Concerning the meetings topic at around the 36 minute mark. I feel that 80% of the meetings I attend at work are useless. The worst ones are the reoccurring meetings with a vague purpose - such as "weekly project X check in." - Since there is no clear goal for a poorly planned meeting, at best the time is wasted. More than likely, there are a number of people that waste hours before the meeting worrying about it. Then they cannot get back on task after the meeting. So - one poorly planned meeting can derail a half a day resulting a negative impact on productivity and the financial well being of the group. For a neurodivergent person, a poorly planned meeting might end up in no work being accomplished that day.
Another horrible excuse for a meeting is bringing in your ND employee for one seemingly mundane reason but then springing something else on them with no warning whatsoever
I love thinking in terms of spell slots rather than spoons. I personally have fork theory. I can only take so many forks sticking in me at a time. If my shoes are bothering me, that’s a fork, weird smells and sounds are also forks along with being hungry or dehydrated. If I need to focus on something, I need to remove as many forks as I can before I start.
Currently job-hunting so thanks for the reminder about avoiding situations that I KNOW won’t work for me (too loud, too bright, etc.) Also, I was reminded of things that worked well for me in my last job. My surroundings are important to me so I set up a floor lamp and table lamp with darker shades & dimmer lighting, added a low pile rug under my desk area to delineate my personal space, brought in some plants in terrariums and a diffuser too. The woman who’s positionI took over said, “Gosh, I wonder why I never thought to do this. It’s so nice!”
"This meeting could have been an e-mail." Yes!! As someone who always reads their e-mails, it's offensive to me to then go to a meeting and have them say the same thing that was already said in email. That should be the consequence for people not actioning the items in the e-mails. The meeting can address questions or summarize what needs to be done, but I hate having my time wasted by meetings. In the time that the meeting runs, I could have taken care of three tasks. The meetings are also noisy; people ask questions only useful to the individual, not the good of the group; the timing is terrible (trying to get everyone in the room at the same time). I would rather take a break (if needed), then complete the tasks quietly. Questions that only apply to me should be e-mailed, not asked in the meeting. On top of that, I've been in meetings that echoes e-mails I've already attended to, with similarly-responsible so-workers, and have seen people be told not to multi-task. For example, teachers being told not to do grading during a useless meeting. So we can't do tedious, repetitious tasks, but I have to listen to people's off-topic conversations (and negativity) and be treated like a child by the meeting organizers? They can't just get to the point and let us go. Anyway, thanks for the video!
41:19 100% if you can work from home some or all of the time that is a game changer. No commute stress, all the sensory friendly clothing, and full control over ambient lighting, temperature, and background noise. Makes a massive difference. Flexible scheduling as well is huge. If you can find a way to work in concert with your natural circadian rhythm that makes everything easier. In my experience I would also recommend looking for jobs that are known to be very metric based “meritocracies.” Workplace politics is an absolute nightmare for most autistic people. Places that are performance metric driven can come with their own stresses, but it is nice to know what those expectations are, be able to regularly check your performance, and have good performance as “cover” if you have a supervisor or coworker that has decided they don’t like you. Working in a meritocracy means you can concentrate more on doing your actual job and spend less time trying to second guess what they actually value and win the popularity contest just to keep your job.
Blown away by Emma's content and free executive dysfunction write up. Thank you Taylor for posting this video! So many ASD women RU-vidrs making a HUGE impact!! ❤
Thanks again, Taylor for having me on your channel, really enjoyed our conversation. I'll try to check in via the various platforms for any questions over the weekend. Hello all from Canberra, where it is currently a chilly 6 degrees C (42 degrees F) on a Saturday morning. 🙂
Great to see that Emma’s work is having an impact. Unfortunately most government departments let alone private companies have next to no resources that are useful. The DoD launched a neurodiversity website this week and it is useless to me as an autistic person and manager of people that may or may not also be neurodiverse. This is exactly what I was hoping to see! Thanks once again for great content.
So true about trying to prepare for sensory situations on the job. I did not prepare for last week well enough at all. I do wildlife surveys and hike all day and it rained. Thus my pants got soaked and I REALLY cannot handle the feeling if wet clothes. I should have packed dry clothes. It was a tough drive back to the office trying not to cry. Ugh.
Thanks for doing this video, I’ve shared with our UK neurodivergent speech and language therapy group. Your resource was the inspiration for me starting a project with the Royal College to get reasonable adjustments for hidden aspects of ND disability to be more widely known in our professional workforce
AuDHD -- Who was bitten by a copperhead 3 weeks ago. Firstly, I'm dealing with PTSD from it. Can't explain the pain (20 out of 10). I was convulsing, vomiting, bawling....and it tanked my liver for a while (enzymes normally 35 were in the 500's). I had to do a DEEEEEEP dive to discover that it's commonplace/expected that about 3-4 weeks out, deep depression occurs. I suspect it's depleted dopamine, brain fog and my hormones are completely out of whack. I work full-time and am desperate to recover my executive function. I am trying to prevent the destruction of the credibility I have knocked myself out to attain. THANK YOU for providing this... This brain fog makes it harder to hunt down these ideas on my own.
Ahaha! I literally just shared eith my boss that later in the day is better. Loved the "my brain is scheduled to arrive at 10:00" example Emma gave 😂 Preach! Ramping up to an accommodations request meeting soon. Excited to read the guide, thank you both so so much! Edited: Typos fixed
I work as a figure model for artists partly because it's simple...and have done so for 30 years even though I could do more maybe but I don't want overwhelm
I looked at some of the Google definitions and descriptions of Autism and being Autistic some of these examples are absolutely horrible. It’s not a one size fit all. When it comes to being autistic these definitions on Google are horrible.
Very informative and thanks for this conversation. One resource in the U.S. can be the vocational rehabilitation offices madated for every state to help with workplace accommodations and mitigating with employers.
Thank you Taylor and Emma. I was officially diagnosed as AUDHD today. As a fellow Aussie I look forward to reading your resource Emma. I loved the cupcake story Taylor. After working for the government for over 30 years, and struggling immensely with executive dysfunction and sensory issues lately (amongst other things), maybe it’s time to find something useful and fun that will give my nerves and brain some regulation. It’s really difficult navigating major change at my age though (mid 50s), and there’s pretty limited new job opportunities for me now. I have developed physical and pain and mental health issues over the years, and am struggling to get suitable adjustments at work following changes that were made at a national and area level. Maybe the formal diagnosis and Emma’s guide will help. Wish me luck 🍀. Thanks again. Very good to watch 😊
The intro within 0.01s, it was like a car hork through my Apple Macbook Pro speakers. maybe consider Logic Pro X for sound or hiring a sound engineer to help with Video/Audio production quality. Huge fan of your content! Jump scare on TikTok like the Basebook that cracks the screen from the POV of the umpire with face mask and safety equipment as the pitcher throw a 87MPH 2 seamer cutter right in the stike zone.
That's an insightful episode, but you need to consider that the only persons interested in the efficiency of a company are the owners: The managers really work for their own goals, like money, power, status etc. and that is not always aligned with the interests of the owners. Many improvements for neurodivergent employees are actually appreciated by neurotypical people as well, they do help the company as a whole, but they may work against the personal goals of managers and that's where conflicts arise from.
For anyone who needs it, the Smart But Scattered series really helped me work through my executive dysfunction issues, and they talk about measures that can be done to help too!
I am absolutely hopeless as a worker. Just a total mess incapable of doing simple things like attending meetings and filing paperwork. I've done different jobs and nothing has ever gone well. I will watch this and hopefully get some ideas of what to do next.
I have the same problems but managed to hold a job where my special abilities are too vital for the company. They know I forget about meetings when I work.
I’ve known I have executive dysfunction for a few years, I just don’t know how to deal with it. At my current job, we use Google Drive to share and store all files. I really struggle as it doesn’t make sense to me how the folders and files are set up. I can’t locate anything! 😫
I really connected with the comment Taylor made about her best job ever, at a bakery. For me, that was lifeguarding. You sit in a chair in the warm under an umbrella, with all your comfort items (padded floatie to hold, ice water, sunhat, sunglasses, no pants! cuz swim suit).... and you watch people swim all day. Most of the time, nothing happens. But you get to blow a whistle at people and make them follow rules. I mean, what could be better? Also as a managing lifeguard I still had to sit in the stand most of the time, so to manage my people I made a white board and just told them they had to tick off a certain number of chores while not up on the stand watchign the pool. Worst part - trying to actualy respond to an emergency in an orderly fashion, and the paperwork after.
Thank you for posting your videos. It put me on the right path to get tested/ evaluated for Autism and ADHD. I have an intake appointment this coming Friday. I'm 40 and have spent most of my life frustrated with myself for my differences and difficulties with just functioning in a social world.
Thank you so much for answering my question, it was really encouraging and reassuring to me so thank you. I will take this information throughout my further education and whatever career I end up in. Also it’s great to learn of other Australian autistic people and resources.
To Imogene's question about becoming a surgeon: I would approach it as training for a marathon. Do you start off running 26.2 miles in a day? No. Expose yourself to these environments a little bit at a time, reassess, develop coping strategies from that, and see if your tolerance increases. Essentially, exposure therapy. And of course, what Tayler said about planning ahead and trying to stay in tune with your sensory needs. I started as an RN working on a busy ortho floor last year, and the first 2 months were pure sensory overload. While it is still challenging at times, I am feeling much better and a lot more confident a year into it.
I recently went to my supervisor about something that was bothering me and has been bothering me and she legit mocked and made fun of me. She did apologize as she knew it was rude and stated as such, but that doesn't change the fact that now I do not feel I can go to her about anything, nor any of my seniors. I can go to my other team members as they do not treat me this way. It is just management. My supervisor has made it clear how she feels and what she thinks. I would never had said what she said to me to anyone when I was a manager. She even said to me I have never met anyone like you and I have trained many people. I took offense to that because I am not everyone else. I don't like being compared to others as I am my own person. I speak up when things bother me or don't make sense. I was even encouraged to ask questions but yet when I DO I am made to feel like I am a burden. I asked her if she ever worked with someone who was ADHD/OCD/neurodivergent and on the spectrum? She said no and my reply was 'well now you do.' I have 100% on all my work reviews. I know I am good at my job. My 'disability' in my job IS my super power. I am good at my job because of how I think and it frustrates me when people come at me over trial little things esp when it is something that isn't small to me and if interferes with me being able to do my job. I should NOT have a panic attack going to a supervisor with a question because they have made me feel over and over that me asking questions annoys them. I was diagnosed at 36. I am 45 now. It is not easy esp at work because people do treat you differently. I work from home which is a BLESSING as I could not be in an office. I am always the weird one at work, which is ok. I am who I am but I do get upset when my feelings are not validated esp when it is how someone else is making me feel over and over and I am told to just let it go. Why should I? If someone is making me uncomfortable to where to where I can't do my job why should I let that go? I have been compiling a bunch of videos and information on neurodivergence in the work place. I want to make a presentation about it because we have nothing for it at work. We have it for every other diverse category but not this and I guarantee many I work with are like me but mask and wont speak up.
Another version that I have seen is a health bar in some games, different things can reduce the health and some make it take more of a hit than others. For it to recover takes time but depending on what armour, spells etc you have you might be able to speed up the process.
Opinion: Approaches to getting the same work done are going to be different. Generally, divergent approaches are not respected, so the divergence becomes a disability in effect. Example, I had no problem for many years with work because a different approach was allowed. When I switched work and was in a different environment, shit hit the fan. Basically if I didn’t do it a certain way, it was considered that I wasn’t doing it because the style was different even though it had always worked. What happened when pressured or restricted that way is that all the days of efforts were lost and it had to be restarted their way even though I was nearly done. Eventually I got so frustrated that I froze and kept freezing up, had to call in sick, sadly, and really did get sick as a result. Had the difference been respected, my output was actually better than the average there, but it wasn’t, and I ended up eventually leaving. The situation had a lasting effect and some influence on other parts of life as well. Surprised but trying to handle it did contribute to a physical health crash. Opinion Work requirements: If someone has a job that requires lifting and suddenly they say, sorry my arms aren’t working any more so I need accommodations, it is kind of silly…sorry, they should change jobs if they cannot do the job, do the basics required. However, if the person has artificial arms or uses their arms in a different way, or even if they use their feet, however they do it, and can be effective, it makes so much more sense to make adjustments and allow for the difference so the person can continue the job. Who knows, maybe the person can do the job better than somebody with the normal limbs. Can the person do the job and do they want to do it even if it is not in the same way as somebody else. As I said, maybe the person can even do the job better but at least if they can do the basics, why not allow a different approach? By not respecting differences we loose so much value from people. It is a waste, isn’t it? People want to achieve and supposedly the value of that person is wanted, so why not? Let’s get the value from people, allowing, allowing, allowing them to achieve and be of value. 🙏
Nowadays many jobs have flexible time and less than 40 h per week, that works for me. I like to be at the office and the company has a good cafeteria so I get a good meal.
24:36 Hi, I want to add something to the point of „working in an clinical environment“. I‘m not a surgeon but have worked in an associated area of the hospital (in Germany). I had chosen to inform my profesional enviroment about my autism before I started working there. I also „visited“ the areas before , to get an impression which factors of the worksituation might be a sensory and or social problem for me. So I could prepare some of my strategies before I started working there. For me it was good choise to inform my team, because with the time they got really motivated to help me with some struggeling situations and now I‘m really good included, which I didn‘t had excpected at all, when I first came there.
Great it worked out for you. I know two cases for whom it didn't work out. I wouldn't support the path to become a physician. It takes a lot of time and you will have to be a grunt at the hospital. Many will suffer through the studies but fail the practical part.
Very curious…any other teachers realizing that it just doesn’t work anymore. The constant overstimulation and all the other stressors in the classroom environment that just don’t seem to be good for you? Any advice on jobs or careers that you were able to successfully transition to after leaving the field?
Many teachers move to educational publishing and become editors and/or creators of educational resources. You can find a job as an employee or work freelance from home.
I saw somewhere a diagram that showed the traffics between the left and right brain and how we operate on three lanes instead of four…I now can’t find it 🤦. Can anyone assist please?
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Hi I’m really sorry me and technology don’t get along and this is the only way I know to contact you. I was supposed to have a video call about joining your community group but being autistic with adhd I lost the thing?? I need to do it. I’m sorry to waste your time.❤️❤️ Everything you say could come out of my mouth. I’m 53 and I was diagnosed this January (I have an iq around 130😳) didn’t know that either.
