Neurodiversity tips

Many people who are neurodivergent find that they have some difficulties engaging with others but can struggle with the kinds of communications which are commonplace for many organisations. These can be websites, brochures, legal contracts, terms and conditions and so on.

Type of neurodiversity, including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyscalculia and communications difficulties, can result in a difficulty in both processing and retaining information. Some conditions, such as autism and ADHD can lead to increased levels of anxiety and difficulty managing finances or making significant financial decisions.

Many neurodivergent people find it challenging or uncomfortable talking about their condition – and may find it hard to disclose information, even when it may be helpful to others.

How you can help firms to help you

While it may not be easy to disclose information about your condition, doing so will help those firms to help you. Indeed, for some kinds of firms (especially those in financial services) once they have been told of your condition or advised of your needs, they are obliged to adapt their communications and processes to better service you. This will, in particular, help them to deliver information in ways which better suit your needs.

Doing so should not affect any services you are offered nor the price of those services.

The more information you provide, the more firms can help. It may not be easy for them to do so, but most are willing – so it can be useful to help them.

Tell them what works for you. This may be communications via text message or WhatsApp, for example. Tell them what doesn’t work for you. This could be face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, or calls which are not scheduled or having the discussion topics set out beforehand. If you struggle with long, detailed documents, it may be helpful to have firms break down key points, or for them to provide the information in a way which better suits you – for example, a financial adviser could record a short video rather than sending a lengthy document.

What are your rights?

Within financial services, firms must ensure that all customers receive similar outcomes, regardless of personal characteristics. In particular, these refer to ‘avoidable harms’ – such as providing you with unusable products or services, or products or services which you don’t understand. They can only do this if they are aware of your needs.