The most recent edition of Post Break, Post New York Alliance’s webinar series, featured a discussion on neurodiversity in the workplace. Joyce Boll, executive producer of Nice Shoes’ visual effects unit, Break + Enter, and the facility’s VFX pipeline technical director Aline Lima,  joined David Siegel and Tim Dailey from the nonprofit Exceptional Minds in a conversation about the benefits of building a workplace that embraces cognitive variation by supporting individuals of different personality types, including those on the autism spectrum.

Siegel described how his organization provides training in visual effects and animation to people with autism. Those individuals often struggle to find jobs, yet with the right training and properly integrated into the workforce, they make outstanding employees.

Siegel spoke of  a young man who made a daily four-hour commute while taking part in Exceptional Minds’ three-year training program. Upon graduating in 2019, he was hired by Marvel Studios as a plates lab wrangler, a role he continues in to this day. “These are the kinds of stories that we dream of,” Siegel said.

Aline Lima

Lima, a resident of Brazil who works remotely for Break + Enter, told how her young daughter’s struggles in school due to autism led her to discover that she, herself, was affected by a mild form of the condition. That helped her better understand the challenges she had experienced in life and on the job. She eventually wrote about her journey in her personal blog. “I wanted to put my face in front of everyone and let them know it was a possibility,” she explained. “Autism is easier to spot among children because adults learn how to blend in.”

Boll, who had been unaware of Lima’s condition, said that she and her colleagues at Break+Enter were impressed by her courage in speaking out. “It’s hard enough to be a woman in visual effects,” Boll said. “Then you add being a single parent and both you and your child are autistic. And yet the level of Aline’s work is incredible.”

Understanding how autism presents itself is essential to successfully integrating neurodiverse individuals into the workforce. The brains of individuals on the spectrum function differently from other people. Many have trouble understanding sarcasm and irony and find facial expressions difficult to decipher. Dailey, who has lengthy experience in teaching visual effects to people on the spectrum, advised employers to be clear and literal in communication. “You need someone on staff who is willing to listen, to guide them like a coach,” he explained.

Siegel said that employers who support neurodiverse individuals reap the unique benefits they bring to the workplace. “Autism is a condition, but it is not a preclusion,” he explained. “People on the spectrum have incredible talents.”

Boll noted that Lima is exceptional in her role at Break+Enter, not despite of but because of the way her mind operates. “Aline is not distracted by the mishegoss [Yiddish for craziness],” she observed. “She is very targeted and gets right to the point. Her problem-solving is much quicker than the average person.”

Joyce Boll

“Her personality has a gentleness,” Boll added. “When you talk to a technical person, you are often made to feel like the dumbest person on the planet, but Aline never makes you feel that way. It’s a great combination.”

The increasing adoption of remote work might make it easier to integrate neurodiverse people into the workforce. Lima is sensitive to bright lights and can feel overwhelmed in crowds. Working from home allows her to create an environment where she feels in control and comfortable.

Similarly, remote technology has enabled Exceptional Minds to grow its program during the pandemic. “We’ve learned to support individuals with autism all over the country,” Siegel observed. “We’ve taught people in 28 states and four countries. It’s enabled us to reach people who otherwise couldn’t be reached and teach people who otherwise couldn’t be taught. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Ultimately, committing to neurodiversity is like embracing diversity in race and gender. It’s a win not only for individuals previously excluded from rewarding employment but for everyone. Diverse workforces produce better work. As Lima said, “If you have a team that is monochromatic, you are going to get results that are monochromatic.”