The Untapped Potential of Autism at Work

The following content was presented at the Sydney Workability Expo 2025 on 8th August 2025.

The Untapped Potential of Autism at Work
The Untapped Potential of Autism at Work
Why it matters
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2024) Autism in Australia, 2022: Key findings in plain language. Canberra: ABS.
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2025) Labour Force, Australia: June 2025. Canberra: ABS.
  • Financial Times (2024) 'UK employers eye competitive advantage in hiring neurodivergent workers', Financial Times, 18 October.
  • Buescher, A., Cidav, Z., Knapp, M. & Mandell, D. (2014) 'Costs of Autism Spectrum Disorders in the United Kingdom and the United States', JAMA Pediatrics, 168(8), pp. 721–728. DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.210.
Invisible effort
  • Hull, L., Petrides, K., Allison, C., Smith, P., Baron-Cohen, S., Lai, M. & Mandy, W. (2017) '"Putting on My Best Normal": Social camouflaging in Autistic adults', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), pp. 2519–2534. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5.
  • Lai, M., Lombardo, M., Ruigrok, A., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B. & Bullmore, E.T. (2017) 'Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism', Autism, 21(6), 690-702. DOI: 10.1177/1362361316671012.
  • Hull, L., Mandy, W., Lai, M., Baron-Cohen, S., Allison, C., Smith, P. & Petrides, K. (2020) 'Development and Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)', Autism Dev Disord, 49, 819-833. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3792-6.
  • Cassidy, S., Gould, K., Townsend, E., Pelton, M., Robertson, A. & Rodgers, J. (2020) 'Is Camouflaging Autistic Traits Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours? Expanding the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide in an Undergraduate Student Sample', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(10), 3638–3648. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04323-3.
Misread strengths
Hiring glitch
  • Schmidt, F. & Hunter, J. (1998) 'The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings', Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–274. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262.
  • Hogan, H., Hogan, R. & Kaiser, R. (2009) 'Management derailment: Personality assessment and mitigation', American Psychological Association Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 3, 555-575 ResearchGate.
  • Gallup (2015) 'State of the American Manager'. (Key statistic quoted in Moscatello, C. (2015) 'There's a good chance your boss should not be a boss', Glamour). → Cites Gallup [Paywall]
Performance trap
  • Colella, A., DeNisi, A. and Varma, A. (1997) 'Appraising the performance of employees with disabilities: A review and model', Human Resource Management Review, 7(1), 27-54. DOI: 10.1016/S1053-4822(97)90004-8.
Late diagnosis costs
  • Lilley, R., Lawson, W., Hall, G. et al. (2023) '"Peas in a pod": oral-history reflections on autistic identity by late-diagnosed adults', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53, 1146–1161. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05667-z.
  • Atherton, G., Edisbury, E., Piovesan, A. & Cross, L. (2022) 'Autism Through the Ages: A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding How Age and Age of Diagnosis Affect Quality of Life', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52, 3639–3654. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05235-x.
  • Brown, C., Newell, V., Sahin, E. & Hedley, D. (2024) 'Updated Systematic Review of Suicide in Autism: 2018–2024', Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 11, 225–256. DOI: 10.1007/s40474-024-00308-9.
The business upside
  • Austin, R.D. and Pisano, G.P. (2017) 'Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage', Harvard Business Review, 95(3), 96–103. HBR.org
  • Deloitte (2020) 'Neurodiversity: The Next Frontier in Talent'. Deloitte Insights.
  • Lorenz, T. & Heinitz, K. (2014) 'Aspergers – Different, Not Less: Occupational Strengths and Job Interests of Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome’, PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100358.
Shifting HR - Re-imagine recruitment
Shifting HR - Redesign workspaces
Shifting HR - Re-write feedback
Language matters
  • Kenny, L., Hattersley, C., Molins, B., Buckley, C., Povey, C. & Pellicano, E. (2016) 'Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the UK autism community', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20(4). DOI: 10.1177/1362361315588200.
  • Bury, S., Jellett, R., Spoor, J. & Hedley, D. (2020) '"It Defines Who I Am" or "It's Something I Have": What Language Do [Autistic] Australian Adults [on the Autism Spectrum] Prefer?', Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(2), 677-687. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04425-3.
Toolkit for allies
Let's build neuroinclusive workplaces