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In a world moving ever closer towards the acceptance of all forms of diversity, the neurodivergent communities have been left behind and it's time for us to catch up, but this will involve a big shift in thinking. 

As a society, we like to think we're on top of DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion), but it isn't strictly true. Autistic inclusion is low. Society misinterprets autistic traits and condemns autistic people because we're all raised to accept the erroneous interpretations of our ancestors. The information needed to understand autistic brain function may not have existed in the past, but it does now. For real change to happen, however, we need to open our hearts and minds to ending autistic discrimination at work.

It's a discrimination many in society thinks doesn't exist, but few know what autistic looks like, so how can they know? Forget Rain Man. We need to learn to recognise autistic traits and attribute them correctly because inaccurate beliefs, accepted in the absence of a viable alternative, do much harm and this needs to stop.

Smash the Boulder is an honest account that advocates for autistic people in the workplace and offers an understanding into how our brains function from the perspective of an autistic person. It offers the knowledge managers need to make informed decisions that achieve autistic inclusion and end autistic discrimination at work. 

Currently, most organisations have HR policies that are incompatible with the disability laws that protect neurodivergent workers in the UK. Which they either don't realise, or resist acknowledging because they fear making the necessary changes in lieu of the consequences. 

But, we can address the fears that accommodating autistic needs will open the flood gates to 'bad behaviour'. Many use these unfounded fears to resist making appropriate changes. But autistic people are human beings with feelings and have a right to be heard: it's the decent thing to do. Instead, society forces autistic people to deny who they really are and accept a situation that harms them. Regardless of the damage it does, this is the equivalent of forcing square pegs into round holes, and rejecting those unable to meet these harsh demands, sets autistic people up for failure.

We can change rejection into acceptance and progress from the perception of autistics as oddities, or lab rats for study and dissection. We can raise autistic awareness and embrace the reality of alternative neurotypes; maybe even discover how much richer our society can be when we allow our differences to complement rather than butt up against each other. But we have to be willing to learn, to question everything we've been raised to believe, and start again from a fresh perspective. With your help, we can do this.

Smash the Boulder is currently withdrawn from sale for the purpose of revision and the addition of new material. I'll confirm on this site when a new publishing date has been set.

Smash the Boulder is not currently available on Amazon in print or as an ebook.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/BODHV5R15K  (link to ebook on Amazon)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1068762616      (link to printed book on Amazon)

If the links don't take you straight to Amazon, copy and paste into your browser.

ebook £5.99. Paperback £11.99.

Since publishing the book, the government has recognised the extent of demand for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses and realises the breadth of autistic brain function in society is much greater than was originally assumed. Assertions of over-diagnosis are a distraction and show the fear that diagnoses will result in more claims for disability benefits. In the current climate, this isn't surprising. Autistic people, whether they realise it or not, face rejection in the workplace unless they can hide their inherent brain function. That most autistic people are either unemployed or under-employed shows that denial of who we are is neither reasonable nor easy.

As an autistic person I have over thirty years experience surviving, or not, in neurotypical workplaces. Throughout that time, I had no knowledge my brain function was recognised, and protected, as a disability. I've only been in receipt of my official diagnosis for a few years, but was aware I could be on the spectrum since 2019. I've researched the autistic experience since then, concentrating directly on the experience of others on the Spectrum (not academic research) and connecting the dots to my own life experience. Smash the Boulder is the culmination of this journey.

I state in the book that I advocate for recognition of autistic brain function as a neurotype. The current accusation of over-diagnosis makes this conversation more relevant and important than ever. At present, all autistic people with a diagnosis are recognised as disabled because our lives must be significantly affected to receive the diagnosis. The only way to reduce the numbers considered disabled, is to recognise autistic brain function as a neurotype first so that people are forced to accept there is more than one way of being: more than one type of brain function.

Either way, the world of work faces a learning curve to achieve autistic awareness and inclusion.