The Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group at Elysium was formed in July 2024.Laura Helps, co-chair of the group, shares more information. 
“The Neurodiversity ERG was formed from the Elysium Disability ERG, of which I am also a member. It was based on the needs of the colleagues around Elysium who are neurodiverse. Many people who are neurodivergent do not consider themselves to have a disability, they have a different brain type. It’s a very important distinction and it’s less ‘othering’.
“We do work alongside the disability ERG and we feed back on reasonable adjustment policies, which are of great importance to our colleagues who are neurodivergent and those who may have a disability. Both potentially require employers to make reasonable adjustments.
“In the case of neurodiversity, that might be supplying noise-cancelling headphones or timers for people who have ADHD. Those can assist in helping a person focus on a task for a set period, for example.
“We are working with the disability ERG to create policies around reasonable adjustments. There can be quite a lot of crossover, as neurodiverse people also have a high co-morbidity with certain physical health issues.
The group covers a wide umbrella of neurodiversity including autism, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s and dyslexia, for example. 
Laura, who co-chairs the group with colleague Natalie Gillbanks, said: “An estimated one in seven people in the UK are neurodivergent. It’s essential that our group represents as many types of neurodiversity as possible under our ‘umbrella’.
“Our meetings are held on Teams and I’d encourage colleagues to join.
“We’re working on things like providing training to staff – managers especially – on how to better understand neurodiversity, and for the managers to better understand how they may be able to support neurodiverse staff.
“We have services which support people who are neurodivergent, but our experience tends to be in supporting people who have high support needs versus colleagues, who are usually on the lower support needs spectrum.
“There are simple things we can all do and consider. It can be as simple as sending emails with bullet points of tasks you want the person to do rather than long paragraphs with the tasks hidden within. Allowing fidget items to be used in meetings can be helpful. And understanding that eye contact does not equal attention.
“We’d love to increase membership to help us make sure our umbrella is as wide as possible and we represent as much lived experience as possible”
Elysium colleagues can find out more on Sharepoint, or contact Laura or Natalie for more information. Meeting attendance isn’t mandatory, but joining 
the Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group helps ensure your input is included in proposals and actions.