How do you achieve employees with autism?

Dilemma

At the beginning of this month, the Autism Week took place, with the theme ‘Room for autism’. In the workplace that space is not always there: according to the Dutch Autism Register, half of people with autism and an (above) average IQ at home. How can employers create an inclusive recruitment process?

Get the diploma requirement from the vacancy

It should be simple, says Sander Begeer, developmental psychologist and professor of diversity of autism at the VU University. « There is a huge shortage of employees, and people with autism have a shortage of work. That could solve each other, but despite many strategies, instruments and interventions a lot goes wrong. » According to Begeer, many employers know little about autism and have prejudices. « There are still employers who think that people with autism cannot talk or that it is especially something of children. »

As co -founder of the Dutch Autism Register, Beerer has been following large groups of people with autism during their career for fourteen years. Finding a suitable job for people with autism is difficult, concludes Begeer. « Half of the people with autism and an average or above average IQ have no work, » he says. « But even with the people who do work, it is not always easy. The drop is high and many people work below their level. »

There are still employers who think people with autism cannot talk

That has nothing to do with intelligence, says Saskia Meeuwessen. She is director of ITVITAE, an educational institution in Amersfoort who trains young people with autism and an average IQ as an IT specialist and helps in finding a job. « These people have talent and can offer companies a lot, but because of a few thresholds they don’t get to work or they fall out. »

That starts with the follow -up education, Meeuwessen explains. High school usually succeeds, but training within higher professional education or university is often too massive for people with autism and offers them too little structure. « An autistic brain can focus well on one subject, but on HBO or the university you have a different lesson every 45 minutes, at a different location, from another teacher. That gives a lot of crowds and noise. »

And without a diploma many jobs seem to be out of reach, says Meeuwessen. « There have been several investigations that show that a man is applying if he meets three out of ten requirements in a vacancy, a woman at eight out of ten, but someone with autism only applies when he or she meets all requirements. » Leaving out that diploma requirement is already helping.

No application but test run

The recruitment procedure is often a large threshold for people with autism, says Begeer. Various studies show that people with autism are less good at selling themselves. They are generally very honest, find it difficult to weigh what information is relevant and do not always get out of their words, he explains. « You prefer to skip the application round and just let someone test for a week. »

But if companies want to stick to an application procedure, there are many simple adjustments that make the procedure a lot more pleasant for candidates with autism, says Meeuwessen. « The key is when removing stress factors. You see the talent coming up. » For example, companies can remove stress by clearly explaining a candidate prior to the conversation what they can expect and by sending a questionnaire. « People with autism are usually very honest, so employers do not have to fear for touched answers. »

If you remove stress factors, you will see the talent coming up

What you ask also matters, says Meeuwessen. «  » Where do you see yourself in five years?  » Or « What can I wake you up at night? » His very complicated questions for an autistic brain. The same applies to assessments: the question thereby is usually not autism -friendly, says Meeuwessen. « You have to choose from multi-interpretable answers, that is where someone with autism is on a piece. It is important for them that things are concrete. »

It also helps if the person who takes the application is the first to imagine, then the candidate with autism knows what is expected of an introduction, Meeuwessen advises. According to her, it can also work well to take the application sitting next to each other, or during a walk, because looking into each other can also be a distracting stimulus for neurodivergent people. « And occasionally dare to drop silences, » Meeuwessen advises. « An autistic brain sometimes needs brief switching time. We tend to fill that silence immediately, while the other person is still processing the stimulus. »

Whether or not you should mention autism during an application remains a dilemma, says Begeer. Telling can evoke prejudices, for example if an employer thinks that someone is not suitable for a social profession because of his autism. However, employers can also be angry if someone doesn’t tell. « I wish you can always tell it, but the situation differs from person to person. »

So

Employers who want to reach candidates with autism must take a step themselves, because the standard application process is not designed for neurodivergent people. For example, employers can remove the diploma requirement from the vacancy text and send the questions for a job interview in advance with a clear instruction on how the conversation will proceed. They can also replace an assessment with a practical assignment. They benefit from that, because a company can have a lot of autistic employees, especially in view of the current tight labor market.

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