• All breakout activities for today can be found on this page.
• Please keep the tab open for ease.
• Scroll to each new activity when the time comes.
• Please make sure that all voices are heard and select a speaker, when required, to share a summary of what has been discussed. 

Breakout Activity One:

Reflect and Discuss - Celebrating Good Practice

Neuro-Inclusion

Instructions

• Your leader for this activity will be the person who was born in the earliest month of the year

• Your leader will select a speaker for the team, who will share a brief summary of what was discussed. If you prefer not to speak, choose another colleague

• Your Leader will guide you through the questions below.

• Make sure that all voices are heard - consciously include all members of the team!

In relation to Neuro-Inclusion:

Team One (Room One)

1. What do you and your team already do well but could do more consistently?

2. Is there anything you'd like to do better? What could you do to be more inclusive?

Team Two (Room Two)

1. What do we mean by accessibility and removing barriers?

2. Are we getting it right with regards to accessibility?

A) For colleagues

B) Candidates

Breakout Activity Two:

Receptive/Expressive Communication Activity

Instructions

1. The person whose name is last alphabetically will be the leader of this activity.

2. Your leader will decide who will be Speaker A and who will be Speaker B.

3. Your leader will guide you through each part of the activity below:

PART ONE

In a moment, SPEAKER A is going to talk for one minute about their weekend and SPEAKER B is just going to listen.

OK – off you go [1 minute].

And stop!

How did that feel? Easy? Good!

PART TWO

Now, SPEAKER B is going to talk about their weekend for one minute. BUT they are not allowed to use any words containing the letter ‘e’.

Ready? Off you go! [1 minute].

And stop!

How did that feel? 

Were you able to speak as fluently as your partner? 

How did that make you feel? 

SPEAKER A - how did it feel listening as your partner was struggling to put their thoughts into words? Frustrating? Annoying?

Discuss:

What was the purpose of this exercise? 

How might it relate to your role? 

Breakout Activity Three: Staff Case Studies

Instructions

• Let’s look at some staff scenarios.
• Don’t worry about getting through them all.

For each of the following three case studies, consider what “reasonable” adjustments, formal and informal, could be made to ensure that the staff member feels supported and that there is no discrimination. 

Some helpful links to assist with this activity:

ACAS information on Reasonable Adjustments

GOV.UK information

Case Studies

1. Charli is incredibly effective in their role as an Executive Legal Secretary, having built trust and rapport with colleagues across the organisation, and has never believed their dyslexia to be an obstacle. However, recent changes in recording and reporting procedures have caused some anxiety. This has been brought to your attention and you must decide on the advice, support you will offer:

• 1.Charli
• 2.Charli’s Manager

2. Jo is a newly recruited Paralegal Apprentice, with so much energy and enthusiasm for their role, and is already achieving great results. Jo has lots to say but often doesn’t seem to listen to others, loses focus, and gets side-tracked.

When it comes to organising paperwork, Jo seems more reluctant. At a recent Internal Review, some important data had gone missing, and this has caused some concern for their Line Manager.

1.What advice can you offer Jo’s Line Manager

2.What practical support can be offered to Jo?

3. Ademola, is a highly efficient and thorough accountant, who has been with the Firm for many years.

He is autistic and thrives when there are clear rules and routines but finds the unstructured parts of the day difficult. New changes to working conditions, in particular open office and hot-desk requirements have caused him to become visibly upset.

How can we support Ademola? What can be put in place?

Please scroll below these Case Studies to find further guidance and examples of Adjustments.

Breakout Activity Four:

The Employee Lifecycle from an HR perspective

• Recruiting & Interview (Room 1)

• Performance Management (Room 2)

• Career Development (Room 3)

With a neuro-inclusive approach:

Discuss ways to enhance the experience of underrepresented candidates/colleagues and give an examples of what good looks like.

What would an inclusive leader do to demonstrate fair and equitable treatment of neurodivergent staff?

This might be something that you’ve experienced or something that you yourself do.

• Recruiting & Interview (Room 1)

• Performance Management (Room 2)

• Career Development (Room 3)