Awareness Isn’t the Destination
In recent years, I’ve witnessed a welcome shift – more organisations are recognising the importance of neurodiversity in the workplace. Awareness is growing, conversations are deepening, and initiatives are being launched with genuine intent. I know this because each year, more companies, government departments, and community organisations reach out to me for support, training, and keynote speaking.
One powerful example of this momentum is the Australian Public Service’s Neurodiversity Community of Practice, which is leading the way in creating space for dialogue, education, and meaningful change across the public sector. I was honoured to deliver the keynote “Authentic Leadership at Any Level” as part of their World Autism Day 2025 event – an event grounded in genuine inclusion, not just recognition.
But while these moments of visibility are worth celebrating, we also need to ask: what happens after the keynote? After the campaign ends, or the panel discussion wraps up. The reality is that awareness alone isn’t enough. Without embedding meaningful inclusion into our systems, culture, and everyday practice, we risk reinforcing the very exclusion we hope to dismantle.
From Performative to Transformative: What’s the Difference?
Awareness creates visibility – and that’s a valuable starting point. But visibility without action can quickly feel tokenistic. If we build awareness but fail to provide people with the knowledge, tools, and frameworks to act on it, we unintentionally place the burden of change on those already marginalised.
True inclusion isn’t about ticking a box or hosting a one-off event. It’s about embedding equity into the foundation of how we work – every single day.
Moving from performative gestures to transformative change might look like:
– Prioritising psychological safety as a standard across all teams
– Co-designing policies and environments with neurodivergent individuals -not just for them
– Listening to lived experience and integrating those insights into how decisions are made
– Challenging unconscious bias in hiring, communication, and performance conversations
– Embedding inclusive practices into everyday systems – from onboarding through to leadership development
It’s the difference between hosting a Neurodiversity Week morning tea and conducting a thoughtful review of your hiring processes, physical spaces, or meeting norms. One raises awareness. The other raises the standard.
Inclusion isn’t a campaign – it’s a long-term commitment to cultural change.
The Role of Psychological Safety in Real Inclusion
If awareness is the first step, psychological safety is the foundation. It’s not enough to invite diversity into the room — people need to feel safe to contribute, to speak up, and to show up as their authentic selves. Without that, inclusion remains surface-level.
Many people still don’t understand the difference between diversity and inclusion. I see this often in workplaces. Managers may believe that having a diverse workforce means they’re inclusive. But inclusion isn’t about who’s in the room – it’s about how people feel once they’re there.
Inclusion is the tough stuff – the everyday work of listening, adjusting, and creating space where all individuals feel safe and valued.
For neurodivergent employees, this matters deeply. Many have spent years masking their traits to meet neurotypical expectations – suppressing stims, avoiding disclosure, questioning how they communicate or ask for help. This is not sustainable, especially in environments that haven’t yet grasped what real inclusion means.
Psychological safety shows up in how we:
– Encourage leaders to model vulnerability and curiosity, not just confidence
– Create space for repair, feedback, and flexibility
– Recognise that different ways of thinking, processing, and contributing are not only valid — they’re essential
– Embed safety into team norms and systems, not just rely on individual managers
When psychological safety is present, people feel seen — not just tolerated. They can ask for what they need, contribute in ways that work for them, and bring their full selves to work.
As I often say in my workshops: you can’t have inclusion without psychological safety — because without it, no one feels safe enough to belong.
Systems Shape Culture: The Invisible Architecture of Exclusion
We often focus on individual behaviours when we talk about inclusion – how we lead, how we communicate, how we respond to difference. But just as powerful are the “systems” that quietly shape workplace culture.
For neurodivergent employees, exclusion is rarely about one big barrier. It’s often the result of small, everyday systems that were never designed with them in mind. For example:
– Job ads that prioritise vague traits like “excellent communication skills”
– Interview processes that reward quick verbal responses over thoughtful reflection
– Open-plan offices with harsh lighting and constant sensory input
– Performance reviews that associate professionalism with eye contact or verbal fluency
These systems might appear neutral, but they send clear messages about who belongs — and who doesn’t.
Time and again, I see well-intentioned organisations host awareness events while continuing to run meetings that only suit extroverted, fast-processing thinkers. Or they recruit a diverse team but haven’t adjusted onboarding processes to accommodate different learning styles.
This is why real inclusion starts with structure. If our systems — hiring, feedback, communication — don’t reflect inclusive values, then those values remain aspirational, not lived.
Awareness Without Action Can Be Harmful
Raising awareness without action can actually do harm. It creates a sense of visibility without support. And for neurodivergent employees, that can lead to masking, burnout, or even workplace bullying.
One of my strengths as a neurodivergent person is the way I think about systems. In previous workplaces, I often saw opportunities for improvement and brought forward thoughtful, practical solutions. But instead of being welcomed, I was frequently misunderstood or seen as disruptive — simply for thinking differently. The culture wasn’t ready to receive innovation in a form that didn’t look familiar.
This is what inclusion changes. It makes room for difference. It values innovation, even when it doesn’t come in expected packaging. It redefines what leadership, contribution, and collaboration can look like.
When we ask people to be themselves at work -but only reward those who conform – we aren’t being inclusive. We’re being performative. And the cost is high: trust is eroded, potential is lost, and wellbeing suffers.
What Embedding Neuro-Inclusion Really Looks Like
So, what does it look like when workplaces go beyond awareness and begin to “embed” neuro-inclusion?
It’s not about adding more programs. It’s about redesigning the foundations. When we build with neurodivergent needs in mind from the start, we create workplaces that are more inclusive for everyone.
Here are some of the core practices I see in organisations doing this well:
– Inclusion is embedded in leadership development and policy creation
– Flexible work structures support autonomy, energy management, and executive function
– Neurodivergent employees are co-creators, not just contributors
– Communication is designed for clarity and access — visual agendas, plain language, multiple ways to engage
In one workshop, a team realised their weekly stand-up meetings were unintentionally excluding quieter team members. Together, we reworked the format: visual agendas, written check-ins, and space for asynchronous input. The result? More participation, better clarity, and improved engagement – not just for neurodivergent staff, but for everyone.
That’s the power of embedded inclusion. “When we design for neurodivergent needs, we improve the system for all.”
Inclusion That Lasts Starts Here
Embedding neuro-inclusion isn’t a checkbox. It’s a commitment to learning, adjusting, and tracking whether your efforts are truly working – for everyone. It means bringing neurodivergent voices to the table, and listening with the intention to act.
You don’t have to have all the answers. What matters is that you start asking the right questions:
– Where in your workplace is awareness being mistaken for inclusion?
– Who might be masking or holding back because they don’t feel safe?
– What systems — from hiring to performance — need rethinking?
True inclusion is personal, structural, and cultural. When we embed it into our foundations, we don’t just support neurodivergent staff — we strengthen our entire workplace.
