Workplace Disclosure of Neurodivergence - Employer Toolkit
Did you know that for every person who discloses their neurodivergence at work, there are 17 who do not disclose? (Source)
I believe that most organisations have good intentions and want employees to be open about their neurodivergence and give them the support they need. However just adding a question to your HR system saying "Do you have a disability?" and hoping for the best is not enough to tackle the valid fear neurodivergent employees face around disclosure at work.
So, what can you do as an organisation to bridge that gap between intention and action?
This toolkit will cover what disclosure means, why it matters to you and your neurodivergent employees, what helps disclosure happen, and actionable strategies to improve disclosure rates.
The next part of the toolkit will cover practical tips for managers and HR professionals on navigating the disclosure conversation with employees.
What Is Disclosure?
Disclosure occurs when a neurodivergent employee chooses to share information about their neurodivergence, often to access support or adjustments or sometimes just because they want to stop masking and being misunderstood.
Disclosure doesn’t need to be a written declaration or part of a formal process. It might be a quiet mention in a 1:1, a request for specific support, or a conversation during onboarding or review.
Neurodivergent employees do not need a formal diagnosis to disclose; even if they do, you shouldn’t ask for medical evidence.
In an ideal world, we would understand that anyone may need adaptations to their workplace or aids such as noise-cancelling headphones, visual timers, or transcription software because we all have different optimal working conditions, communication, and working preferences.
But sadly, the reality is far from this. If someone asks for something like an extra WFH day, if your policies are pretty strict, this is unlikely to be approved without a proper justification (eg a disability or health condition)
So, a key point is that disclosure is a crucial catalyst for opening up conversations about what an employee needs to thrive.
What are the consequences of not disclosing?
Without disclosure, neurodivergent employees often:
Mask their traits and behaviours
Feel burnt out and disengaged
Avoid asking for help
Encounter performance issues or friction/clashes with colleagues
Live in survival mode rather than doing their best work
The Benefits to Organisations in Encouraging Disclosure
87% of the participants of this survey felt that adjustments would make a critical difference to their work.
In addition to accessing reasonable adjustments, other benefits for organisations to improve disclosure rates include:
Better relationships between managers and direct reports and also with their colleagues.
Reduce crises, such as disciplinaries or PIPs that could have easily been avoided with earlier support.
Improved retention. This report found that 50% of participants who have adjustments say that they would stay in their organisations, whereas 33% of participants who had no adjustments would definitely leave.
Improve engagement and output. We all perform better when we’re in an environment with optimal working conditions, but neurodivergent people often try to operate in environments not built for them.
What Helps Disclosure Happen and Actionable Strategies
1. Clear Processes and Support Pathways
Employees need to know the benefits of disclosing to you and what happens next. Without this, it’s unclear whether it will trigger a formal HR meeting or a referral to occupational health. The unknown is a huge barrier to neurodivergent people disclosing.
Recommended actions:
🎯 Define and document the process for handling disclosure. Ensure you specify that they do not need a formal diagnosis.
🎯 Clarify who’s involved (e.g., line manager, HR, occupational health) and that other parties, such as their teammates, will only be informed with their explicit consent.
🎯 Share example adjustments to normalise the range of support available and reduce the burden on them to come up with the solutions.
2. Trained and Prepared Managers
According to the CIPD Neuroinclusion at Work 2024 report, only 36% of managers have received training on how to respond to neurodivergent disclosure. So, it’s clear many managers and HR professionals don’t know what to do when someone discloses, and employees pick up on that.
Recommended actions:
🎯 Provide manager and HR training on neurodiversity, reasonable adjustments, and inclusive communication
🎯 Equip managers with scripts, support tools, and examples
🎯 Reinforce that it’s not their job to diagnose or solve everything, just to respond with empathy and follow process
3. Proactive Signals of Safety
There is still a lot of stigma around neurodivergence; news outlets seem to pick a neurotype of the week to attack and demonise... Many neurodivergent people don't even feel safe being open to their partners, friends and family, let alone at work.
Trying to position yourself as a neuroinclusive workplace without coming off as performative is hard. Still, if employees never hear neurodiversity mentioned at work, they’re less likely to feel it’s safe to disclose to you.
Recommended actions:
🎯 Reference neurodiversity in onboarding (perhaps your policies or ERG) and other areas of work, such as blog articles, internal policies etc.
🎯 Have visible neurodiversity champions in leadership roles.
🎯 Show that you embrace different ways of working and communication - without making it about neurodivergence.
🎯 If you haven’t already, consider setting up a Neurodiversity ERG/community.
4. Culture of Inclusion, Not Exception
Disclosure shouldn’t feel like asking for special treatment. It should feel like joining a workplace that expects and supports different ways of working.
Recommended actions:
🎯 Design roles, processes, and environments that offer flexibility by default
🎯 Reduce reliance on rigid norms like always-on communication or instant responses
🎯 Treat adjustments as business-as-usual, not an exception to be justified
In summary
Improving disclosure rates won't happen overnight. But starting with some of the actions I outlined in this article will help your organisation make a positive start to creating an environment where people feel safe to disclose!
The investment is absolutely worth it to help you improve engagement, output, retention, and working relationships between neurodivergent employees and their managers and peers.
If your organisation is looking for consultancy on improving disclosure rates, developing processes and policies or setting up a Neurodiversity ERG, please drop me a DM, email me at info@parallelminds.io or book in a 15-minute call with me.
