Neurodiversity at work, seen from both sides of the desk
One journey, walked from both chairs: the interview, the offer, the disclosure, the hard feedback, and the reason good people stay.
The same moment, seen twice
You already know your own side of the desk. What you have almost never seen is the other side of those exact same moments. So this guide is laid out as a journey, and at every stage you get both chairs at once.
You weigh whether to disclose
The quiet math before a one-on-one: what to say, what it costs, whether this manager is safe to tell.
moment
You hear “I have something to tell you”
The flash of not knowing what to say, and the small moves that turn it into a hire who stays.
Read your side at each stage. Then read across the desk. That second column is the part that changes how you see your own.
Six stages of a working life
From before the job exists to staying and growing in it. Each stage stands on its own, so you can start anywhere.
1Before the Hire
The prep, the posting, the sourcing. Where talent is quietly lost first, reading a job post like a detective and writing the real job, not “rockstar.”
2The Interview
The room that tests the wrong things. Preparing real stories and questions ahead, a real task, no eye-contact penalty.
3The Offer & First Days
Saying yes, starting well. Asking for what helps, early and onboarding that actually decides retention.
4Settling In
The daily work and the unwritten rules. Guarding your peak hours and co-designing accommodations and saying the unwritten rules out loud.
5Feedback & Friction
The hard moments, both ends. Surviving the first ninety seconds and giving a note that lands instead of wounds.
6Growing & Staying
Being seen, being kept. Making your work visible and acting on the quiet signs before the resignation letter.
Whichever chair you’re in
Neurodivergent professionals
Practical, plain-spoken guidance for the interview, the disclosure decision, the feedback that lands too hard, and being seen for what you actually do. Written for you, not about you.
Managers & HR leaders
What to do in the moments that decide whether a great hire stays: the interview, onboarding, accommodations, feedback, and catching the energy change before it becomes a resignation.
Hi, I’m Debra Solomon
Thirty years, both desks
Parent of a neurodivergent son, then an NYU-certified career coach for thirty years. I’ve coached the nervous candidate the night before the interview, and trained the manager who didn’t know what to say when that same candidate disclosed. This guide is the manual nobody gave us, written for both of us.
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Get the free guide →Neurodiversity in the Workplace: A Field Guide · by Debra Solomon · Spectrum Roadmap · Updated