Accommodations made for autistic workers help everyone, the first symposium heard

The closing round of the opening session at the 2023 Autistic Pride Day Symposium, in Melbourne on 18 June 2023, produced its plainest argument about work. Asked for final thoughts, a panellist said that the changes made to support autistic people are probably beneficial for everyone, and that autistic people are the canaries in the coal mine. Earlier in the session, a panellist had described being fired from about five jobs and said that mentoring from another neurodivergent person would have prevented some of it.

The session had begun with an app. Asked about their work, a panellist said they were building an app called Focus Bear to help with morning and evening routines, after really struggling to do the things that helped them cope with the stress of the work day. It encourages habits such as meditation and exercise in the morning, and helps with the relationship to technology. Distraction had affected them their whole life, the panellist said. As a teenager they were really into games, a bit too into them, and were not doing their schoolwork. The app lets them earn time on games and other activities they enjoy after doing some of the harder work first. In the evening it guides them through planning the next day so that it will not feel stressful, then unlocks the more enjoyable parts of the evening.