For Steamboat Springs business owners Doug Matthews at Bred bakery and Chris Silva at Steamboat Stickers, part of the recipe for operating a thriving business is hiring diverse employees including those who have neurodivergent disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder.

The business owners value diversity in hiring, which they say helps their businesses retain full or sufficient staffing levels, while also helping local individuals of all abilities who want to work. Staff members with neurodivergent challenges are some of their most reliable, long-term employees who show up on time ready to go and rarely miss work, the owners say.

“This is an amazing community, vibrant, so if you are able to make your way and have some degree of success, you really need to look out for the community,” said Silva, who began hiring more cognitively diverse workers in 2018. “It’s not really a program; it’s just what makes sense.”

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A key accommodation required for supervisors working with neurodiverse staff is most often a little more patience, Matthews said, which is a good trait for any employer to develop. One example of a simple accommodation for an employee on the autism spectrum could be allowing them to wear headphones at work to mask the din of office sounds, Silva said.

Silva also said his four staff members with diagnosed challenges serve as a good influence on other employees.

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“Other staff are a little more patient, kind and easy; it’s a daily reminder that there is a big, wide world out there,” Silva said. “When you have that multidisciplinary approach for hiring, it’s a good thing for the employees and for business.”

Because the approximately 2 million stickers of various shapes and sizes that Steamboat Stickers sells annually need barcodes applied manually, the repetition and stability of that work can be soothing to some employees with neurodivergent disabilities, Silva said.

Matthews said the five employees with diagnosed challenges working at his commercial bakery each have their own “superpowers.”

One former longtime employee who is great with numbers and details was recently hired by another company at a higher wage where his specialized skills are a great fit. Matthews actually helped that employee land the job by explaining those “superpowers” to the new boss.

“We’ve all got superpowers, and we’ve all got limitations,” Matthews said. “You might have to work with a neurodiverse employee closer sometimes in order to understand their strengths and challenges and how you can use their strengths in your business.”

Presenters from the nonprofit Yampa Valley Autism Program, which serves some 50 area families each year and works in the schools, explained the importance of “Thinking Differently: Disabilities, Acceptance and Inclusion Strategies” during a community workshop Wednesday at Bud Werner Memorial Library.

The goal was to help locals gain a deeper understanding of the gifts and challenges that come with “invisible” disabilities such as autism, dyslexia and ADHD, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Presenters Jessica Charpentier and Aaron Copeland, who are board certified behavior analysts, shared specific tips on how to be an inclusive employer and more knowledgeable community member. They encouraged community members to learn how to meet individuals with disabilities halfway, rather than having the person struggle to make 100% of the changes.

Community members may assume children or adults with cognitive challenges are lazy, rude or seeking attention, the presenters said, but attendees were encouraged to ask themselves, “What’s getting in their way to understanding?” or “How can I help?”

Guiding people on the autism spectrum has changed through the years. For example, individuals may have been coached in the past to stop “stimming” movements, or self-stimulating behavior, such as arm or hand-flapping, finger-flicking, jumping or rocking. Now those movements are recognized as a soothing form of self-expression, Copeland said.

The presenters discussed ways to support people with challenges in executive functioning skills including struggles with time management, emotional regulation, impulse control, task initiation, planning and prioritizing, self-monitoring, working memory, flexible thinking and organization.

The speakers said many people may have some signs or symptoms of ADHD, but people should be checked for a diagnosis when the symptoms happen for six months and are impacting all facets of life functioning.

Yampa Valley Autism is a vendor with the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and can work with employers to add supports for workers. The nonprofit serves clientele that include 48% with autism spectrum disorder and 52% with other cognitive development challenges such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and Angelman syndrome.

“There are plenty of people who could join the workforce as long as they have the right support and accessibility,” Charpentier said. “We would love for employers and businesses that have never had someone with a disclosed disability to know that it actually can be great and not that hard to make some slight accommodations.”