Accessing and using NASC services:

What might ‘reasonable adjustments’ look like for your neurodivergent staff?
Having a diverse workforce and supporting staff to be their best at work and flourish is key. Investing in diversity of thought and lived experience benefits everybody, supports retention and helps to address workforce challenges.

The following suggestions have been produced by adults with living experience of autism, ADHD or both.

Everyone will need different things to help them thrive at work and these ideas are just a few examples to use or build on. Try to develop and maintain a culture where colleagues can safely request and suggest adjustments, without judgement.

Many autistic people struggle to know what they can ask for when offered help. For this reason we often suggest the use of an accommodations checklist.

This is something that a workplace could provide to the autistic person to offer different kinds of accommodations/adjustments. Below are some ideas of things you may consider putting onto such a checklist:

• Active/alternative seating. This could be Swiss balls, wobble stools, spinning chairs etc.
• Standing desks
• Walking meetings. For those who focus best while moving, consider having one-on-one meetings while on the go. Go for a short walk. Seating away from the kitchen or strong smells
• Fixed seating arrangement (i.e. not hotdesking)
• Written summary/communication after meetings or phone calls Flexible working hours
• Fidget toys
• Working from home
• Flexible dress code
• Agendas for meetings
• Scheduling meetings early in the day
• Relaxed expectations around socialising. Understand that some autistic people may not have the capacity or desire to socialise or talk to people during breaks or outside of work
• Allowing headphones or earplugs

Autism NZ is pleased to be taking over the delivery of early support service Raupī te Raupō from 2025.
Raupī te Raupō is a free, world-leading and neuro-affirming programme for young children who are autistic or showing signs of autism, and their families.

To date, the programme has been delivered by Victoria University of Wellington from Autism NZ’s Autism Resource Centre in Petone, Wellington. Shifting the provision of services to Autism NZ enables families to navigate services more easily, with simple access to outreach, diagnostic and other services, all housed with the same accessible building.

Evidence clearly shows that early support – before age five – is essential to ensure that autistic children have the opportunity to achieve their future goals, including the most success possible within schooling and beyond.

Autism NZ is proud to already be delivering EarlySteps and Let’s Play from Auckland, which are both programmes for young children who are autistic or showing signs of autism. Autism NZ also delivers Way to Play to hundreds of whānau and professionals nationwide every year.

Way to Play is an education programme designed to encourage joyous play with autistic tamariki. Further, Autism NZ is an appproved provider of the Ministry of Education funded SELO (Strengthening Early Learning Opportunities) for ECE professionals.

Adding a further early support service to our provision is an exciting step forward as we work to meet the huge need for services for autistic children in New Zealand. Expanding our provision into Wellington is also an essential and positive step, as we work to ensure that children nationwide have equitable access to services.

The reality that many whānau across New Zealand face is extended waitlists or a complete lack of services in their area. In other cases, parents are directed towards strict, outdated styles of intervention that autistic adults identify as harmful at best, and traumatic at worst.

Raupī te Raupō was developed by Victoria University of Wellington in collaboration with an autistic and Māori advisory group, alongside professional experts. This ensures a programme that truly supports autistic children’s needs.

We are grateful that our close partnership with Victoria University of Wellington will ensure that Raupī te Raupō will continue to be part of research projects that affirm the need for autism-specific support services. This research helps us to continue to advocate the autistic and wider autism communities to have access to essential and affirming services.

Autistic children hitting puberty and adolescence can be scary, for both children and their caregivers.

Talking to any teenager about sex is awkward, and it can be even more difficult when the teenager is autistic and sometimes struggles to understand social concepts.

This resource outlines a few things to keep in mind when talking to your autistic teenager about pornography.