Introduction

These ideas are intended to foster management practices that intentionally build and maintain a neuroinclusive workplace. The audience for this document, broadly referred to as managers, includes administrators, managers, supervisors, deans, directors, team leads, people who lead meetings, people who review and update policies, and anyone who participates in the recruitment, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and retention of employees. Additionally this document has ideas for people who create employee development opportunities, especially those directed at building work culture. The document consists of four major sections broadly covering changing one’s mindset, ideas and practices for creating an inclusive workplace culture, accommodation best practices, and accessibility considerations for candidates and staff.

Mindset

Mindset Contextualizing Statement

The most important thing is to educate yourself. Immerse yourself in literature and voices from the neurodiverse community. Reflect on and question your personal experiences and assumptions concerning neurodiversity and do not make generalizations. In all situations, assume that some employees and patrons are neurodivergent. (Anderson, 2021).

Mindset Ideas

• Do research (in-depth if possible) on the perceptions and experiences of people with disabilities about library services and the library work environment (Shea & Derry, 2019)
• Be aware of unconscious biases (Ogunleye, 2023)
• Get to know neurodiverse employees and students
• Recognize that disabilities under the neurodivergence umbrella (like Autism and ADHD) are recognized and protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act’s definition of disability. This being said, some neurodivergent people do not self-identify as disabled.

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Inclusive Workplace Culture

Inclusive Workplace Culture Contextualizing Statement

Begin with an overt commitment to being a neuroinclusive organization (Peters, 2023 (video)). Make your commitment explicit and include neurodiverse perspectives in planning and decision-making. Hire neurodivergent people to work in the library and take neurodivergent people seriously as users of the library (Shea & Derry, 2019). In shaping workplace culture, consider a social model approach to building an inclusive environment (Shea & Derry, 2019). A social model approach, which considers disability to be caused by unaccommodating environments rather than defects in a person, may prompt interest in creating a more inclusive environment for everyone (Peters, 2023 (video)). More information about models of disability can be found in our Accessibility Toolkit.

Inclusive Workplace Culture Ideas

• Commit to creating a psychologically safe space where people do not fear negative repercussions for being neurodiverse (Peters, 2023 (video))
• Include neurodiversity in DEI work and statements (Peters, 2023 (video)).
  • Recognize neurodiversity as one of the ways that human beings are diverse, and that inclusion and accommodation of neurodivergent people is essential to an equitable workplace
  • Recognize the impact of intersectionality. Many neurodivergent people have more than one disability, and people with multiple minority identities can experience increased challenges and stigma.
• If state or federal legislation impacts your library’s ability to promote DEI explicitly, review resources for strategic messaging and building resilience (Poole, 2025).
• Educate neurotypical employees about neurodiversity by providing regular training opportunities for librarians and staff (Shea & Derry, 2019)
  • Neurodivergent and neurotypical people can collaborate to create training activities, avoiding placing too much burden on neurodivergent employees.
  • Shape trainings around true need as described from members of the population (Anderson, 2021, referencing Fletcher-Watson et al., 2019)
  • Training should emphasize the importance of accessibility for everyone, even those who do not appear disabled or have a formal diagnosis.
• Host patron-facing events to increase community awareness and acceptance
  • Acknowledge days of significance like World Autism Day on April 2
  • Invite experts on neurodivergence to your library
  • Host panel discussions featuring neurodiverse people
  • Highlight library materials on various kinds of neurodiversity (Shea & Derry, 2019).
• Keep the social demands of the job manageable and predictable
• Avoid ableist language. Managers need to think carefully about how they are talking about people in the workplace and how their language shapes the workplace culture (Peters, 2023 (video); Mellifont, 2023; Lydia X.Z. Brown’s post on Ableist language).
• To consider – Peters, 2023 (video) includes neurodiversity diagnosis in her signature line along with pronouns (ADHD, she/her). Doing this as a manager, while not required (no one is required to disclose) may help to destigmatize neurodiversity.

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Accommodations

Accommodations Contextualizing Statement

Managers must be overtly accommodation-friendly in the workplace. Managers can identify and collaborate with partners on campus who can facilitate this process. HR can work with managers to  amplify accommodation awareness and training.

Accommodations are one way to avoid creating inaccessible environments through inflexible policies and practices. Consider the distinction between equity and equality, and that the same practice may impact neurodivergent employees in different ways. Accommodations help neurodivergent employees access an equitable experience in the workplace.

It is the manager’s responsibility to educate all employees about accommodation. Employees have the right to request that their disclosure to their manager remain confidential. Sometimes, other employees interpret an accommodation as favoritism or preferential treatment. Educating the entire organization about accommodations can help prevent these situations.

Managers should not use the fact that disability law is complicated as an excuse for the manager or organization not to provide guidance in this area (Peters, 2023 (video)).

Accommodation Ideas

Although this Toolkit is not intended to give legal advice, several important ADA points are touched on here to frame an approach to accommodation. These ideas are taken from Peters, 2023 (video). 

• Be familiar with resources such as Disability Law and Policy (Concepts and Insights) by Peter Blanck.
• Be aware that Rehabilitation Act – Section 503 (2014) says that employers with at least 50 employees and contracts/subcontracts of at least $50,000 must have in place an affirmative action program for hiring individuals with disabilities.
  • This policy strengthens the enforcement of ADA, including employer requirements around recruiting, hiring, and accommodating individuals with disabilities. 
  • Covered employers must show progress towards attaining a workforce that consists of at least 7% people with disabilities.
• Managers should be able to locate the language from their institution that shows they are complying with Rehabilitation Act – Section 503 (2014) and that they are making progress toward the 7% goal. Where is progress towards compliance with the Rehabilitation Act being tracked? What is the library specifically doing to move the department forward?
• Once an employee discloses their disability to be eligible for an accommodation, ADA encourages a flexible, consultative, “interactive process” between the employer and employee to decide upon an appropriate accommodation. If that process fails, the individual may bring a “Failure-to-accommodate’ claim under ADA Title 1.
• An employer can claim ‘undue hardship’ if making an accommodation is too difficult or expensive. Educate yourself on what qualifies as an undue hardship and what qualifies as a reasonable accommodation. (Fears or prejudices are not considered undue hardships).

Managers should work to eliminate obstacles to greater disclosure of neurodivergence, including: 

• Loss of privacy through unauthorized disclosure of their disability. Managers must not disclose without authorization (Mellifont, 2023)
• Anxiety around employment uncertainty (i.e., temporary contracts prevailing over permanent roles.) (Mellifont, 2023)
• Fear of stigma (predominantly among early-career academics). Stigma can be reduced through greater disclosure of neurodivergence by scholars (Mellifont, 2023) and challenging negative attitudes that question the abilities of neurodivergent academics (Mellifont, 2023)

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Accessibility

Accessibility Contextualizing Statement

Build accessible options for everyone. With some planning, managers can build an accessible environment, preventing the need for employees to request accommodations. Having options helps neurodivergent people to participate more authentically without the additional barrier of disclosure or requesting accommodations.

Managers must understand that many people choose not to disclose neurodivergence while job seeking or on the job (Anderson, 2021). Neurodivergent people’s decisions to disclose are impacted by enacted, internalized, and anticipated stigma (Peters, 2023 (video)).

Disclosure is context-oriented and varies by individual and circumstance. Neurodivergent employees must assess the risks and benefits of disclosure, balancing the need for accommodations with the desire to avoid stigma, and may choose not to disclose. Always assume that you work with employees and students who are neurodiverse, whether you know it or not. Neurodivergence does not have a single “look” and can present differently in underdiagnosed groups like women, LGBTQIA+ people, and BIPOC people.

Accessibility Ideas

Interviewing

As Peters (2023 (video)) explains, accommodations are essential for equity. That said, rather than accommodations, Dali (2019) prefers to frame these types of interview tips as inclusive interview practices that benefit all candidates, and by extension, candidates with hidden disabilities or conditions.

• Provide interview questions in advance, and consider using adapted questions to more clearly communicate what you wish to learn from the candidate (Hagey, 2024).
• Consider providing alternate assessment measures (i.e., alternatives to traditional interview practices) (Mellifont, 2023). For example, game-based assessments (Willis, Powell-Rudy, Colley, & Prasad, 2021) or cognitive ability assessments (Camden et al, 2024) have the potential to address disparities for neurodiverse job-seekers.
• Ensure hiring managers are knowledgeable about neurodiversity (Anderson, 2021).
• During the interview, discuss the work your institution is doing to become neuroinclusive and why it is one of your cultural values.
• If your interview includes a question about DEI knowledge, recognize and value expertise and experience around neurodiversity.
• Destigmatize variations in affect (Mellifont, 2023). Consider that the following may be due to neurodiversity:
  • Variations in how emotion is displayed, particularly displaying less emotion than expected (Mellifont, 2023)
  • Lack of direct eye contact (Mellifont, 2023)
  • A “flat” or monotone sounding voice
  • “Awkward” or “clumsy” body language, including when shaking hands
• In the interview process, prioritize skills (as opposed to prioritizing the candidate’s navigation of social interactions). Recognize that interviews require neurodivergent candidates to navigate social expectations as well as demonstrate librarian skills (Anderson, 2021)

For more information about accessible interview practices, review Hagey (2024)’s Accessible Job Interviews in the Library Workplace toolkit

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Considerations for Full-Day Academic Library Job Interviews

(In consideration of limited mobility)

• When giving a campus tour, consider heading for the elevator or escalator rather than making the candidate ask
• Slow down (literally move slower) when taking candidates on tour or from place to place
• Make sure candidates are not carrying excessive weight (give them a place to set down possessions or offer assistance in carrying belongings)

(In consideration of dizziness, difficulty with spatial orientation, fatigue, reduced concentration, hypersensitivity to multiple stimuli)

• Provide the interview schedule beforehand to help candidates understand what to expect
• Incorporate breaks into the day so that candidates may decompress and recover energy
• Consult with HR and organizational psychologists about the number of events a candidate can handle and still maintain mental acuity, motivation, concentration, and a good mood, without getting overly tired. Four to five events may be optimal (e.g., panel interview and formal presentation)
• To cut down on the number of meetings, consider group meetings with peers. Save one-on-one meetings for deans or other top level administrators.
• Consider thematic informal meetings which the candidate will be aware of in advance (e.g, meetings about research, teaching, or service). Themes help candidates focus and alleviate some anxiety caused by the unknown.

(In consideration for ways that disability may impact a candidate’s experience giving presentations)

• Make sitting during the presentation a norm, not an exception or accommodation.
• Provide a chair so that candidates may choose to sit while presenting.
• Make sure the room has a microphone or loudspeaker. Even if you have not needed one yourself, the candidate may have different needs.
• Provide the candidate with information about the presentation logistics beforehand. This may include a description of the room, the estimated number of audience members, and the technology available to use or that the candidate may wish to bring themselves.
• Avoid assessing the candidate’s eye contact or tone of voice during the presentation. Focus instead on the quality of information presented and their ability to communicate effectively.
  • Confront biases related to what consists of effective communication. Can a candidate present information clearly without making eye contact and smiling?
  • These considerations are especially important for roles that do not require the candidate to give presentations frequently. In these cases, knowledge of the subject matters more than charisma in front of a crowd.

(In consideration of digestive difficulties and dietary needs)

• Let candidates eat in peace during the interview, allow them to use the meal as downtime (resist the urge to use meal time to learn more about the candidate)
• Make sure candidates do not go for hours without a drink or nourishment
• Do not hold it against candidates if they talk very little and focus on food. Do not interpret quietness as insufficiently sociable, unpleasant, too shy, or too smug.
• Proactively ensure that meals meeting various dietary needs are available, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. These meals should provide equivalent nutritional value (i.e. vegan meals should not consist of only vegetables without any protein).

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Work Schedule

• Be flexible and seek to accommodate work schedule requests. Consider, for example, an autistic librarian who prefers working four 10-hour days works because it allows for three days to recoup (Eng, 2017)
• Some neurodivergent people prefer to work until a task is completed and feel reluctance or anxiety about beginning a task that can not be completed within a certain timeframe (Strub, 2010)
• Respect that some employees may prefer a predictable routine and concretely outlined schedules (Strub, 2010)

If a schedule request cannot be accommodated, the employer should provide evidence explaining why the original schedule is essential to the job. Note that not all of the preferred qualifications in a job description are actually essential duties of a position. Peters (2023 (video)) asks managers to consider the following:

• On-site attendance, full-time attendance, and starting at a given time every day is not essential for all jobs
• Strictly regulated breaks are not essential for all jobs
• Value outcome over process (if outcomes are being achieved, it may not matter if someone is coming in an hour late and staying an hour late.)

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Work Areas

• Remote work may be a great option for certain people and projects
• Aim to allow people to work away from noisy areas at least for some part of the day (Mellifont, 2023). Many neurodivergent people are sensitive to sound.
• Alternatively, some people may prefer to work in areas where talking, fidgeting, and moving is welcome rather than disruptive.
• Provide private, controlled workspaces as much as possible within the constraints of your library building. Separated offices or cubicles are often preferred because sensory conditions can be adjusted more easily.
• Allow employees to make adjustments to their environment and accommodate themselves. This may look like setting up lamps to use instead of overhead lighting, wearing headphones or earbuds while working, or using fidget toys while working.

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Meetings and Group Work

• Avoid assuming that neurodivergent library employees want to engage in self-advocacy. They may not be interested in participating in group work that aims to increase accessibility, as these projects often require emotional labor (Anderson, 2021)
• Avoid assuming that neurodivergent library employees have specific communication preferences (Anderson, 2021)
• Allow people to contribute in meetings based on their individual levels of comfort (Anderson, 2021)
• For volunteer projects, engage participants to the extent they wish to be involved and compensate or adjust other work responsibilities appropriately
• Consider creating a Community Agreement aimed at making meetings and other work situations respectful and safe spaces for everyone.
  • Consider examples GLSEN Guidelines for Respectful GSA Spaces, Safer Space Policies, Community Agreements from the Anti-Oppression Network (archived version, Google Doc version)
  • Personalize your agreements and make them living documents, revisited regularly
• Provide varied options for participation. (Anderson, 2021)
  • Provide meeting materials in advance and allow people to comment on documents
  • Allow participants to provide feedback after the meeting. This may look like emailing or speaking with the meeting leader after time has passed and they have thought about the topic.
  • During video meetings, allow participants to use chat features instead of speaking

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Communication

• Embed varied communication options in the hiring and interview process, as well as on the job (Anderson, 2021)
• Make instructions clear and explicit
  • Written instructions may be preferred
  • Use language that is clear and jargon free
  • Offer discrete choices
  • Provide step-by-step directions about how to participate or get started in activities (this removes a barrier for people who want to participate, but are unsure about how to get started)

Communication preferences surveys can sometimes be helpful to learn what works best for employees. However, avoid any survey questions that imply that the person is not sociable or personable, as many neurodivergent people work to avoid being perceived that way and will not feel comfortable answering the question honestly. Ensure all preference choices provided are neutral and do not carry negative implications about the person. Make these surveys optional to complete.

Sample questions in which all answers are neutral:

• I prefer working in a quiet space or in a communal space like a coffee shop
• I prefer written or oral communication
• When colleagues have a question for me, I prefer for them to email me, call my office phone, or find me in person
• When considering a topic or question, I prefer to think about it alone or talk it through with others

Questions to avoid, as they ask about personality and sociability:

• I like getting to know people and developing relationships with them
• I enjoy parties and social events
• I’m a team player
• I’m energetic and thrive in a fast-paced environment
• I sometimes become overwhelmed or nervous when lots of things are happening
• I am comfortable leading and taking charge of groups of people

See Canada Life’s Workplace Strategies for Mental Health and the feedback preferences form, as well as the recognition preferences and other forms. Here is an example from Peters’ 2023 webinar, modified to include an “Other Options” column.

Choose one from each of the following statements or add an option not yet considered.

Option 1	Option 2	Option 3 (Other options not yet considered)
I enjoy getting feedback	Feedback can be stressful
Give me the opportunity to restate your feedback so we’re both on the same page	Assume I understand your feedback and that I will ask for more info if necessary
Show appreciation for my efforts	Only show appreciation for exceptional efforts
Give feedback immediately	Give feedback at a set time
Provide lots of detail	Only give the essential details
Tone of voice and body language matter	Tone of voice and body language don’t matter
Feedback can be provided anytime, including in group settings	Feedback should be given in private
I prefer to receive feedback in writing before discussion	I prefer to have a feedback discussion before receiving feedback in writing

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Bibliography

Anderson, A. (2021). Job seeking and daily workforce experiences of autistic librarians. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 5(3), 38–63. DOI: 10.33137/ijidi.v5i3.36196

Camden, W. L., Allen, K. S., Specht, M. L., Bennett, M. W., Badr, K. H., Mottram, C. L., & Gutierrez, S. L. (2024). Cognitive ability: A promising option for assessing neurodiverse talent. Consulting Psychology Journal, 76(1), 20-41. DOI: 10.1037/cpb0000271

Canada Life (n.d.). Feedback preferences [PDF]. Workplace Strategies for Mental Health.

Canada Life (n.d.). Recognition preferences [PDF]. Workplace Strategies for Mental Health. 

Eng, A. (2017, July 17). Neurodiversity in the library: One librarian’s experience. In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

Hagey, C. (2024). Accessible job interviews in the library workplace toolkit: A guide for library workplaces seeking to hire autistic and neurodivergent employees. British Columbia Library Association.

Mellifont, D. (2023).Ableist ivory towers: A narrative review informing about the lived experiences of neurodivergent staff in contemporary higher education. Disability & Society, 38(5), 865-886. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2021.1965547

Oguleye, T. A. (2023). Unconscious bias. Dermatologic Clinics, 41(2), 285-290. DOI: 10.1016/j.det.2022.08.003

Peters, C. (2023). Neurodiversity, invisible “disability”, & unconscious bias: The primary obstacle of neuroinclusion in the workplace [Video]. Network of the National Library of Medicine. (Link removed when the NNLM set the video to private.)

Poole, J. (2025). Helpful resources for promoting access in anti-DEI times. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce.

Shea, G., & Derry, S. (2022). A survey of library services for autistic college students. The Journal of Academic Leadership, 48(6), 102591. DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102591

Strub, M. R., & Stewart, L. (2010). Case study: Shelving and the autistic employee. Journal of Access Services, 7(4), 262-268. DOI: 10.1080/15367967.2010.508369

Willis, C., Powell-Rudy, T., Colley, K., and Prasad, J. (2021). Examining the use of game-based assessments for hiring autistic job seekers. Journal of Intelligence, 9(4), 53. DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence9040053

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