[Mermaid Girl]

DoodleBob,

Yes to all of this. ESE teacher here, and the wife of a high functioning ASPIE, individuals on the spectrum have phenomenal gifts of focus.

As long as they have some good coping skills in the mix, they’re phenomenal workers.

[DoodleBob]

Thank you. I am reading about (and experiencing) a great labor shortage in the US today. I have worked with a range of "neurodiverse" people in my life. I suspect many employers want everyone to be the quarterback but they fail to see the value in a great defensive end. Perhaps the problem isn't in a shortage of labor, but in management.

To be sure, I also don't want my defensive end playing QB. People on the spectrum may not do well in customer-facing roles or where conflict resolution is part of the grind. But that's not the fault of the employee - that's a problem of management that can't hire for the job. We ARE individuals.