Building Empathy Autism and the Workplace Katie Gaudion Workplac_Cover v2.indd 1 11/10/2016 14:26 About the research partners The Kingwood Trust Kingwood is a registered charity providing support for adults and young people with autism. Its mission is to pioneer best practice which acknowledges and promotes the potential of people with autism and to disseminate this practice and influence the national agenda. Kingwood is an independent charity and company limited by guarantee. www.kingwood.org.uk The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design provides a focus for people-centred design research and innovation at the Royal College of Art, London. Originally founded in 1991 to explore the design implications of an ageing society, the centre now works to advance a socially inclusive approach to design through practical research and projects with industry. Its Research Associates programme teams new RCA graduates with business and voluntary sector partners. www.hhcd.rca.ac.uk BEING BEING was commissioned by The Kingwood Trust to shape and manage this ground breaking project with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. BEING is a specialist business consultancy that helps organisations in the public, private or charitable sectors achieve their goals through the effective application and management of design. www.beingdesign.co.uk Workplac_Cover v2.indd 2 11/10/2016 14:26 Contents 2 Foreword 3 Introduction 4 Context: Autism and work 6 Research Methods 8 Co-creation Workshop 12 Autism and Empathy 18 Findings: Six key findings 24 Workplace Activity Box: 28 Activity 1: People & Things in the workplace 30 Activity 2: Disc-it, a workplace communication tool 32 Activity 3: Mapping Sensory Patterns 38 eBay Workshop 40 Conclusion 42 References 44 Author, Illustrator, Acknowledgements 1 Building Empathy inside.indd 1 14/10/2016 11:14 Foreword Lady Hornby, Chair, Kingwood One of the most significant aspects this be through staff training, of our lives is work, it can provide modifications to the work environment, financial rewards and as a result or simply a better understanding of independence and a more dignified autism as a spectrum condition. life, but perhaps more importantly it can provide purpose, meaning and a This publication attempts to help sense of self worth. organisations that might potentially employ people on the autism These benefits are as important for spectrum by detailing simple, clear people on the autism spectrum as guidance on creating empathy and they are for the rest of society and as making reasonable adjustments and such the information and guidance provides some easy to adopt tools and contained in this publication, which techniqued and I can not recommend represents another year of research it strongly enough. from the expert team at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, is of paramount importance to the autism community and those that might seek to employ them. For the residents that we at Kingwood support, who might not all be able to take up employment through traditional routes, all have the potential to be involved in some form of structured work activity that provides benefits for themselves and society. To make this possible it is clear that reasonable adjustments could be made to make work more manageable for people with sensory processing and social interaction issues, whether 2 Building Empathy inside.indd 2 14/10/2016 11:14 Introduction This publication is the sixth in a what the physical and social demands of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition; series that describe design research of the workplace might be for autistic DSM-5, 2013) recognises the unusual projects carried out by the Helen people and explores ways to overcome way that autistic people respond Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal potential difficulties. It also explores to sensory input. These so-called College of Art in partnership with how to foster understanding and 'sensory sensitivities' can affect autism charity The Kingwood Trust, empathy between autistic employees, a person’s ability to interpret, filter who provide support and accom- managers and co-workers, to support and regulate sensory information, modation for adults with autism. a neurodiverse workplace. leading to a person becoming hyper- sensitive (over-stimulated) and/or The work engages directly and Autism is a lifelong and complex hyposensitive (under-stimulated) creatively with autistic adults and neurodevelopmental condition that to incoming information, thereby their support network, employing affects the way a person communicates influencing how they experience their qualitative methods using design and relates to other people and the environment. For example, while some ethnography techniques. In addition world around them. As a spectrum autistic people find certain sounds to a person-centred design approach condition it affects people in different upsetting (e.g. dogs barking) or this project takes a strengths-based ways. People with autism may have visual input (e.g. fluorescent lights) approach that views autism through rigid routines and special interests disturbing, others seek and take a positive and enabling lens. – they can be sociable or find social pleasure in such stimuli. situations difficult. Some have learning The work aims to improve the everyday disabilities whilst others possess high To create a holistic approach the experiences of those with autism levels of intellectual ability. It is design team invited autistic adults through better understanding of their estimated that one in every 100 across the spectrum to take part sensory preferences, interests and people is diagnosed with autism in the research. This included action capabilities with the physical (Baird et al, 2006; Brugha et al, 2009), people with limited verbal speech environment. and with one per cent of the adult and additional learning disabilities, population of the United Kingdom who live in supported housing and Past studies have focused on different having autism spectrum disorder are described as having high support environmental context of the home, autism is no longer considered rare. needs (receiving more than 15 hours ranging from the built environment, support per week). In addition autistic garden design, adaptation of household Although autism is often associated adults who typically do not have objects and communication tools – with its effects on social communi- delayed language development both digital and analogue. This project cation and interaction, the latest and may require short-term practical steps outside the domestic realm and revision of diagnostic criteria by support, were also invited to participate. into the workplace, which investigates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 3 Building Empathy inside.indd 3 14/10/2016 11:14 Context Autism and work entry-level jobs. Hagner & Cooney, (2005) interviewed 14 supervisors of employees with autism and found that the main barriers were sensory sensitivities, for example, difficulty for autistic employees to deal with unusually loud noises. Results from an online survey by Kirchner et al, (2014) revealed that social interaction and sensory issues where most often rated as interfering with work performance. Many autistic people have led successful careers that have been carved and shaped around their special interests. Temple Grandin, an American For most adults, work is a major support and advice for prospective autism activist and bestselling author, part of life. Whether it is paid or employers and autistic people to has a successful career designing unpaid, work is good for our health attain and sustain employment. livestock equipment. She gives credit and wellbeing. We develop skills and to her science teacher Mr Carlock who it makes us feel productive, valued Finding, applying and sustaining helped Grandin realise her abilities. and builds our confidence. employment is a complex process Her interest in automatic doors inspired involving a number of hurdles for her teacher to encourage her to Unfortunately for people on the autism autistic people, who may experience investigate this further, which led spectrum employment outcomes are stress, bullying, low quality and low Grandin to become an engineer. poor. Only 15 per cent of autistic people paid work that does not match their During the last decade there has are in full-time employment (Howlin et abilities. Therefore, the success rate been growing efforts to create job al, 2013), despite the fact that 79 per of sustaining a job is low (Hurlbutt & opportunities for autistic people cent of people with autism on out of Chalmers 2004; Burkjardt & Cardillo, through start-up companies in the work benefits want to work (Redman, 2012; Griffith, 2011; Schaller, 2005). information technology sector, such 2009). Although there is a high rate Mullar et al (2003) interviewed 18 adults as Specialisterne (Denmark and of unemployed autistic people, there with autism about their experience Iceland), Passwerk (Belgium) and are only a handful of practical tools with the workplace and found highly Aspiritech (United States). The special available that address this and provide educated employees working at 4 Building Empathy inside.indd 4 14/10/2016 11:14 interests amongst autistic people be used as an important platform to assess what adjustments are needed have began to be recognised as a match jobs with the skills, interests for people with autism or the extent to valuable resource when developing and preferences of the autistic people which employers need to make these employment strategies for people Kingwood support. adjustments (Hagner & Cooney, 2005). with autism (Kirchner & Dziobek, 2014). An example of this is Specialisterne, Whist there is growing support and To fill this gap in research this project who are a social enterprise founded guidance for employers who are now will take a person-centred approach in Denmark in 2004, and have starting to recognise the importance to investigate what the physical and successfully placed thousands of and value of a person on the autism social demands of the workplace are, people with autism into specialised spectrum, many employers continue and to explore what workplace satis- jobs.