Neuroinclusive Hiring: How to Recognise Talent and Remove Barriers

We talk about talent shortages, skills gaps, innovation, and AI, yet many businesses are unintentionally screening out highly capable candidates because their processes aren’t designed with neurodiversity in mind.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Harris, Founder of AsIAm, Ireland’s autism charity. Drawing on his own experience of growing up autistic in Ireland, Adam challenged some of the assumptions we make about how recruitment should work.

From job descriptions to interview formats, we need to ask ourselves: are we identifying the best person for the role, or the person who performs best in our recruitment process?

Recruitment processes can create barriers

As Adam put it:

“If you are an organisation of a certain size, you already have neurodivergent talent.”

But how you recruit determines who gets the opportunity to bring their skills and talent to your organisation. Many hiring processes have been built around narrow expectations of how candidates should communicate, behave, and demonstrate their abilities. This can disadvantage neurodivergent candidates at every stage, from application forms and video interviews to unstructured interviews and psychometric assessments. 

Requirements that aren’t essential to a role can also screen out capable people. For example, a largely remote, independent role might still list ‘teamwork’ as a key requirement, potentially discouraging someone who would otherwise be a great fit. 

Adam made a really insightful observation:

“If I was ever given a commission to design something that wasn’t autism friendly, I would design the typical recruitment process because it’s built around answering abstract questions, dealing with the unknown.”

The challenge is to assess what someone can bring to a role, rather than how comfortably they navigate a process that may not play to their strengths.

Words matter, but so does understanding

Even language intended to be inclusive can unintentionally create barriers. Asking “What reasonable accommodation do you need?” may seem like a positive step, but it can frame the conversation around an individual's difficulties rather than what would enable them to participate and demonstrate their strengths.

Adam highlighted that the concept of double empathy is particularly important here. An employer may believe they are opening the door to support, while a candidate may be unsure what to disclose, how their information will be received, or whether asking for adjustments could affect their chances. Both sides can struggle to understand the other's perspective, even when the intention is positive.

This applies to internal as well as external recruitment. Employees pursuing new opportunities may have the same concerns about disclosing their neurodivergence. Not everyone will feel comfortable sharing a diagnosis, and nobody should have to disclose one to access a fair process.

Rather than putting the responsibility on individuals to identify and explain what they need, employers can make recruitment more accessible from the outset. Clear instructions, predictable interview formats, questions shared in advance where appropriate, and straightforward explanations of available adjustments can help candidates participate more confidently.

Adam also advises against employers describing autism as a “superpower”. While neurodivergent people bring valuable strengths, everyone has different abilities, experiences and challenges. Inclusion means recognising individuals, not replacing one set of assumptions with another.

AI can speed up hiring, but it can also reinforce barriers

Adam sees potential in AI during the early stages of recruitment, but warns against allowing it to make the final decision.

“We shouldn’t allow AI to be our judge and jury.”

Eye contact is one example. An autistic candidate may look away to concentrate, yet an assessment tool could interpret that behaviour negatively. If AI is built around narrow expectations of how a good candidate should communicate or behave, it can reproduce and scale existing biases.

Before introducing a tool, employers need to understand how it makes decisions, what it measures, and whether it could disadvantage certain candidates. Human oversight matters, but so does questioning whether the tool itself is appropriate and fair.

Where to start

So, how can employers start to make their hiring more neuroinclusive? I think the first step is to take a closer look at how you currently attract, assess and select talent. Rather than striving for processes that are more efficient and scalable, ask yourself whether your recruitment approach could be unintentionally excluding capable candidates – and what your organisation stands to lose as a result.

There are practical ways to address this. Adam gave some examples of how AsIAm approaches recruitment, including giving candidates a visual guide before interviews and sharing key conversation topics in advance. These small adjustments can make a real difference to how confidently someone can demonstrate their abilities.

Another important shift employers can make is towards skills-based interviewing. Rather than placing too much emphasis on social competence or how comfortably someone navigates an interview, we should focus on the capabilities and experience required for the role. Are our questions giving candidates a fair opportunity to demonstrate what they can do?

I'd also encourage employers to examine the assumptions behind their interview questions. Questions focused on perceived weaknesses, communication differences, or fitting into traditional working environments can introduce bias before candidates have a chance to demonstrate their abilities. We need to move away from these deficit-based assumptions and focus instead on what someone can bring to the role.

For me, this isn't about lowering the bar. It's about ensuring everyone has a fair opportunity to demonstrate their capability, rather than allowing the recruitment process itself to prevent capable candidates from progressing. We don't have to change everything overnight, but we do need to start questioning whether our processes are working for the talent we want to attract.

Adam leaves employers with a thought-provoking choice:

“Do they want to lean in and secure the competitive advantage, or do they want to be passengers in this change?”

Watch the full webinar below.