When “How to Dance in Ohio” opened this month on Broadway, the New York Times critic said, “So it is a welcome change that the seven autistic characters in ‘How to Dance in Ohio’ are presented, without condescension, as young adults a lot like most others, albeit with unusual gifts and challenges. That they are also played by autistic performers makes the feel-good show, more than a first: It’s a milestone.” How might this notable theatrical opening connect to our focus on furniture and the office workplace?
For this show, the Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street in the Broadway theatre district of New York City is equipped with Nook Wellness Pods both backstage and in the front of the house, enabling the neurodivergent cast as well as any theatre goers to take advantage of some respite from the potential sensory overload of Broadway crowds and a Broadway production. Stewart Brown, principal of Nook Pods USA and distributor of the various models of Nook in North America and the Mideast, couldn’t be prouder. “Our company mission has become to support the needs of neurodivergent people in a wide range of settings, whether in a Broadway theatre, a professional sports stadium, or the office workplace.”
The Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street in the Broadway theatre district of New York City is equipped with Nook Wellness Pods both backstage and in the front of the house, enabling the neurodivergent cast as well as any theatre goers to take advantage of some respite from the potential sensory overload of Broadway crowds and a Broadway production.
In the past few years, there has been an increasing sensitivity to the sensory spectrum of human needs, even in the office. For too many decades, corporate offices have been designed for the neurotypical majority, and that leaves the 20% of the workforce who might be classified as “on the spectrum” from a sensory standpoint left to attempt to adapt to a one-size-fits-all model. Not anymore.
Ask Kelly Colon, founder of Eledex Consulting, who spends a good deal of her time and impressive energy helping to educate designers and decision makers about the fundamentals of neurodiversity and the important considerations that create a solid foundation for accommodating and leveraging the talents of everyone using the workplace, especially those who might have specific sensitivities and distinctive capabilities. “It’s really about corporations understanding and training leaders to leverage the human capabilities of their people, simple as that, but a monumentally important mindset.” Though Colon values products like Nook, she firmly believes neurodiversity is a people issue, not merely a product solution. And she sees corporations beginning to understand the importance of embracing neurodiverse mindsets and applying an inclusive, responsive outlook.
As with any relatively new focus on an important issue, the consistent use of accurate terminology and vocabulary is a key ingredient for clear understanding and effective action. It may be important to get some alignment on the words that surround this discussion, especially because of the only slight variations in terms but the significant differences in meaning. Here are some basics:
Neurodiversity — this is the umbrella term for the natural diversity of human brain functioning, including learning and thinking differences, developmental conditions, mental health, and behavioral patterns; in essence, neurodiversity is the perspective that these variations in brain functioning are not a disability but a natural and valuable trait of the human brain.
Neurotypical — refers to someone whose brain functioning falls within what social standards consider common.
Neurodivergent — is a term for those whose brain functioning falls outside the standards considered dominant or prevailing, who may learn, process information, or interpret stimuli differently than many others.
Neurodiverse — is often used to describe a group of people who represent a spectrum of neurodiversity that includes both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
As complex as that set of terms may appear, it is crucial to understand the range of brain functioning represented when discussing the needs of individuals in the office.
An additional concept to apply to these categories is the notion of a “spectrum.” Nearly anyone who has some degree of neurodivergence lives with and exhibits those traits along a spectrum of capabilities and behaviors. Whether a person considers themselves to have ADHD or Sensory Sensitivity or Dyslexia or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, they almost surely embody those neurodiverse conditions along a spectrum of severity.
When it comes to the workplace, the starting point is accepting and embracing the concept of neurodiversity as a fundamentally good condition. Combining and blending a variety of brain functions and cognitive processing within a work force means greater creativity, imagination, problem solving, and overall effectiveness. A fundamental truth of neurodiversity is that where some neurodivergent individuals may not functional optimally in certain environments or under certain conditions, they most certainly excel at specific skills and capabilities that benefit their groups and organizations.
Clare Yeh, a senior program manager with global workplace design at Nvidia, understands well the complexity of creating workplaces that embrace neurodiverse populations. Nvidia, one of the leading AI technology companies in the world, has more than 26,000 employees across the globe. Yeh regularly faces the challenge of designing and providing high-performance workplaces for diverse sets of workers, both culturally and cognitively. “One of our advantages is the commitment by our CEO to accommodating where our people prefer to do their life’s best work, and many of them choose to work outside the conventional office or their conventional cubicle.”
If a Broadway play can provide thoughtful accommodations, even employing specialized products, for its neurodiverse performers and theatre goers, the office should certainly embrace the rich and varied skills sets of those who are neurodivergent and, in turn, design worksettings that go beyond accommodation and aspire to leverage their distinctive skills.