Hot Topic: Why Job Hunting Is Harder for Neurodivergent People

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott explore why Autistic and ADHD people continue to face systemic discrimination when looking for work — even in industries that quietly depend on neurodivergent talent.

Responding to recent reporting on neurodivergent employment discrimination, they share personal experiences of job interviews, disclosure, workplace bullying, infantilisation, and being punished for mistakes while their strengths are ignored. Jordan and Simon question whether disclosure is ever truly safe, and explain how fear, burnout, and past trauma — not lack of ability — keep capable people out of the workforce.

They unpack the double bind many neurodivergent people face: judged for being unemployed, then discriminated against again when trying to work, and highlight the irony that creative, technical, and production industries are built on neurodivergent skills, while the people providing that labour remain undervalued and excluded.

They discuss:

• Why do autistic and ADHD people struggle to get hired despite being capable?
• The risks and realities of disclosing neurodivergence at work
• Infantilisation, stigma, and being defined by mistakes
• Workplace culture, office politics, and unspoken bias
• How burnout and mistreatment create a genuine fear of employment
• Why neurodivergent-friendly workplaces should be the default
• “Nothing about us without us” in hiring, policy, and workplace design

A raw, angry, and deeply validating conversation about work, worth, and why neurodivergent people aren’t locked out of employment because they can’t work — but because the system refuses to change.

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