DMA Talent's NeuroDiversity training session Edinburgh

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DMA Talent's NeuroDiversity training session Edinburgh

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The initiative began as a pilot in Bristol, and has been run in London, Manchester and Bristol with fantastic success and feedback, and so I was delighted to bring this brilliant initiative to Edinburgh.

The session was led by Matthew Trerise who works at a specialist NHS Autism diagnostic service in Bristol. After a quick intro from Matt, we all introduced ourselves, and motivations for being there. I was surprised how many were personally connected to someone on the Autism Spectrum and their reasons for attending the training.

According to the National Autistic Society there are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK, of those, only 16% of autistic adults are in full-time, paid employment.

Matt then quelled some myths about Autism and maybe not surprising to some, how the average person’s understanding of autism came from the 1988 film Rainman, with Dustin Hoffman playing the character of autistic Raymond. Surprisingly, so many people’s understanding has not changed in 30 years!

Autism is an inherited condition; you cannot become autistic due to a life incident. Matt’s experience, knowledge and understanding of individuals was humbling. Always respectful, he carefully explained interactions and outcomes with individuals and how it is crucial to use clear verbal language as non-verbal cues are difficult to decipher.

For a long time, Autism has been seen as a negative set of ‘symptoms’, when actually many with the condition can have very special gifts; like the ability to deal with minute detail whilst others look at the bigger picture. Creativity is another 'gift'.

Scotland’s data industry has a massive buzz around it, following substantial investment from Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May, in a city region deal worth £13.4 billion allocated to Edinburgh, Fife and the Scottish Borders. The key ambition is to make Scotland the Data Capital of Europe.

The Data Capital of Europe? Wow. Scotland is going to need more data specialists. In order to make this happen, our organisations must gain better understanding of neurodiverse conditions to change processes and cultures to allow their businesses to become more inclusive. This will allow them to access a wider talent pool and seek out the most capable individuals for their roles.

What has been classed as ‘normal’ has widened significantly in British society over the last few years with more diagnoses and wider understanding of neurodiverse needs. It sadly just doesn’t go far enough. The norm circle needs to widen faster to become more inclusive, and this has to start in the workplace.

Nicola Farwell, Senior CRM analyst at VisitScotland, who attended the training session told us:

“I knew a little about Autism before today but this workshop really opened by eyes to neurodiversity and how complex and varied individual’s needs are. The more we can make adjustments for everyone in the workplace the more we can create inclusive places to work where everyone has a part to play and feels valued and included.

I think anyone involved in hiring or leading a team should attend this workshop. Actually it should be company wide”.

I left the training session energised and wondered what the future can bring for people with neurodiverse conditions. Can we make Scotland’s data industry a culture where neurodiversity is supported from classroom to boardroom, supported by better processes and cultures, which are surely good for everyone?

You can find more information on our DMA Talent NeuroDiversity initiative and training here. We are hoping to bring another training session to Edinburgh this year! Please register your interest and find out more with Hannah McMartin.

Let’s make this happen!

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