Five weeks ago, I received my autism confirmation. Coincidently, for the past year, I have been researching the impact that Autism and ADHD have on an individual’s career. The employment differential for individuals with autism is well cited (Black et al., 2020; Bolte et al., 2025; Coney, 2023; Davies et al, 2024; Khang et al., 2023; Raymaker et al., 2023; Taylor et al., 2022), and whilst it is difficult to know the exact numbers of autistic people currently engaged in employment due to disclosure fears (Davies et al., 2024), the literature shows that autistic individuals are consistently unemployed and / or underemployed. A scoping review conducted by Bolte and colleagues (2025) found that unemployment rates in the autistic community consistently exceed 50% globally, including here in Australia. In 2022, AGCAS noted that of all disabled graduates in the UK, autistic graduates were the least likely cohort to gain employment upon graduation. Other studies show that of those employed, 44% of autistic individuals were in jobs unrelated to their career goals (Sharpe et al., 2022), whilst another found that 46% of autistic people were overeducated for their current role (Baldwin et al., 2014). Globally, employment outcomes for autistic graduates are the lowest of all disabilities, with over 50% of young adults with autism unemployed, as compared to those with speech/language impairments (88.2%) and mental health considerations (89.8%) (Khang et al., 2023).
You might wonder what all of this has to do with you. Well, firstly by not tapping into this incredible cohort, you lose out on fantastic talent in the workplace. Research shows that neurodivergent individuals often exceed expectations, can outperform their neurotypical counterparts, and bring critical diversity of thought and experience to organisations. Whilst we are beginning to see a paradigm shift toward the recognition of the vital role that neurodiversity plays in society, as both a natural part of human diversity and a competitive advantage for employers, we still have a long way to go before the above statistics are reversed (Bolte et al., 2025).
This also has economic impacts, as unemployment and underemployment have deleterious impacts upon mental and physical health (Raymaker et al., 2023; Taylor et al., 2022), thus increasing pressure on the healthcare system and reducing tax revenue.
Current research shows that approximately 15% of the population are neurodivergent (this includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other neurodivergences) and recognises this as a natural ontogenetic neurological variation (Bolte et al., 2025). With access to life saving diagnoses increasing, we will see an increase in the number of young people identifying as neurodivergent. This is the workforce of tomorrow. We need to pay attention and design systems that do not just accommodate, but actively include this cohort, allowing them (us) to flourish in career.
Well, what’s the issue I hear you cry? Let’s start by pluralising – issues. Autistic individuals face significant barriers when looking for and maintaining employment. These include stigma, discrimination, incorrect employer assumptions regarding accommodation costs, and exclusionary hiring processes (Black et al., 2020; Bolte et al., 2025). Research shows that even when a candidate is highly qualified for a role, if they are autistic, they are less likely to be hired than an equivalent neurotypical counterpart (May et al., 2025).
The thing to note with autism, is that the majority of us already have some level of generalised anxiety, worsened by unpredictability. Interviews are both nerve-wracking and unpredictable, especially as recruitment processes, interview styles and questions, and performance expectations vary widely. One solution therefore is to demystify the recruitment process (Coney, 2023). Let’s stop treating it as a test, as a process that can change on a moments notice, and instead have a clear process in place that can be provided to all candidates. This also benefits recruitment teams who will not have to continuously keep candidates warm, or lose candidates, as processes change or halt.
The provision of interview questions prior to the interview is one act of inclusion and belonging and is free to provide. For the candidates who do not require this, they may not use it. For those who do, this is life changing, especially as the autistic community often faces challenges regarding social communication in interviews (Khang et al., 2023; May et al., 2025). Also, the anxiety regarding interpreting interview questions and providing answers aligned to expectations can impact interview performance (Coney, 2023).
Disclosure is another issue to be addressed. Currently, most accommodations can only be accessed after disclosure has occurred. However, there is a valid fear amongst the autistic community that disclosure will lead to offer withdrawal (Coney, 2023; Davies et al., 2024), with literature showing that for many, an autism disclosure resulted in fewer promotion and employment opportunities (Davies et al., 2024). Whilst disclosure is a deeply personal matter, access to accommodations almost always requires disclosure, thus placing the candidate in a catch 22 situation.
Other barriers include the ‘mystery’ of the workplace and expectations, exhaustion from masking leading to burn out, sensory processing differences, and different ways of processing instruction (Coney, 2023). This leads into Milton’s double empathy problem, ie: whilst non-autistic people lack understanding of the lived experience of autistic people, the reverse also remains true. That is, autistic people do not have insight into the expectations of non-autistic people. Until this is resolved, barriers to employment will continue (Milton, 2012).
The solution may appear to be simple – training for employers regarding the requirements of autistic individuals throughout the entire employment lifecycle, from job structure, to task explanations, to environment and ways of working. Research shows that for this to be effective, it must be delivered by someone with lived experience as well as technical knowledge (Black et al., 2020). However, many stop at this point without reaching the critical next stage – implementation. This is where the rubber meets the road. As part of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) policy brief, Black and colleagues (2020) recommended the implementation of a holistic framework within workplaces. This framework is designed to identify and communicate each employee’s strengths, difficulties, and way of working profile. This allows the environment to be tailored to the requirements of the individual, rather than to the diagnostic label. This is the utilisation of the social model of disability ie: the individual is not disabled; it is the environment that is disabling and is one way to combat internalised oppression (Milton, 2012). One critique of this approach is that autistic individuals often struggle to identify and articulate their own strengths (Genova et al., 2024), and so a strengths identification framework should be included by way of support. These framework results would be reviewed on an ongoing basis, should needs change.
Ultimately, accommodations must be an opt out not opt in model, designed by and for the autistic community, whilst acknowledging that everyone’s needs are different. Using a holistic approach to employment in the form of inclusive opt out accommodations, open and honest communication challenges, a strengths-focused approach, and support within the workplace (Sharpe et al., 2022), employment outcomes can and will be drastically improved for my fellow autistic humans.
REFERENCES
Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (2022). What Happens Next? A report on the outcomes of 2019 disabled graduates. https://www.agcas.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/Resources/Research%20and%20knowledge/WHN_20 22.pdf
Baldwin, S., D. Costley, and A. Warren. 2014. “Employment Activities and Experiences of Adults With High- Functioning Autism and Asperger's Disorder.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44, no. 10: 2440–2449. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s1080 3- 014- 2112- z.
Black, M. H., Mahdi, S., Milbourn, B., Scott, M., Gerber, A., Esposito, C., Falkmer, M., Lerner, M. D., Halladay, A., Ström, E., D’Angelo, A., Falkmer, T., Bölte, S., & Girdler, S. (2020). Multi‐informant International Perspectives on the Facilitators and Barriers to Employment for Autistic Adults. Autism Research, 13(7), 1195–1214. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2288
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Coney, K. (2023). Autistic students as partners in the design of tailored employability provision. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 14(2), 16–32. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2023vol14no2art1793
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Taylor, J. L., R. E. Adams, F. Pezzimenti, S. Zheng, and S. L. Bishop. 2022. “Job Loss Predicts Worsening Depressive Symptoms for Young Adults With Autism: A COVID- 19 Natural Experiment.” Autism Research 15, no. 1: 93–102. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ aur. 2621.
