While in a meeting, I (Ben) felt my phone buzz in my pocket. My heart skipped a beat, sweat slowly beading on my forehead. I closed my eyes and hoped that it wasn’t a dreaded call from school. It was. I excused myself from the meeting and stepped out into the hallway. As expected, my kid’s school was having difficulty with them and needed me to pick them up. I popped back in to apologize for leaving early and joined the rest of the meeting from my phone as I jogged to the train station to get back home.
How to Support Parents of Neurodivergent Children at Work
Two professionals with neurodivergent children share their experiences navigating their parenting journeys.
May 30, 2023, Updated June 27, 2023
· Long read
HBR Staff/Shanina/ Carol Yepes/Getty Images
Summary.
Parents of neurodivergent children experience challenges that are hard to explain — and often invisible — at work. Unpredictable schedules, burnout, and the varying levels of care required often cause these parents to exit the workforce at very high rates. But this atypical parenting situation has also allowed these parents to develop skills that would benefit their organizations — if only their organizations would provide them the resources to not just stay in the workforce, but to thrive in it. The authors, both parents of neurodivergent children, share their experiences navigating these parenting journeys while at work, and offer strategies for organizations to give their employees the support they need.