Beyond autism and ADHD: Neurodivergent conditions at work UK employers overlook

Autism and ADHD dominate the conversation around neurodiversity at work. They account for the largest share of employment tribunal cases, receive the most coverage in HR guidance and are the conditions most likely to come up in reasonable adjustments conversations. But neurodivergence extends well beyond these two conditions, and the gap between employer awareness and employer obligation is widest precisely where awareness is lowest.

The neurodivergent conditions below are less commonly discussed but not uncommon in the workforce. Each carries its own workplace implications. Each may amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010, triggering the duty to make reasonable adjustments — whether or not a neurodivergent employee has a formal diagnosis, and whether or not they have chosen to disclose.

Dysgraphia at work

Dysgraphia is a learning difficulty affecting the ability to produce written language. Neurodivergent employees with dysgraphia may struggle with spelling, find it difficult to convert thoughts into written form, omit or reorder words, or produce writing that doesn't reflect their actual understanding or intelligence. The gap between what someone with dysgraphia can say and what they can write is often striking — verbal communication is frequently far more fluent than written output.

In the workplace, dysgraphia can create difficulties with emails, reports, written assessments and any role that requires substantial written communication. It is easily mistaken for carelessness or poor attention to detail, which can lead to performance concerns that are in fact unmet support needs.

Practical adjustments include speech-to-text software, extra time for written tasks, the option to communicate verbally rather than in writing where possible, and screen readers or writing support tools. For roles where written output is essential, breaking tasks into smaller stages and allowing drafts to be talked through before finalisation can help significantly.

Dyscalculia in the workplace

Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers. It affects numerical processing in a similar way to how dyslexia affects reading — and is similarly unrelated to general intelligence. Neurodivergent employees with dyscalculia may struggle with tasks involving figures, calculations, data, timekeeping, or understanding numerical sequences.

In practice this might mean difficulty reading timetables or schedules, errors in financial reporting, challenges with data-heavy roles, or struggles with basic numerical tasks that colleagues find straightforward. Like dysgraphia, dyscalculia is frequently misread as inattention.

Adjustments include calculators and numerical support tools as standard equipment, visual representations of data rather than raw figures, extra time for numerical tasks, and breaking down complex calculations into steps. Roles with significant numerical demands may benefit from restructuring to reduce unnecessary numerical load where the core function doesn't require it.

Dyspraxia at work

Dyspraxia — also known as developmental co-ordination disorder — affects movement and co-ordination. While it appears on most lists of well-known neurodivergent conditions, it receives comparatively little attention in employer guidance despite being relatively common.

Neurodivergent employees with dyspraxia may have poor balance, difficulty with fine motor tasks, take longer to complete certain physical or administrative tasks, and find it hard to pronounce some words. Strengths frequently associated with dyspraxia include verbal communication skills and creative thinking.

Workplace adjustments include specialist equipment such as ergonomic keyboards or mice, organised and clutter-free workspaces with clear signage, and flexibility around tasks requiring fine motor control. Allowing neurodivergent employees to talk through complex work rather than write it down plays to common dyspraxic strengths.

Executive dysfunction in the workplace

Executive dysfunction refers to difficulties with the cognitive processes that govern planning, organisation, self-regulation, working memory and task initiation. It is strongly associated with ADHD but also occurs following acquired brain injury or stroke, and can accompany other neurodivergent conditions.

Neurodivergent employees experiencing executive dysfunction may struggle to start tasks despite wanting to complete them, have difficulty prioritising competing demands, find it hard to regulate emotional responses at work, lose track of multi-step processes, or appear disorganised in ways that don't reflect their actual capability or commitment.

This is one of the neurodivergent conditions most likely to be misinterpreted as attitude or motivation problems. An employee who consistently misses deadlines or struggles to initiate work may be experiencing executive dysfunction, not disengagement.

Adjustments include regular structured check-ins to help with task management, visual planners that highlight deadlines and priorities, breaking work into smaller clearly defined steps, extra time for planning, and reminders built into workflows. Flexibility around when and how work is completed — rather than rigid process requirements — can make a substantial difference.

Misophonia at work

Misophonia is characterised by intense emotional or physiological responses to specific trigger sounds. Common triggers include chewing, breathing, swallowing, keyboard clicking, pen clicking and sounds associated with fidgeting. The responses — which can include anger, anxiety or an overwhelming need to leave the environment — are involuntary and disproportionate to the sound itself.

Misophonia is frequently misunderstood by colleagues and managers. Neurodivergent employees affected by it are often perceived as oversensitive, intolerant or difficult, which compounds the distress and can lead to withdrawal from team environments.

In open-plan workplaces, hot-desking environments or shared office spaces, misophonia can make concentration extremely difficult. The condition is not yet widely recognised in formal neurodiversity frameworks, but its workplace impact is real and significant.

Adjustments include noise-cancelling headphones, access to a private or quiet workspace, flexible working arrangements to reduce time in trigger environments, and — critically — awareness among colleagues and managers that the responses are neurological rather than behavioural. A quiet word with a team about mindful noise in shared spaces, handled sensitively, can have an outsized positive impact.

Slow processing speed in the workplace

Slow processing speed describes a difference in the time needed to take in information, make sense of it and respond — whether that information is visual, auditory or written. It does not correlate with intelligence. Neurodivergent employees with slow processing speed may feel overwhelmed by rapid-fire information, need more time to answer questions or make decisions, and may miss nuances or social cues in fast-paced conversations.

In meetings, fast-moving briefings or environments where quick verbal responses are expected, slow processing speed can lead to neurodivergent employees appearing disengaged or uncertain when they are in fact processing carefully. Performance in timed assessments or high-pressure situations may significantly underrepresent actual capability.

Adjustments include providing written agendas and materials in advance of meetings, allowing extra time for responses and decisions, avoiding putting employees on the spot for immediate answers, and giving written follow-ups after verbal instructions. Recruitment processes should also be reviewed — timed assessments and rapid-fire interview formats systematically disadvantage neurodivergent candidates with slow processing speed regardless of their actual competence.

Stammering at work

Stammering is a neurological condition that makes it physically difficult to speak. A person who stammers may repeat, prolong or become stuck on certain sounds or words. Around 3% of adults manage stammering as a lifelong condition. The experience is frequently compounded by stigma, shame and anxiety — responses that are the result of others' reactions rather than the condition itself.

In workplace contexts, stammering can create difficulties in presentations, phone calls, client-facing roles, and situations where fluent verbal communication is assumed. Recruitment processes that rely heavily on verbal performance may screen out neurodivergent candidates with stammers who are otherwise highly capable.

Adjustments include allowing alternative formats for verbal tasks where possible, giving advance notice of presentations or speaking requirements, avoiding finishing sentences or interrupting, and ensuring managers and colleagues understand that stammering has no bearing on intelligence or competence. For client-facing roles, a conversation with the employee about how they prefer to handle introductions and phone communication is more useful than assumptions about what they can or can't do.

Tourette's syndrome at work

Tourette's syndrome causes involuntary sounds and movements called tics. These can include eye movements, facial expressions, head or limb jerking, vocal noises, tongue clicking, or repeating words and phrases. The association between Tourette's and involuntary swearing — known as coprolalia — is widely known but affects only around one in ten people with the condition and is far from its defining characteristic.

Some individuals can suppress tics temporarily through concentration, but this is extremely tiring and unsustainable over a working day. Tics may increase under stress. In workplace environments where tics are not understood, neurodivergent employees with Tourette's frequently face staring, comments or exclusion — responses that constitute potential disability discrimination under the Equality Act.

Adjustments include team awareness and education, flexibility around environments where tic suppression is expected, access to private spaces when needed, and ensuring that performance or conduct frameworks don't inadvertently penalise involuntary behaviour. Stress reduction more broadly — through workload management, predictable routines and psychological safety — can help reduce tic frequency.

What these neurodivergent conditions have in common

Each of the conditions above is different. Their workplace manifestations vary, the adjustments that help are specific to the individual, and no two neurodivergent employees will experience the same condition in the same way. What they share is a tendency to be misread — as attitude problems, performance issues, social difficulties or simply personality traits — by managers and HR teams who don't have the knowledge to recognise them.

The Equality Act 2010 doesn't require employers to have heard of a condition before the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies. If a condition has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on an employee's ability to carry out day-to-day activities, the legal obligation exists — whether the employer recognises the condition or not.

Building broader neurodiversity awareness isn't just good practice. For the neurodivergent employees who experience these conditions daily, it's often the difference between a sustainable working life and one that isn't.

For a full overview of employer legal obligations, read our guide to reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent employees