The expert trainers from the Sycamore Trust led the Davies team through discussion and group exercises in the session, to help staff understand more about the condition as well as how to support people with autism in the workplace.
Davies staff attending the virtual Autism Awareness training
George Holman, Director at Davies comments:
“It is estimated that around 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent. Now imagine if we focused on the strengths that come from these differences instead of the challenges – recognising different abilities rather than disabilities. Most business leaders are familiar with the advantages that come with diversity and inclusion – and I am hugely proud to work for a firm that is embracing neurodiversity. The autism awareness training provided to us by the The Sycamore Trust gave us a fantastic insight into how we might support the needs of individuals with autism. I am genuinely looking forward to embedding some of the hints, tips and best practices into our ways of working at Davies – and would highly recommend this training to any organisation looking to explore this important area when it comes to diversity and inclusion.”
Matt Parkinson, Managing Partner at Davies says:
“Those close to someone with autism may already understand that whilst autistic people can face significant challenges within our society, they can also offer huge potential and can have super-strengths that most of us do not have; these strengths just need to be harnessed in the right way, in the right environment. And yet the statistics show that there are additional challenges for autistic people to enjoy the employment opportunities that neuro-typical people have. If we all do our bit to break down these obstacles for anyone with a neuro-diverse ability, the organisations within which we work can all benefit from these super-strengths and we can change people lives for the better.
Many of us want to make change happen but worry about where to start or if we will say something politically incorrect. At Davies we are educating our teams in how to embrace neuro-diversity and starting to break down the obstacles to progress. We hope it will be the start of an enduring commitment, enabling us all to play to our super-strengths.”
Steve Dixon, Marketing & Communications Manager at the Sycamore Trust adds:
“We were delighted to provide our CPD-accredited Autism Awareness Training to the staff at Davies. As Autism is defined as a hidden disability, it is often overlooked, and it was a pleasure to present to an attentive group of people who were clearly engaged with the subject matter and keen to find out more. We hope that in the future, many more organisations adopt a similar approach to Davies and view neurodiversity as a strength, rather than a weakness.”