Autistic educators’ views and experiences of inclusion and exclusion : How workplace culture shapes belonging

Spiegler, Jessica and Arhin-Acquaah, Kathelene Iagrossi and Hamilton, Charlie and Timmerman, Amanda and Romualdez, Anna Melissa and Pellicano, Elizabeth (2025) Autistic educators’ views and experiences of inclusion and exclusion : How workplace culture shapes belonging. Neurodiversity, 2026.

Abstract

For autistic people in employment, the education sector is a popular field in which to work. Given the barriers that autistic people often face when disclosing autism and seeking workplace adjustments, understanding what creates an inclusive workplace without the need to seek adjustments is important for supporting equitable employment. In this autistic-led and co-produced study, 14 autistic educators working in schools in the United Kingdom wrote online diary entries over one month detailing their ongoing experiences of inclusion and exclusion at work. Thirteen of these respondents were subsequently interviewed about their experiences and, together, the data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Autistic educators reported facing ongoing exclusion in the school workplace, with their inclusion often dependent on the highly variable individual views of colleagues, stigma about autism and systems of poor communication. Encouragingly, however, some educators reported working in predominantly inclusive schools where their professional expertise was valued. These school cultures were described by participants as non-hierarchical, where autistic educators had control and autonomy over their roles and environments, which created a culture of inclusion for all staff and students regardless of whether they were autistic.