One in five people are neurodivergent. Half of them do not know it. And in home services and the trades, the number is likely even higher.
The autonomy, the problem solving, the independence, the hands-on nature of the work attracts a certain kind of brain. And that brain, whether it carries an ADHD diagnosis, an autism spectrum disorder, or just a lifelong feeling of being wired differently, is showing up every day in your trucks, on your sales calls, and in your leadership seats.
Dr. Matt Vorell is a PhD in Organizational Communication from the University of Colorado and a professor at St. Cloud State University. He is autistic, academically credentialed, and deeply passionate about normalizing this conversation in the workplace. His message is simple: different, not less.
In this episode:
- Why the trades attract a higher likelihood of neurodivergent individuals than most industries
- What autism spectrum disorder actually is and what it is not
- The difference between top-down and bottom-up thinking and what it reveals about your team
- Why 90% of autistic individuals are either under or unemployed
- Why 75 to 80% of autistic individuals never disclose their status at work
- How masking works and the toll it takes on the people doing it every day
- The vaccine and Tylenol claims debunked directly by someone who has studied this for decades
- The double empathy problem and why communication responsibility has to go both ways
- How to give instructions, write emails, and assign tasks in ways that actually land
- How one manager turned her lowest performing employee into her top performer in two months
- Practical tools including AI as a communication translator for neurodivergent individuals
- Books and resources to go deeper
Recommended Resources:
Temple Grandin - Different, Not Less
Neurodiversity at Work by Theo Smith
Kaylin Partlow on TikTok
Professor Saul on TikTok
Connect with Dr. Matt Vorell:
LinkedIn: search Dr. Matt Vorell,
Connect with Sam Wakefield:
Website: https://www.closeitnow.net
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @therealcloseitnow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuel.l.wakefield
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/closeitnow/
Join the Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/closeitnow
Bring This Training to Your Team:
Sam travels nationwide to deliver on-site training for home services companies serious about building a culture people want to stay in. Half day classroom, half day ride-alongs. Your team, your market, your systems.
Book a call with Sam: calendar.app.google/KZH1j2Q1MAXTKbT38
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