Structured Common Sense
The things nobody says about neurodiversity at work.
Every Wednesday I take one thought people have about neurodivergent colleagues, but rarely say out loud, and answer it honestly from my side of the desk.
Is this an adjustment, or am I being played?
Common sense isn't all that common.
A few years ago I did something totally bonkers: I listened to my amazing wife, Maria. She gently told me I had “a lot of traits of someone on the autistic spectrum.”
Intrigued, I started researching my favourite subject (me!), and that journey led to my autism diagnosis. Finally understanding how my own brain works was so powerful that I wanted to give the people around me the same chance: to know that they matter, and that they're enough.
Structured Common Sense is how I'm doing that at work. What's obvious to one brain often isn't to another, so I'm saying the quiet parts out loud, kindly, and answering them as honestly as I can.
Read where it started: my 2021 diagnosis blog →One thought. One honest answer. Every Wednesday.
The thought
Something people think about neurodivergent colleagues but rarely say out loud. It usually comes from worrying about getting it wrong, not from a bad place.
My honest answer
From my lived experience as one autistic man. It's not a rulebook, and I'm not speaking for every neurodivergent person.
Your turn
The conversation carries on in the LinkedIn comments, and your questions shape what comes next.
- Managers who want to get adjustments right
- Colleagues who want to help but worry about saying the wrong thing
- Neurodivergent people who've heard these thoughts, or had them
- Anyone who's curious
Every instalment, newest first
A new one appears here every Wednesday.
Join in on LinkedIn
Each instalment goes out on LinkedIn at 8am on a Wednesday, and the comments are half the point. Follow me there so you don't miss one, and tell me where I've got it wrong.
What's the thought you've heard, or had yourself, but never said out loud?
You don't have to justify it, and it doesn't have to sound nice. Most of these thoughts come from worrying about getting it wrong. Send it to me here, and it might just become a future instalment.
- You can stay completely anonymous. If I write about it, I'll only name you if you say I can.
- I'm one autistic bloke, not a spokesperson for everyone. I'll answer from my own experience, and I might not get to every one.