The Resource Library for neurodivergent professionals

The Neurodiversity Media Resource Library is a valuable resource for neurodivergent professionals. For Inform, Carolyn Cage explores the library and its resources.

Neurodiversity in the workplace is considered acompetitive advantage. However there are often setbacks when it comes to support and accommodations needed for neurodivergent people to be able to play to their strengths and thrive in the workplace.

When it comes to neurodivergent people, employment rates are extremely low. This is despite autistic people, people with ADHD, dyslexia and other neurological differences being amongst some of the most creative thinkers, inventors and masterminds.

Many of the obstacles come as a result of stigma, discrimination and lack of understanding around the various conditions. Research shows however, autistic people have a unique ability to read and identify complex patterns, and people with ADHD can often be creative and innovative.

The neurodiverse testing teams for the Australian Government’s Human Services department for example, demonstrated 30% higher productivity than other teams. Yet many who are neurodivergent still struggle to fit into the profiles that hiring departments and employers are looking for.

That’s where comes in providing free, evidence-based resources that are available in different formats to better support and empower neurodivergent professionals and create a better understanding around neurodiversity in the workplace.

Educate and empower the world about neurodiversity

The founder and CEO of the company, Rachel Worsley, has a background in medical journalism. Rachel is also autistic, has ADHD and has dyspraxia. She began Neurodiversity Media as a result of her own workplace experiences, where she struggled to find the right resources to help her at work.

“I wanted to create a media company that could educate and empower the world about neurodiversity. Primarily through creating a one-stop shop platform for all kinds of resources, starting with the workplace,” Rachel said.

The Resource Library includes a wide variety of resources for autistic people, people with ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and Tourette’s syndrome. The Library creates these resources by turning scientific research papers and studies into easy-to-read articles.

“The Resource Library currently contains articles and infographics around practical strategies and information about neurodivergent conditions for neurodivergent people, their support network and employers. It is primarily based on evidence-based research papers that we translate into plain English for others to understand,” Rachel said.

The Resource Library is continuously being updated and added to. It contains written, visual, audio and video resources because not everyone learns or digests information the same way.

“The majority of our individual resources are freely accessible and shareable for anyone to read or view. We are working towards full information accessibility by ensuring all our resources are displayed in text, visual, audio and video. So far, we have committed to displaying many of our resources in text and visual,” Rachel said.

What can you find in the Neurodiversity Media Resource Library?

The types of resources you can find in the Resource Library include:

• Networking For Autistic Professionals
• Strategies To Help Autistic Women Flourish At Work
• How To Find People To Champion Your Strengths at Work
• Your Rights At Work If You Have ADHD

The Resource Library also features ND@Work profiles where neurodivergent professionals from around the world are interviewed. Recent profiles include  Caroline Turner a former police officer with ADHD who founded Creased Puddle. Also featured is Hunter Hansen an autistic business analyst at Apple, and Shae Wissell, founder of the Australian-based Dear Dyslexia Foundation.

The neurodiverse talent share their experiences, including the journey with their diagnosis, how they began their line of work or advocacy and the challenges they’ve faced in the workplace. They also share advice for other neurodivergent professionals who are in or making their way into the workforce.

The Resource Library is also built with the ability to filter content according to specific professional development needs. For example support and accommodation, workplace culture and recruitment strategies. There is also the ability to filter according to career stage, whether you’re studying, early/mid-career, having a career break or switching between careers.

NDIS and the Neurodiversity Media Resource Library

While general access to the Resource Library is free, there is also the option to sign up as a Pro Member. This grants you exclusive access to visual toolkits, networking opportunities, and workplace accommodation checklists, which are a great tool for HR departments and employers, on areas such as communication, flexibility and environment.

If you have an employment goal in your NDIS plan, you can use your NDIS funding to sign up as a Pro Member as the resources can assist with goals such as finding and seeking employment.

Best of all they create their own original memes, which are based on the lived experience of neurodiversity in the workplace. You can check them out in this article or by following Neurodiversity media on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Visit neurodiversitymedia.com/join to check out the Resource Library and sign up as a free member today.

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