Accommodations, resilience and community: What it means to be neurodivergent in the public service

Apolitical recently hosted an “Ask Me Anything” in Apolitical’s Neurodiversity in Public Service Community of Practice.

We were honoured to have Craig Abbott, Former Head of Accessibility at the Department of Works and Pensions, UK, as he answered questions from public servants around the world.

I’m Craig, I’m a Design Leader and Accessibility Specialist. I’m the former Head of Accessibility for the Department for Work and Pensions and have done a lot of work in designing and assessing GOV.UK services. I’m Autistic, and I have ADHD, so neurodiversity is an important topic to me! Ask me anything!

The discussion provided insight into the experience of being neurodivergent in the public service. Here’s what we learned.

1. Workplace accommodations

Many community members are eager for advice on how to manage neurodivergence in the workplace, including strategies for better communication and productivity.

This is not the first time we’ve seen interest in this area — earlier this year, Apolitical hosted an event, Accommodations and Strategies for Neurodiversity in Government, which covered this very topic.

2. Mental health and neurodiversity

Several discussions highlighted the impact on mental health, such as dealing with anxiety or burnout, and the importance of resilience — especially when undiagnosed or unsupported neurodivergence is involved.

3. Resources for success

Community members are eager for recommended resources for managing ADHD, autism or other forms of neurodivergence, including tools, guides and organisational strategies.

💬 Tell us in the comments — what resources would you recommend to neurodivergent individuals in public service?

4. The value of community

We saw members sharing personal stories about their experiences with neurodiversity. Many comments offered empathy to others facing similar challenges. This highlighted the importance of community and the need for a place to seek peer support.

If this sounds like you, join Craig Abbott and thousands of public servants around the world in Apolitical’s Neurodiversity in Public Service Community of Practice!

This article was written with the help of ChatGPT! How? First, we cleaned up the replies from the Community thread to remove any names or identifying information. Then we used our knowledge of how to prompt generative AI to turn this into a summary of the key themes discussed.

(Image credit: Unsplash)