Neurodiversity and Me: Tracey's story

Every employee is different, and like many adults in the working world, Tracy had to learn to create coping strategies and “just found ways around things.”  

She hadn’t thought to seek out support when she joined Openreach. 

Thinking back to her time at school, she said, “I used to hate having to read out loud. I could never formulate some of the words in my head. I loved reading, but not if it meant doing it in a classroom full of children or even out loud one-on-one with a teacher.”  

Tracy meets Cognassist

“I love anything to do with personal development, so when there was an opportunity to take part in this, I jumped at the chance.” 

Tracy’s employer Openreach has partnered with Cognassist to help drive their neuro-inclusion journey. She was excited to use Cognassist’s Cognitive Diversity Assessment to understand her differences.  

“Prior to starting the assessment, there was a bit of concern about what it would entail and what it would show up.” 

But being different is never a bad thing.  

Recognising our strengths and supporting challenges is part of creating an inclusive workplace culture. Tracy had a great attitude: “I am always keen to understand more about myself and how I can improve or find things out that can help others.” 

How Cognassist helped her journey

“After the nervousness of the tests, I was really pleased with the results. I always knew that spelling wasn’t my strong point and the assessment confirmed this, as well as the comprehension section, which goes back to formulating words in my head. It was great to see suggestions for how to improve this.” 

We are all on a journey.  

Navigating the demands of the working world requires us to understand the strengths we bring but also acknowledge where we may need support or tools to help us develop. 

The impact

“Prior to using Cognassist, I have never discussed this with anyone.” 

It’s so important that we can share our strengths and discuss the areas where we can develop. Understanding ourselves in a new way can give us the vocabulary to describe our differences and seek support, and that’s exactly what Tracy did. 

“I discussed the findings with my manager, and he was great, saying he had never noticed anything, but was happy to go through things with me going forward to ensure I was always comfortable with the information we are required to look at and having more ways to deal with things. I use my Alexa more now. If I am not sure of a word, I will ask her to say the word by spelling it out or ask the meaning of a word. It is a lot quicker than Google.” 

Adapting in small ways can have a big difference, and it helps us to create flexible ways of working and find what works for us.  

Cognassist is a tool for everyone to understand how they think and learn, embracing our differences and acknowledging that everyone’s mind is different. 

“It has helped me understand a bit more about myself and given me tools to help in the areas it highlighted going forward.” 

We’re glad to have been part of Tracy’s personal development journey, supporting her and her colleagues at Openreach.