Lori Ruedinger Email & Phone Number

Neurodiversity refers to the infinite different ways that human brains function. Simply put, we're all wired differently!Organizations refer to neurodiversity as a category of diversity, as are race and sexual orientation, meant to embrace and maximize the talents of people who literally think differently. It starts with awareness, understanding and respect for the 15%-20% of the population referred to as neurodivergent. They have alternative thinking styles which can be associated with unique strengths such as data-driven thinking, an ability to spot patterns and trends, and a capacity to process information at an extraordinary speed. They are educated, skilled and want to work. Yet this talent pool, which includes individuals with ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette’s Syndrome and those on the autism spectrum, is 80%-90% unemployed because of the difficulty they have with the traditional interview process which does not consider their differences. Simple adjustments can be made in the workplace to help neurodivergent employees perform at their best, however. In fact, these adjustments to recruitment practices, management style and the physical work environment benefit all employees.Neurodiversity.io provides companies with half-day neurodiversity-training workshops, as well as custom consultation, so they learn how to implement workplace strategies and adjustments that allow them to include neurodivergent job candidates in their hiring decisions and to retain their neurodivergent employees. Autism at Work programs started the conversation for successful autistic employment by placing candidates into specific roles. We train companies to take the next step by expanding their definition of acceptable behavior in the workplace to include all thinking styles. Talent pools will start to include neurodivergent job candidates so they are considered with other candidates in company hiring decisions. Workgroups become more inclusive so current and future neurodivergent employees are retained and all employees thrive. Data scientists, engineers, AI and cybersecurity roles, as well as the healthcare and insurance industries, were identified in LinkedIn's Emerging Top Job Trends report for 2020. Those in the neurodiverse talent pool can be a great fit for these roles and in any organization with STEAM roles. Skills gaps are much narrower when this talent pool is understood.

Listed skills include Building Relationships, Process Improvement, Cross Functional Team Leadership, Project Management, and 45 others.