Career Development Strategies to Support Neurodivergent Students
In this resource, developed in partnership with Signal49 Research (formerly Conference Board of Canada), for career advisors, we suggest a number of ways to help neurodivergent post-secondary students develop their career, building on our previously published research on neurodiversity in higher education and employment.
We aim to answer in this report the following questions: What supports do neurodivergent job seekers need? How can career advisors facilitate work placements for neurodivergent students? How can post-secondary institutions better support neurodivergent students in their career development?
Key insights
Neurodivergent students remain under-represented in work-integrated learning (WIL) programs due to systemic barriers and limited employer awareness about effective support strategies. Advancing neuroinclusive WIL involves preparing both students and employers for success.
Partner with employers before placements to provide neurodiversity training, offer tailored resources, and establish regular site visits or online check-ins to sustain support and learning throughout the experience.
Career advisors play a key role in facilitating equitable opportunities for neurodivergent students. This requires a continuous commitment to learning, staying current with evolving knowledge and language around neurodiversity. By doing so, advisors can ensure that their support for students remains informed, inclusive, and effective.
Many neurodivergent students may choose not to disclose their diagnosis/identity at school or work due to concerns about discrimination, limited trust in institutional processes, or challenges accessing formal documentation. Understand that disclosure is not always possible or preferred.
Help students thoughtfully assess the potential benefits and risks of disclosure in workplace settings and support them in developing clear, strengths-based language to communicate their needs and working preferences to employers.
This resource is informed by our previous research that examined the experiences of neurodivergent Canadians in education and employment and explored the advancement of neuroinclusive policies for learning and work.
- Building Workplaces Where Neurodivergent Workers Thrive. The Conference Board of Canada & Future Skills Centre, 2022.
- Breaking Down Barriers: Improving the Workplace Experience for Neurodivergent Canadians. The Conference Board of Canada & Future Skills Centre, 2023.
- Making the Invisible Visible: Neurodivergent Students’ Experiences in Canadian Higher Education. The Conference Board of Canada & Future Skills Centre, 2024.
- Creating Inclusive Campuses: Neuroinclusive Policies and Practices in Post-Secondary Education. The Conference Board of Canada & Future Skills Centre, 2025
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