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Neurodivergence in Peer Spaces Part 2: Supervision of Neurodivergent Peers

By Jay Culkin, MA, YPA-C, NYCPS-P, Youth Training Coordinator for Families Together New York State
When I was growing up I presented as a happy child who was “strong-willed” and “quirky.” I enjoyed being social, reciting entire Disney movie scenes line by line with each character’s mannerisms to impress and entertain adults, lining up my Winnie the Pooh themed toys, and walking around on my heels and toes. I would ask many questions and I would share my ponderings of the way the universe worked with my very tired, mildly annoyed parents. As I grew older, my mannerisms were no longer endearing. As a teenager my rocking back and forth, slamming my back against the chair to emo music and memorizing and reciting the lyrics (and instrumental sounds) was more of a nuisance than a quirk. The rage I would express at the sensory input, which I didn’t understand at the time, became less of a “tantrum” and more of a “danger to myself” despite my desperate attempts to stop what I perceived as danger. I had to quickly adapt to get my short-term needs met, even if it meant long-term damage to my overall wellness.
I used to be a “serial job-hopper,” quitting jobs fearing that I was bad at them even when my supervisors would say, “You were doing so great, we’re sad to see you go already.” In my head I thought, “It’s only a matter of time.” A matter of time before what? I wasn’t sure. Upon getting a full neuropsychological evaluation and finding resources and community, I learned what I needed to succeed and be fulfilled. Since then I have been able to “function” in a way that accommodated my support needs. This story is not a very unique story for those within the neurodivergent community. It is also a story that only scratches the surface of the wide array of experiences that different neurodivergent individuals face.
Supporting Neurodivergent Individuals in Peer Work
- Recognize how Neurodivergence impacts peer work
When you are preparing to hire, onboard, and supervise a neurodivergent peer, it is important to figure out what things you have to look out for. There’s a lot of information out there about ADHD and Autism that are written by other clinicians but it might be a good idea to look into information either made by or widely shared by neurodivergent individuals. It is also important to consider (as mentioned in the first part of this two-part series) how the individual might be masking to fit your expectations as a new supervisor. Plan out clear and direct communication about expectations and how you will continuously communicate the expectations as situations change.
- Strengths-based approaches and intentional matching
Neurodivergent productivity and workplace skills may not match up with the productivity and workplace skills of your work environment. It might be beneficial to ask why this might be with reassurance of non-judgment. Many neurodivergent individuals have been criticized for their workstyles due to deviation from the norm. Demonstrate enthusiasm about hearing about their strengths and what they need to bring out the most of their strengths. When matching neurodivergent peers with people to support, make sure the strengths you have taken inventory of matches the strengths of the peer. The individual receiving services does not need to also be neurodivergent for intentional matching to work, although if an individual is neurodivergent, it might be a good idea to prioritize matching them with a neurodivergent peer.
- Figuring out accommodations and support
Although neurodiversity is an excellent umbrella term it can sometimes cause us to lose sight of the uniqueness and individuality of each person’s neurodiversity. For example, what you might typically expect to get done in 4 hours might take some individuals 1 hour, and it might take them the whole 8 hour long workday. Both individuals may struggle with Executive Dysfunction but in different ways. Circling back to the previous example, the individual who only took 1 hour may have done so with no breaks and “hyper focused” to complete the task completely. They may have needed a longer time to recharge or may have only had enough energy for one task so they didn’t want to take a break to lose focus on the task. The person who took the entire workday may have needed to take many breaks and needed to refocus their attention. They might have struggled with getting started on different parts of the task and they took many breaks to get themselves prepared and motivated. It might be a good idea to look at resources such as the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) at the link at the end of this article to come prepared with a list of possible accommodations to make sure the tasks are completed as they are needed. Coming prepared with solutions serves as an effort to assuage any concerns about needing an accommodation being considered a burden or a disqualifier for the work.
In Summary…
What the information in this article all boils down to is to recommend that supervisors do their research and practice non-judgment. Supervisors will do their part in making a strong, diverse team by looking at their peer tasks from a different lens. It’s critical for supervisors to consider all of the possibilities of what neurodivergent inclusion can bring to the individuals their organization supports.
For Further Reading…
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) – https://autisticadvocacy.org/
Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) – https://aane.org/
Autistic Women & Non-Binary Network (AWN) – https://awnnetwork.org/
ADDitude Magazine – https://www.additudemag.com/
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) – https://chadd.org/
Job Accommodation Network (JAN) – https://askjan.org/