Navigating Neurodiversity and Careers
When it comes to exploring your career interests and finding positions, as a neurodiverse student you may have specific concerns. The Center for Career Engagement is dedicated to not only supporting students through their career development and getting to a point of career readiness through a multitude of services, but also in working to provide specialized support based on your individual situation.
We encourage you to make an appointment with a coach to discuss how your neurodiversity may impact your career search.
Resources for Neurodiverse Students
- WashU Learning Center – Their goal is to provide expert guidance to undergraduate students from every academic background—and to equip them for success at WashU and beyond.
- Mentra – A Neurodiversity Employment Network – Harnessing the cognitive strengths of Software, Cybersecurity, and Data professionals
- Jobs for the Neurodivergent – Connecting neurodivergent job seekers with welcoming employers across the world
- Job Accommodation Network (JAN) – the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations
What is Neurodiversity?
From the Oxford English Dictionary: Neurodiversity is “the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioral traits, regarded as part of normal variation in the human population”.
Neurodiversity is not necessarily a disability. However, most current laws view neurodiversity through a disability lens. In terms of your legal rights, it can be important to understand how neurodiversity may be considered a disability, and what resources are available to you as a result. To learn more about these resources, please see our Students with Disabilities page.
Know Your Rights
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a government agency that is tasked with enforcing laws and regulations relating to employment discrimination. Holistically, this includes discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, familial status, disability, or genetic information. By law, many employers with at least fifteen employees are covered by EEOC-related considerations, which stretch across all forms of work (e.g., hiring and firing, promotion, wages, etc.).
For applicants and employees with disabilities, the EEOC enforces standards against disability discrimination through providing a variety of rights including:
- Fair treatment: Employer are prohibited from treating you differently, or less favorably than those that do not have disabilities.
- Protection against harassment and retaliation: You are protected against harassment and punishment from managers, co-workers, or others in your workplace.
- Reasonable accommodations: You have the right to request reasonable workplace accommodations to allow “you to apply for a job, perform your job, have access to the workplace, or enjoy the same benefits available to other employees”. NOTE: Employers do not have to grant every request, but careful consideration of each request is required along with rather it is possible.
- Medical history disclosure: Employers are strictly limited in what questions can be asked about your health and any information shared is kept private. As an applicants, please be aware of interview questions that are considered improper or illegal. Here are a few examples of illegal interview questions:
- Do you have a disability?
- What medications are you currently taking?
- Have you filed any workers’ compensation claims?
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from discrimination.
Disability rights are civil rights. From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life.
Note: Neurodiversity may not be covered under this act.
