Canaries down the coalmine

Neurodivergent people are the canaries down the coalmine of the world of work - including the world of being your own boss. 

By this, I mean that we are more sensitive to things that impact on everyone. 

Put me in a room with no windows and fluorescent strip lighting without my tinted glasses and I will be vomiting with a migraine within an hour. Put others in the same room and they may not even notice their performance is reduced compared to working in a room with natural lighting. 

Put a colleague in an open plan office where the culture allows people to call across between desks, and he will be unable to work. Put others in that office and their productivity will drop without them realising.

In other words, design for your neurodivergent self, colleagues, clients and employees and watch everyone benefit.

#UniversalDesign is not, of course, universal. One size never fits all. However, by focusing on designing an environment fit for your canaries, everyone in the coalmine will benefit.