6 Simple Workplace Strategies that our Autistic Clients Find Beneficial

Autism month is coming to an end and we wanted to close out by sharing some of the most used workplace strategies that our autistic clients find beneficial. Our very own Genius Within Business Psychologist, Lauren Connelly gave us her top six. If you find these helpful and are looking for even more ideas then check out the Genius Finder Platform where we can provide strategies specifically tailored to your unique cognitive profile.

This workplace strategy can support with:

· Sensory regulation

· Emotional Regulation

· Reading Concentration

Feeling stressed, distracted, anxious or overwhelmed? Calm your sensory arousal levels to make better sense of your worries. This could be going somewhere quiet with dim lights. But some people feel calm in busy places, so it could also be going to a café or a waiting room. Take some time to notice which spaces work best for you.

Our work environment can significantly influence how we feel, think and behave. You can do this in many different ways, depending on your sensory profile. You might want to go somewhere quiet, to reflect, or dim the lights. You might be the opposite, and find loud busy places calming (because by comparison, your internal world seems calm). Either way, take a moment to go where you can feel relaxed and reprocess your worries. Being calm in your senses will help you make rational decisions, because you won’t be accidentally triggering your startle reflex.

This workplace strategy can support with:

· Social Communication

· Memory (Clarifying Expectations)

· Emotional Regulation (reducing rumination)

If you are feeling concerned about your work performance, directly ask colleagues for feedback on your work so you can work out if this fear is historical and unfounded, or a genuine area for improvement.

Worries don’t come from nowhere. Your worries might be because you are picking up subtle signals, or because you are affected by previous negative experiences. Either way, how to resolve this involves finding out for sure. Use the strategy of actively seeking feedback. This displays a high level of maturity and professionalism but also allows you to learn. Direct feedback helps you align your perceptions with reality, preventing the brain from overthinking or misconstruing situations based on fear or anxiety. It’s better to know for sure and work on it, than to let worries fester. You might find it isn’t all bad!

This workplace strategy can support with:

· Self-Organising

· Reading Concentration

· Memory

If you are feeling overwhelmed by a large to do list, it might be feeling too difficult because you are thinking of each task as a separate item. Try first putting them into categories. Group tasks into up to four categories to reduce the pressure to think of everything at once. Once they are in categories, decide if you will work through by picking a task from each category or clear a whole category first.

This may include admin tasks, finance tasks, meeting preparation, shift planning, stock ordering tasks – whatever works. Try to think of no more than four categories and put all the tasks into one of the four. Now think about the urgency. You may need to do all the tasks in one category first – for example, they could be related to safety, or urgent deadlines. Or you could choose to take one from each category and keep cycling through the categories until they are all done.

This workplace strategy can support with:

· Emotional Regulation

· Sensory Regulation

· Reading Concentration

Have you ever tried taking mindful breaks to refocus and combat mental fatigue? Take three deep breaths to see what difference it makes.

Taking short mental breaks can help you refocus and reduce fatigue. Try taking one or two-minute breaks to perform deep-breathing exercises to focus on your sensory experiences. For example, you could try mentally counting three things you can see, feel, hear, smell or taste. This exercise creates a mental break and will help you feel re-centred and more capable of continuing with your reading.

Can support with:

· Sensory Regulation

· Social Communication

· Emotional Regulation

It might seem obvious but a lot of us simply don’t do it. Feel free to ask for changes in an overwhelming environment. “I find it hard to think when it’s noisy. Could we pause until it’s quieter?

Loud or chaotic environments can overload your sensory processing system, making it difficult to think clearly. If the surrounding environment is too loud, busy, or just generally overwhelming, it can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and make it difficult to think clearly and articulate your thoughts.

It might be possible to request adjustments, such as lowering the volume or changing location to better suit your sensory preferences. By doing so, you are advocating for yourself and setting the stage for more effective communication. You might say something like, “I find it a bit challenging to think on my feet in noisy environments. Could we possibly find a quieter spot or maybe pause this discussion until it’s a bit calmer here?”

Taking this step not only helps to manage your immediate issue but also educates others about diverse needs in communication settings. Remember, your needs are valid, and expressing them is a key part of self-advocacy and fostering mutual understanding.

Can support with:

· Emotional Regulation

· Sensory Regulation

· Social Communication (when put on the spot)

Have you ever tried reducing anxiety by using a fidget tool or tactile object in your hand to ground yourself? Even something simple like a fabric swatch or a smooth stone in your pocket can act as an anchor.

Using a tactile object or fidget tool can serve as a practical strategy to manage anxiety, especially when put on the spot to speak. The physical sensation of holding or manipulating a small object can provide a grounding effect, redirecting some of your mental energy away from the anxiety and helping to calm your nervous system. This method works by engaging your sense of touch, which can be a powerful ally in bringing your attention back to the present moment and away from overwhelming thoughts.

When choosing such an object, opt for something discreet and easy to carry, ensuring it’s appropriate for various settings, including professional environments. It could be a small stress ball, a fabric swatch with a texture you find soothing, or even a smooth stone.

Neuroscientists have found that sensory stimuli can affect our emotional state. By focusing on the object and the sense of touch, you can more easily gather your thoughts and reduce feelings of anxiety.

The thing about finding strategies that help you at work, is that the simplest ones are often the most impactful. The very fact that they are easy to implement makes you more likely to do it consistently. Just because something seems obvious when you think about it doesn’t mean you’re already doing it. Some of the best ideas also come from observing and listening to what works well for other people.

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