{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ready for Beyond","title":"Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Why the System Needs to Change (Not the People), with Wanda Deschamps","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1377,"description":"In this episode of Ready for Beyond, Gina Hudel explores what happens when someone realizes the challenge isn’t fitting into the system — it’s redesigning the system itself. She sits down with Wanda Deschamps, Founder of Liberty Co., whose work focuses on advancing neuro-inclusive workplaces through IDEA: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility.\nAfter receiving an autism diagnosis at age 46 following a significant mental health crisis, Wanda began a journey of self-awareness that transformed how she understood herself and the world around her. That experience led her to a powerful realization: personal growth alone is not enough if workplaces, hiring practices, and social systems remain unchanged.\n\nTogether, Gina and Wanda discuss:\n00:03:33 — Understanding Neurodiversity\n Wanda explains the difference between neurodiversity, neurodivergence, and neurotypicality, and why the distinction matters.\n\n00:05:27 — Rethinking How We Identify Talent\n Traditional hiring practices can unintentionally exclude neurodivergent candidates before they ever apply.\n\n00:08:42 — Creating Truly Accessible Workplaces\n Accessibility starts long before accommodation requests and should be built into every stage of the employee experience.\n\n00:09:12 — Choose Curiosity Over Judgment\n Assumptions about communication styles can create barriers that curiosity can help remove.\n\n00:12:43 — The Missing Piece in DEI\n Wanda explains why accessibility must be included alongside diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.\n\n00:15:06 — Making Inclusion a Shared Responsibility\n Stronger workplaces emerge when everyone takes responsibility for successful communication and collaboration.\nWanda shares how her own diagnosis reshaped her perspective and inspired her mission to help organizations recognize and support neurodivergent talent. Her experience serves as a reminder that meaningful inclusion is not about asking people to fit existing systems — it is about designing systems that recognize and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/VJ4SuH4Nx0PoYBeRKc6GktpRwjjEhld_yQjv42YFUIg/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9hYTky/Y2RmZDkyNzkwYzk1/MTY5N2E2ZDI0NmNm/MWNiNS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}