Sarah E. Silverman

Over the few years or so I’ve been doing more invited talks and consulting (mostly related to Neurodiversity, disability, and inclusion). Over that time, I have interacted with a bunch of different campuses and departments (some of these interactions resulted in me coming as a guest speaker, and some did not). I’ve been thinking about the fact that a lot of campuses desire a speaker or consultant on neurodiversity who is themselves neurodivergent, but might not know how to approach the communications and logistics of hosting in an inclusive way. This post contains some of my thoughts on what an inclusive and neurodiversity affirming process might look like for hiring a guest speaker or consultant, and is strongly informed by my own perspectives and needs as an autistic person who does this sort of thing fairly regularly. I think taking inclusion of guest speakers and consultants seriously is important because it helps set the example that neurodiversity is a community-wide issue, not just affecting students but also instructors, staff, guests, and anyone else who might show up on a campus.

The most important thing to say up front is: Neurodivergence is an umbrella concept that includes many different experiences. My own suggestions here are designed to potentially help folks who are working with autistic speakers because that is my personal experience, and I think they could also help people with ADHD, anxiety, learning disabilities, people not familiar with the cultural norms of North American academia, and hopefully others. I of course acknowledge that there are likely people out there who would benefit from very different or even contradictory supports. It is probably the best policy to ask potential new colleagues or partners if they have any specific needs that you can help meet when you start working together.

Reaching out and determining if it is “a fit”

• Initially reaching out via email or other text medium is a good idea unless the speaker has asked for a different method
• If you are inviting the speaker to have an introductory conversation, be specific about the agenda for that conversation and give the speaker an opportunity to prepare for it
  • Although the norms of hiring/job interview dictate otherwise, I think it is most fair and respectful to tell the speaker whether they are “auditioning” for a role, or if they have already been selected and the meeting is to discuss logistics or specific plans
  • Instead of “we would like to determine if you are a good fit for our needs” you could say “we are looking for a speaker to address points x y and z in their talk in a way that will be useful to business school faculty. Can you please prepare to discuss how you would approach that?”
• If you have not met the person before, consider that they may be visibly/noticeably neurodivergent
  • They may speak, behave, move their body, or use eye contact differently from neurotypical people
• Clarify who is responsible for following up on the conversation, by what date, and by which method (call, email, etc).

Planning the engagement

• If you have concrete expectations for the core part of what the person is doing (speaking, consulting) make sure to provide these expectations in writing. Examples could be length of presentation, things to include in the talk, people to meet with
• If you have concrete expectations for the logistical and supplemental parts of the engagement make these explicit.
  • Pay special attention to clarifying the social, interactive, or particularly verbal parts of the interaction, even if they seem obvious to you
    • For example, it might be a good idea to explicitly state if you would like the speaker to chat with people during a meal time and approximately how long that will last
  • Work together to create a detailed agenda
    • When should the speaker arrive? Are there any expectations for what they should be doing between when they arrive and the start of the event?
    • Clarify whether it is OK to leave at the exact time the engagement is planned to be over – it might be a good idea to plan a 15 minute buffer at the end for final questions etc.
  • Clarify expectations or logistics for things like lunch or coffee breaks. Ask if the person is OK with chatting during these times
  • Ask for and respect (to the greatest extent possible) food preferences or the choice to not eat at lunch or coffee time
  • Clarify if there is any sort of dress code
• Let the speaker know about the general nature and accessibility of the space where they will be working. I think this is a basic courtesy to any speaker but it might be good to let a neurodivergent speaker know about the lighting, whether the room is echo-y, whether it gets loud when many people are talking, how the microphone works, etc.
• Inform the speaker ahead of time about any recording and photography plans, and respect their autonomy about this. For example, I am not OK with being candidly photographed. I am fine taking a posed photo, but I usually tell people that I cannot really smile on demand. Flash photography can be difficult for some neurodivergent people to tolerate, so it might be best to avoid this
• A very nice gesture one campus offered was sending an email with a detailed map and written guide for where to park, what door to enter the building, and where the bathroom was located ahead of time (restroom access is important for everyone, and pointing these out ahead of time is a generally inclusive practice).

Day of / during the engagement

• Consider that the person to be visibly/noticeably neurodivergent. They may speak, behave, move their body, or use eye contact differently from neurotypical people. It is not unusual for neurodivergent people to wear noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses, carry fidget toys, have a service animal, bring a support person, use a non-spoken form of communication etc., so it might be good to familiarize yourself with these possibilities
• If the expectations that you set out for the engagement are changing (this obviously happens sometimes), do your best to communicate that they have changed in a timely and respectful manner
  • Speaking for myself, I mentally prepare for campus visits based on the information I am given (how many attendees, format, type of room, how much energy I need to reserve for verbal conversation) and my anxiety is eased if the host acknowledges this and acknowledges that changes in the logistics may affect how how smoothly I am able to conduct the program
• Consider how to end the engagement – it may be helpful to clearly state that the guest is free to go. A simple “Thank you so much for everything, if you want to leave now that is fine, or you can also stay and chat,” works well.

As a conclusion, I just want to repeat that these suggestions absolutely do not cover the needs of all neurodivergent people, and could even be at odds with some folks’ needs. I offer them as invitations for thought and reflection and I also encourage you to ask your speaker or consultant directly about any accommodations or information that they will need.

Cover photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash