Neurodiversity & Neuroinclusion Blog

A lot of workplace burnout isn’t caused by “too much work”. It’s caused by too much invisible work : constantly decoding vague expectations compensating for unclear priorities tracking decisions that aren’t written down managing interruptions and context switching masking differences to avoid judgement doing emotional labour to seem “fine” Neurodivergent people often carry a disproportionate share of this invisible load—but the underlying problem is usually the same: work is

On Tuesday 3 February 2026 , the legal community gathered at Deka Chambers for an event hosted by ABC Partnership called “Neuro-Inclusive Chambers: Building Understanding & Confidence.” I (Nat) led the session as the founder of Divergent Thinking , and what struck me most was this: the room was full of people who know the Bar demands exceptional thinking, but who are only just beginning to ask whether Chambers are truly designed for the full range of minds already work

For Neurodiversity Celebration Week Divergent Thinking and the Blind Institute of Technology share practical, low-cost fixes that make hiring and training clearer, more accessible, and more effective. Poster of an event BiT and DT did together last year For Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we teamed up with the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT) to publish a guest piece on a topic that sits right at the overlap of accessibility and neuroinclusion: If your systems aren’t des

Great hiring is wasted if onboarding is guesswork. The first 90 days decide whether a new starter feels clear, capable and safe to contribute—or spends their energy masking and firefighting. Neuro-inclusive onboarding isn’t about special treatment; it’s about designing clarity, control and connection into the job from day one so people can do their best work without disclosure hurdles. Why onboarding is the highest-leverage inclusion moment Role clarity, early wins and socia

Meetings either create clarity or cognitive drag. Neuro-inclusion is about designing for how brains really work: we need stronger signals before the meeting, tighter structure during it, and deliberate silence (recovery) after it. Do that consistently and you’ll see better decisions, fewer follow-ups, and calmer teams. Signal: tell people what kind of thinking is required Most meeting pain starts before anyone joins the call. Ambiguous invitations force people to guess th

A practical manager guide to neurodiversity and workplace conflict, with ways to reduce communication clashes and fix systems, not people.

Practical examples of reasonable adjustments at work for employers and managers, showing how small changes can remove major barriers.

A practical guide to neurodiversity performance management, helping managers move beyond awareness into fair, clear, supportive conversations.

How to make email, chat, and shared documents easier to process with neuro-inclusive digital communication that reduces ambiguity and cognitive load.

Nine practical manager scripts that reduce ambiguity, support neuroinclusive communication, and make everyday workplace conversations more effective.

A practical look at common workplace needs assessment problems, why they happen, and how employers can make the process more useful and inclusive.

Most neurodiversity-related tribunal cases do not begin with hostility. They begin with drift. A manager notices that an employee is struggling, but assumes it is a performance issue. A support request is raised, but gets delayed. Communication remains vague. Adjustments are discussed, but not implemented. Trust drops. Stress rises. Performance concerns escalate. By the time the organisation is thinking legally, it has often already mishandled the practical part. That is why

One-size-fits-all roles create invisible friction. Tasks arrive in the wrong format, priorities shift without explanation, and good people spend energy working around the job rather than doing it. A better approach is job crafting: giving employees structured permission to align tasks, relationships and sense-making with how they work best—while holding outcomes constant. Done well, crafting reduces executive-function load, surfaces strengths, and improves performance without

Most communication problems at work aren’t about attitude. They’re about ambiguity: unclear asks, missing context, decisions not written down, and priorities that live in someone’s head. That creates cognitive load and rework for everyone—especially neurodivergent colleagues. Below are practical, copy-paste templates you can use in Teams/Slack/email to make work more checkable, more inclusive, and faster to deliver. If you want your managers and teams trained to embed these h

Onboarding sets the tone for everything that follows. If a new starter spends their first weeks trying to decode vague expectations, chase missing information or hide support needs, the organisation is already losing energy it could have invested in confidence, belonging and performance. That is why neuroinclusive onboarding matters so much. It is not a “nice to have” extra after recruitment. It is one of the clearest places where inclusion either becomes real or falls apart.

Last year, the NAS South Hampshire Branch Autism Seminar brought together autistic people, allies, and experts for a day of meaningful discussion and practical insight. Held on Saturday 17 May 2025 at Chandlers Ford Methodist Church, this volunteer-led event stood out by blending scientific understanding with lived experience. The seminar featured two autistic speakers who focused on mental health, personal stories, and strategies that truly help in everyday life. This post r

Practical inclusive communication standards that reduce misunderstanding, cognitive load, rework, and friction across neurodiverse teams.

A simple way to measure whether neurodiversity training worked, focusing on manager confidence, behaviour change, and reduced workplace friction.

A UK guide to flexible working and neuroinclusion, explaining day-one request rights, reasonable adjustments, and practical manager steps.

A lot of neurodiversity training is well-intentioned and still ineffective. It raises awareness, gives people new language, and then… nothing changes. Meetings stay messy. Priorities stay vague. Adjustments stay inconsistent. Managers stay unsure. If you’re commissioning training, you’re not buying a slideshow. You’re buying behaviour change. This guide is a practical checklist to help you choose training that actually improves day-to-day work—and avoids “awareness theatre”.