Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Autism And ADHD At Work: The Research Stops At Hiring
A systematic review published in Applied Psychology in 2026 screened more than 13,000 articles and found 111 that met its criteria for studying autism in the workplace. Those 111 papers map onto five stages of the autistic employee life cycle: hiring, developing, supporting, managing and advancing. The research covers hiring in depth. It covers accommodations in depth. On the question of whether autistic workers ever get promoted, it contains zero studies. Not a small number. Zero. The same is true of career path.I am late diagnosed AuDHD, and I have spent a lot of years being very good at the part of work that happens before anyone knows anything about you. The interview. The first six months. The bit where you are still legible. What I did not have language for, until I read these two papers back to back, was why the ground kept shifting after that. It turns out the research has the same blind spot I did.The second half of this video turns to ADHD. A 2026 study analysed 114 posts and 3,276 comments from adults with ADHD working from home and coded every strategy described. Body doubling appeared 64 times. Noise cancelling headphones 60 times. Alarms and timers 45 times. Developing automation tools, the only genuinely strengths-based approach in the whole dataset, appeared three times. The authors conclude that nearly all of it is deficit-based work that helps people mask.Practical things you can take from this:Bring the accommodations evidence into the room rather than the request. The research finds accommodations improve retention and comfort with no measured negative impact on colleagues or the organisation. That reframes the conversation from a favour to a known quantity.Cost your own workarounds. If you have not disclosed, you are likely paying for your own headphones, monitors and subscriptions. Add it up before you decide non-disclosure is the cheaper option.If you manage people, train your leaders rather than waiting for requests. Organisations that trained top managers on neurodiversity showed higher retention of autistic employees. The evidence does not support waiting to be asked.Both papers are open access and linked below.
Papers referenced:
Checketts, M. B. (2026). A systematic review of autism in the workplace: Taking a holistic perspective on the Autistic employee life cycle. Applied Psychology, 75(4), e70116. doi.org/10.1111/apps.70116
Yaukey, S., Komlodi, A., & Kuber, R. (2026). From time blocking to body doubling: Analyzing technologies employed by adults with ADHD for working from home. CHIWORK Adjunct '26. doi.org/10.1145/3805029.3818290
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NOTE: I am not a medical professional. This video is based on lived experience, research, and educational insights. Please speak to a qualified healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This description contains affiliate links. You are never obligated to use them, but they support the channel at no cost to you.
___________________________________________________
#nicolaknobel #audhd #employment
___________________________________________________
Link: youtu.be/xve4cdGt1rE
Autism And ADHD At Work: The Research Stops At Hiring
A systematic review published in Applied Psychology in 2026 screened more than 13,000 articles and found 111 that met its criteria for studying autism in the workplace. Those 111 papers map onto five stages of the autistic employee life cycle: hiring, developing, supporting, managing and advancing. The research covers hiring in depth. It covers accommodations in depth. On the question of whether autistic workers ever get promoted, it contains zero studies. Not a small number. Zero. The same is true of career path.I am late diagnosed AuDHD, and I have spent a lot of years being very good at the part of work that happens before anyone knows anything about you. The interview. The first six months. The bit where you are still legible. What I did not have language for, until I read these two papers back to back, was why the ground kept shifting after that. It turns out the research has the same blind spot I did.The second half of this video turns to ADHD. A 2026 study analysed 114 posts and 3,276 comments from adults with ADHD working from home and coded every strategy described. Body doubling appeared 64 times. Noise cancelling headphones 60 times. Alarms and timers 45 times. Developing automation tools, the only genuinely strengths-based approach in the whole dataset, appeared three times. The authors conclude that nearly all of it is deficit-based work that helps people mask.Practical things you can take from this:Bring the accommodations evidence into the room rather than the request. The research finds accommodations improve retention and comfort with no measured negative impact on colleagues or the organisation. That reframes the conversation from a favour to a known quantity.Cost your own workarounds. If you have not disclosed, you are likely paying for your own headphones, monitors and subscriptions. Add it up before you decide non-disclosure is the cheaper option.If you manage people, train your leaders rather than waiting for requests. Organisations that trained top managers on neurodiversity showed higher retention of autistic employees. The evidence does not support waiting to be asked.Both papers are open access and linked below.
Papers referenced:
Checketts, M. B. (2026). A systematic review of autism in the workplace: Taking a holistic perspective on the Autistic employee life cycle. Applied Psychology, 75(4), e70116. doi.org/10.1111/apps.70116
Yaukey, S., Komlodi, A., & Kuber, R. (2026). From time blocking to body doubling: Analyzing technologies employed by adults with ADHD for working from home. CHIWORK Adjunct '26. doi.org/10.1145/3805029.3818290
🎤 LEAVE ME A VOICE NOTE!
reading_between_the_lines.buzzsprout.com/2567287/fan_mail
📚 LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK
Leading Beyond Labels and Unmasking Leadership is now available. Listen to them here: youtube.com/channel/UCq7bTdhRIOwqAwl-xfJa9aQ/join
📺 I THINK YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE VIDEOS
30 Days of Research: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKnswtvGYefXpo3t8_KdF3xzfJrUOq7dg
My TedX: youtube.com/watch?v=L4tLt5jUR8M
🎁 FREE DOWNLOAD
Practical tools made with neurodivergent brains in mind. From burnout support to workplace guides, designed to help you navigate life with ADHD, autism, or both.
nicolaknobel.com/shop/?categories=freebies
🛍️ MERCH
Soft, neurodivergent-coded tees that get it.
nicolaknobel.com/shop
FIND ME HERE:
instagram.com/nicola.knobel
pinterest.com/nikiknobel
facebook.com/nicolaknobel.audhd
threads.com/@nicola.knobel
NOTE: I am not a medical professional. This video is based on lived experience, research, and educational insights. Please speak to a qualified healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This description contains affiliate links. You are never obligated to use them, but they support the channel at no cost to you.
___________________________________________________
#nicolaknobel #audhd #employment
___________________________________________________
Link: youtu.be/xve4cdGt1rE
