Ms Deirdre O'Connor:

In response to Deputy Tully's question about reasonable accommodation, in the disability and employment context reasonable accommodation has been around for quite some time, but raising awareness of it has been a difficulty. One of the gaps that has been identified in the employment strategy for people with disabilities is the matter of employers having access to information and an information service. That is really important in this context. Reasonable accommodation is not about an employer having to take on somebody who is not able to do the job. It is about the things that can be done within the employment to ensure that the person can make a contribution and access meaningful work, which I think we would all agree is really important for every person, with or without a disability.

As for the kinds of reasonable accommodation a person with autism might look for, if we look at the characteristics associated with autism in the areas of social interaction, communication style and behavioural patterns, for example, the first thing is to be aware of the additional needs of people with autism and then to see if they can be reasonably accommodated within the workplace through changes in routine or, for example, a more targeted communication style through job-matching, ensuring that the person is in a job that matches his or her abilities. One thing that is really important to say is that there are many strengths and talents that neurodivergent people or people with autism can bring into the workplace, such as their attention to detail, their ability to stay with a task, and very strong attendance patterns, which are associated with many people with a disability who are in employment. These people really value their jobs. There are many very hardworking, intensely focused people with autism in work. It is a matter of whether the accommodations can be made to bring them in and whether employers can become aware, first, of their needs and, second, of how they can reasonably accommodate those differences within the workplace.