These last 2 months have been exciting and busy as we launched a new course on ADHD and Autism. Neurodiversity Specialists had been asked by a housing association client to help upskill their workforce on making sure they were as neuro-inclusive as possible in working with colleagues, as well as carrying out fieldwork in customers’ homes. Our mission: to go out and take our delegates on a journey and make it informative but practical, too.
So Neurodiversity Specialists’ CEO, Daniel Brooke and I went on a mini workshop tour, ending up in Haynes Motor Museum in Yeovil, with learning that would add value to delegates’ already effective existing engagement with customers in their homes. Another town, another day when learners could understand the ADHD/Autism and AuDHD experience better, and reflect on what this might mean for them in a professional capacity, peer to peer, practitioner to customer.
The learning outcomes took them on the customary blue and yellow Neurodiversity Specialists deep dive – from what they already knew of neurodiversity, to drilling down deeper into the strengths and challenges of ADHD and autism and how these might co-occur with other challenges. We took some time to look in some detail at differences and thought about how disclosure and reasonable adjustments play a part, whether someone knows they have ADHD/autism or not.
A day out of anyone’s working week is a big ask so we made sure that there was fun, some gamification with teamwork, too.
To overcome the carbo coma of lunch, the afternoon took a significant shift to some appreciative inquiry of what’s already working well and what could work even better where groups looked at how they can improve on communicating neuro-inclusively, as well as adjusting current work practices. Here’s what some delegates planned to Stop Doing, Start Doing, Continue Doing in their work:
It’s been so well received – even the chickens outside our Airbnb home wanted to join us!
Session feedback so far has included:
‘this has been fantastic, I feel so supported and seen’
‘this has been fantastic and is honestly the best training I’ve ever had’
‘this has been awesome, the best training I’ve ever had, I cannot imagine ever having such training 10 years ago’.
As always, we’ve already thought of ways this training can be improved and we can’t wait to bring it you and your teams, whether it’s as a strategic imperative for your changing business to build neuro-inclusion as a workplace cornerstone for your colleagues – or for your customers.
Get in touch and see how this course and our able team of training designers can work to make your training fantastic to the point of awesome; all while making sense.
Emma A
