Dropping the Mask: Learning from Lived Experience: University of Melbourne's Neurodiversity Project

Описание: Many organisations have neurodiversity policies, but far fewer understand why half of neurodivergent staff choose not to disclose their neurotype or request accommodations they need. Dr Matthew Harrison presents findings from what he describes as the world's largest single-institution staff needs analysis survey, examining what 432 university staff members actually experience at work. The data reveals a significant gap between policy availability and people's willingness to access support, driven by concerns about judgement, job security, and professional consequences.

Harrison explores why staff disclose (primarily to be understood and to stop masking, as accessing accommodations ranked fourth), what they need (often the same environmental conditions neurotypical staff want), and what stops them asking (fears that are specific, measurable, and tied to employment precarity). The session presents the Neurodiversity Project's approach as neurodivergent academics leading change through listening to lived experience, documenting what works alongside what doesn't, and connecting people with existing resources rather than building new systems.

This session offers evidence-based perspective on the difference between having inclusive policies and creating conditions where people feel safe to use them. It provides language for universal design ("essential for some, harmful for none"), specific data about common workplace accommodations, and insight into how manager responses to disclosure shape whether others come forward. The content is particularly relevant for organisations examining why uptake of support doesn't match anticipated need.