Lateral Thinking: Neurodiversity at Work

For those out of the loop, last month was a special occasion. Firstly, it was both Autism Acceptance Month and Dyslexia Awareness Month. Several great conferences, speeches and events were held in honour of the occasion. Notably, October was also Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The Importance of Neurodiverse Employment

Unfortunately, as it stands, it is estimated that only 1 in 3 people on the Autism Spectrum within Canada are actively employed. Moreover, of this 33%, a large population is also considered to be “underemployed” (i.e., working at a career significantly below their qualifications). For individuals with Dyslexia, ADHD, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Developmental Aphasia, the numbers are strikingly similar, coming out to less than 30% of individuals employed (combined).

No matter how you slice it, this is a major problem that needs to be addressed. Everyone who wants to work should have the ability, especially in a job market that has recently been defined by an influx of positions. It’s hard to claim there’s a worker shortage when significant groups of qualified prospective employees are not granted the opportunity to utilize their skillset.

Moreover, in some ways, it’s just plain bad business. Because, as it turns out, neurodiverse talent may play one of the most vital roles in the business environment of the future. There is one key reason for this: lateral thinking.

What is Lateral Thinking?

So… just what is lateral thinking? To explain it simply, lateral thinking is about viewing things outside the box. Whereas a vertical thinker (most of us) may opt to attempt a problem systematically, lateral thinkers are focused on finding unique and novel approaches to solve it. Some of history’s greatest innovators have been lateral thinkers. From Gates to Jobs, their unconventional approach to business has changed the current market landscape considerably.

The Dyslexia community is notable for having a significant number of lateral thinkers. From Richard Branson to Jamie Oliver, Steven Spielberg to Whoopi Goldberg and beyond, some of the very finest storytellers and innovators in our modern day society have dyslexia.

The Autism community also has a considerable number of lateral thinkers. Dr. Temple Grandin’s contributions to the field of Agricultural Science are innumerable. Sir Anthony Hopkins’ immense dedication to his craft has earned him significant praise and several Academy Award wins.

Yet, these individuals got to flourish in part because of working in environments that encourage lateral thinking. The same can’t be said for some industries, which are largely still methodical in their approach to work. This is where we can help.

 How do we Support Lateral Thinkers?

The Quillsoft Offices

At Quillsoft, we are committed to creating industry-leading technology that can help level the playing field. WordQ, our flagship product, has a significant number of features to help make learning and working easier. From speech recognition to predictive text, we are committed to helping empower neurodiverse employees to reach their peak potential and working to build confidence in their abilities.

Whereas many EdTech programs focus on giving a clear-cut “solution” (add a comma here, remove the hyphen there, etc.), WordQ is different. It is not a program simply reliant on artificial intelligence doing all the work. Instead, it is what we like to refer to as “Intelligent Assistance”, a program that utilizes AI to facilitate lateral and critical thinking. This is perhaps most exemplified in one of WordQ’s features: ThoughtQ.

ThoughtQ, a component of our WordQ Desktop and WordQ for Chrome software, is a dynamic topic suggestion tool. Users can search a topic and choose from a list of related words to draw connections. So, if you were to search, for instance, for Titanic, you would find a list of related terms. Ship, icebergs, working-class, etc. But you would also find terms that you may not immediately know, such as Leonardo and Andrews. From here, you can choose to define these terms, or search them all on Google directly from the program. So, what do Leonardo, Andrews and Titanic have in common? As it turns out, Thomas Andrews Jr. was the builder of the Titanic, and was portrayed by Victor Garber in the 1997 movie based on the infamous ship, notable for starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

This is just one example of what ThoughtQ can do, but the principle is the same for all its features. We will help lateral thinkers forge connections they may not know exist, but we are not in the business of telling them the answer. Long-term, we believe this will not only help increase literacy, but also help train lateral thinking. Innovation and creative expression cannot exist in a world in which there is only one answer.

How Can My Firm Try WordQ?

So, is WordQ right for your firm? That’s where we believe the product speaks for itself. On our website, we are proud to offer 30-day free trials of WordQ for Desktop and 14-day free trials for WordQ for Chrome. This is the entire program, with all its bells and whistles, ready to be explored. Try it for yourself… we think you’ll see what makes our software great.