. For us to be truly inclusive, we each need to de-colonize ourselves and understand at a very visceral level what makes us tick, what our fears and triggers are, and we need to be able to express and explain those to others where ego doesn’t come into play.” Dan

“Neurodivergent people, disabled people – people in general! – don’t know what they need to do their best work.” Tiffany  

“It doesn’t matter if you change process if you’re not changing behavior – this is all a change management process.” Tiffany

“I need to be comfortable, and to work in the situation I feel best. And companies with a return to office mandate are basically saying they don’t want me at my best. They want me to be a number, a figure, to fall into line with what some white guy in an ivory tower thought was the right way to be. Who created this baseline we all have to live up to? The return to work mandate does not create equity.” Dan

 

[01.07.02] The group explore some of the easy ways organizations and leaders can create more inclusive spaces and develop more equitable workplace cultures.    

·       Hiring processes

o   Job descriptions

o   Reasonable accommodations

o   Educating hiring managers

o   Being person-centered

o   Language

o   Diverse interviewers

·       Retention processes

o   ERGs

o   External support

o   Funding

o   Giving people time to process/prepare

o   Providing information in multiple mediums

o   Changing working practices/methods of communication 

o   Approach to meetings

o   Management support

·       Impact of current administration

·       Gap in services between childhood and adulthood

 

[1.27.39] The panel share final resources and sum up their thoughts from today’s discussion. 

·       Culture City

·       Fear of ‘doing it wrong’

·       Feel the emotion

 

RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED:

You can connect with Tiffany and Dan over on LinkedIn.