Author and Engineer David Finch Advises AIHA Connect Attendees on Navigating Neurodivergence in the Workplace
By Abby Roberts
When engineer and bestselling memoirist David Finch delivered the opening keynote at AIHA Connect 2025 on May 19, he shared strategies for accommodating neurodivergent professionals in the workplace with an audience participating both virtually and in person in Kansas City, Missouri. Soon afterward, many attendees spoke with Finch directly in an “Ask the Expert” session. Some participants asked Finch for advice on navigating the workplace as professionals identifying as neurodivergent—a nonmedical term encompassing a range of diagnoses and conditions that broadly refers to people whose brains function differently from the “neurotypical” norm. Other participants asked how they could best support neurodivergent loved ones. Finch’s responses, covering topics from disclosing one’s disability to navigating unfamiliar points of view, were rooted in his own experience as a person diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
The first participant to approach the microphone was Jonathan Klane, MSEd, CIH, CSP, CHMM, who has also been diagnosed with autism. Klane thanked AIHA for its focus on neurodivergence and briefly recounted his experiences as a PhD candidate who has both researched and participated in studies on autism, as well as being an autistic occupational and environmental health and safety professional. “One of the things that is very tricky in a work environment is disclosure,” Finch said, after thanking Klane for sharing his story. Often, rather than disclosing one’s disability to human resources, Finch has found a “soft” disclosure with managers and colleagues about how they can offer support in specific ways can be more productive.
A virtual participant who identified herself as “Alison” asked Finch for tips on navigating the workplace as a recently diagnosed neurodivergent woman more likely to engage in “masking” behavior. Briefly, Finch explained “masking” to the audience as “putting on the right social outfit for the occasion,” he said. That is, people with autism and other neurodivergent conditions often present themselves in ways more acceptable to the neurotypical norm, although this behavior is not instinctive to them. Autistic women often mask to such an extent that people often respond with surprise or dismissal when they disclose their diagnosis, Finch observed. “For women in the workplace, my only advice would be to curate your tribe,” he said. “You need people—it doesn’t matter their gender—but you need a tribe who sees you, understands that what you’re expressing is valid, and will champion you without being your savior.”
Another participant related that he had a form of Tourette syndrome that gave him facial tics, which he felt may be related to the generalized anxiety disorder that discouraged him from pursuing important projects or roles. Finch responded that although he had sometimes been successful in projects that he had not felt able to take on, it’s ultimately up to an individual to judge whether a project or position will take a toll on their mental or physical health. “You’re the expert on yourself the same way that parents are experts on their children,” he said.
Other questions posed by audience members addressed their relationships with neurodivergent family members, partners, and colleagues, as well as the challenge of finding employment despite hiring practices benefitting people with neurotypical communication styles. In the latter case, Finch noted that “the unemployment and underemployment statistics for people on the spectrum are enormous.” One study has found that about 85 percent of the autistic population in the United States are unemployed. He recommended that a person who struggled to do well in job interviews consider social skills coaching.
The final participant’s question addressed people who struggle to understand that not everyone sees the world the same way they do. For this, Finch recommended asking the individual, gently and without emotion, whether it might be possible that others might be approaching matters differently—even if their approaches don’t make sense to them.
Abby Roberts is assistant editor of The Synergist.
