Neurodiverse employees are submitting more accommodation claims at work

• Key Insight: Discover how neurodiversity accommodations shift performance management and inclusion strategies.
• What's at Stake: Missed accommodations risk ADA litigation, talent loss and damaged team productivity.
• Forward Look: Expect rising accommodation requests, manager training mandates and evolving ADA scrutiny.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

Neurodiverse employees are making their needs known at work, and leaders must stay up-to-date on the best ways to support them to foster an inclusive culture — and stay compliant. 

Autism and other neurodiversity-related complaints against employers, which are governed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), have spiked 650% in the last eight years, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This is a strong signal that doesn't just point to the increasing presence of neurodiverse employees, but leaders' ongoing struggle to meet their needs.

"Neurodiversity accommodations are less visible and more nuanced than physical ones," says Jeff Nowak, co-chair of the Leaves of Absence and Disability Accommodation Practice group at law firm Littler, referring to workplace changes such as adjusted meeting schedules or extended deadlines. "Employers struggle to address the absence of those accommodations because they are often seen as average workplace experiences rather than areas that can be adjusted."

Read more: Why neurodiversity is the next big test for benefit leaders

Many employers still wait for employees to disclose a diagnosis before providing the protections or support they are legally entitled to under the ADA, Nowak says, and signs of neurodiversity are often mistaken for performance issues. As a result, managers may respond to missed deadlines or communication challenges with discipline instead of dialogue, penalizing employees for difficulties they can't control and exposing employers to legal risk and creating potential compliance and liability concerns when they fail to meet ADA standards. 

"The need for these kinds of accommodations are not new," Nowak says. "The neurodiverse employees are often those individuals who have had to be advocates for themselves throughout their lives in order to succeed, but leaders [can provide additional support]." 

Inclusive practices for neurodiverse employees

Additional accommodations for neurodivergent employees can include adjustments to communication styles, sensory environments, or social expectations, Nowak says. They may also involve flexible hours and seating arrangements, hybrid work models, alternative interview formats, assistive technology or tools like noise cancelling headphones, or access to job coaches and mentors. In some cases, even common workplace statements like "I'm overwhelmed" or "meetings are really hard for me" should be enough to trigger the ADA's required responses, which should be for employers to open the conversation around accommodations. Nowak also encourages HR and benefits leaders to invest in neurodiversity training for managers to help build more inclusive teams.

Read more: Signs your work environment is toxic and how to improve it

"I always encourage clients to ask themselves whether these requests are coming straight from employees and whether they can fulfil that request without creating any additional hardship," Nowak says. "If the answer is yes to either of those, it's often worth trying."

Investing in inclusive practices won't change or diminish a company's employee performance standards, Nowak reassures leaders. It simply provides employees with alternative pathways for meeting those standards.

"Neurodiversity accommodations are not about lowering expectations — they're about removing unnecessary barriers," Nowak says. "When employers approach these requests thoughtfully and collaboratively, they don't just reduce legal risk, they build stronger workplaces."