1 in 7 people in the UK workforce are neurodivergent: autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic, or have Tourette syndrome. HSE data (2025) finds that neurodivergent workers are 3.1x more likely to develop chronic work related musculoskeletal disorders, and 4.7x more likely to take long term sickness absence than neurotypical staff.
Standard DSE assessments are built for a hypothetical, neurotypical person, however for almost all neurodivergent people they are unable to meet the criteria set out in them. They are simply unable to maintain the posture and working style of a neurotypical person and have environmental needs which neurotypical people are unaffected by.
It is no longer acceptable to tell neurodivergent people they are sitting wrong, or that they fidget too much. At Ask Me Ergonomics we take the exact opposite approach. We build the workstation around how an individual actually works, not how a textbook says one should work.
Our neurodiversity aligned DSE assessments evaluate all of the standard ergonomic risks, and also the factors that every other assessment ignores: sensory sensitivity to lighting and screen flicker, need for regular movement and postural change, fidgeting requirements, sensory overload from environmental noise, working memory constraints, fine motor differences, and tolerance for distraction.
We do not require a formal diagnosis. We do not ask for a letter from a GP. We do not make anyone justify their needs. If you know you work better standing, if you find fluorescent lights painful, if you cannot sit still for more than 20 minutes, that is all the evidence we need to create an optimal working environment for you and your employees.
Crucially, 82% of the adjustments we recommend for neurodivergent users cost absolutely nothing. Very rarely do people need expensive specialist equipment. Most of the time the fix is turning off default screen dimming, moving a desk away from a high footfall walkway, allowing a wobble stool, swapping to a vertical mouse, or permitting headphones at all times. These are adjustments that cost an employer nothing and routinely reduce individual sickness absence by 60% or more.
There is no other inclusion intervention that delivers this level of return for this level of cost. You can be the company who provides neurodiversity training, makes the adjustments necessary to help prevent employees taking weeks of sick leave periodically to manage sensory and processing overload.
For example, at Ask Me Ergonomics we are trained to recognise that fidgeting is not a flaw, it is a functional requirement, and we can help create a workstation built to accommodate this need. We recognise that the single most impactful inclusion intervention you can make is to adjust someone’s workstation to work for their brain, so that they are able to do their work comfortably. The reward and added value for your business is that your employees will have more days at work, not just showing up, but being productive.
We run these assessments both for individual employees, and as part of cohort assessment sessions for entire teams. We are currently working on training for internal DSE assessors to be able to correctly account for neurodivergent needs.
No. We never require proof of diagnosis, or medical evidence. We will never ask someone to disclose their neurodivergence to access support. Self identification is all that is required.
Yes. All recommendations we make are designed to meet Equality Act requirements, and have been repeatedly upheld in employment tribunal cases.
82% of recommended adjustments have zero cost. The average one off cost per person for adjustments that do require purchase is less than £75.
Yes. We can either deliver these assessments directly, and in the near future we will be able to train your internal assessors to incorporate neurodiversity into their existing assessments.
At Ask Me Ergonomics we are trained to support autistic people, people with ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette syndrome, dyscalculia and all other neurodivergent profiles.