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Does the IET have a policy/guidelines on neurodiversity?

Roger B

I, probably in common with a lot of engineers and scientist, am somewhere along the Autistic/Asperger’s spectrum. The original form homepage, a simple list of topics with a flag noting any new activity was perfect. The forum that has just been replaced was harder but there was still a logical structure of topics and updates so I could manage.

I find the latest forum version to be stressful and confusing and in my attempts to understand it I came across a similar view from Andy Millar:

‘Just for interest, I've come on here a few times since Friday, and I still find the new site pretty (i.e. completely) baffling as to where anything is. But I also suspect I'm not the target demographic, I long ago noticed an age divide between those of us who were brought up with traditional filing structures, and those who were brought up with - I don't know the correct term - more intuitive, free form, web approaches to finding information. It'll be interesting to see what happens, I assume the aim is to try to encourage more technical discussions (beyond the wiring and regs part which always seems to have been successful). It will be really good if that works, hope it does.’

I wonder if his problem is generational, I think he is in my age group, or neurotype like for me. The current forum format seems to have been produced by ‘arty/creative’ people for other ‘arty/creative’ people and my not be accessible to the target audience (or what I assume is the target audience) or engineers and scientists who prefer a more structured system.

The IET must have guidelines and rules for non-discrimination in other areas, sex, race, disability, etc. Is neurotype included?

PS

The structrure for trying to enter a post is also not pleasant to use Frowning2

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    Roger B said:
    I wonder if his problem is generational

    I'm sure it is, my children (in their mid twenties) have always had a totally different approach to "filing" soft copy information, and I wouldn't like to decide which is better, just different.

    That said, I think your point about neuro diversity is very interesting, but again I'd hesitate to suggest (due to lack of knowledge) which approach would be most appropriate for someone e.g. on the autistic spectrum who is starting to work with a new online environment - a different issue from adapting to a changed environment (which has its own, equally serious challenges). Taking a very simple case, which I have long found interesting, does it work better to store all photos under the WIndows "Photos" directory with tags (putting it simplistically, my children's approach), or under "C: > Photos > Andy's camera > 2021 > holiday" (my old fashioned approach)? Now I know what many on here will say, i.e. the second one, but that could well be because it's the system we grew up with - particularly those of us who date back to DOS! 

    For me personally I think the best solution actually comes down to the size and type of data. If there was a huge volume of information in the forums then actually I wouldn't care how it was organised, I'd just use the search function to find anything that looks interesting. But while the volume of posts is pretty small (except in W&R), which it has been for the last 15 years, then frankly having them pretty much in one long list and scanning down the thread titles by eye works pretty well for me. At the moment this site isn't one thing or the other, there's not much on here, but it wasn't easy to find, I've now worked out just to go "all discussions" and scan down.

    P.S. My desk has always resembled the late lamented Bob Pease's https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/whats-all-this-bob-pease-stuff-anyhow/ , so although I now audit document control systems, any advice from me on filing systems is definitely "do as I say, not as I do"! Slight smile 

    I look forward to seeing with other views there are on this.

    Thanks,

    Andy

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  • 0
    Roger B said:
    I wonder if his problem is generational

    I'm sure it is, my children (in their mid twenties) have always had a totally different approach to "filing" soft copy information, and I wouldn't like to decide which is better, just different.

    That said, I think your point about neuro diversity is very interesting, but again I'd hesitate to suggest (due to lack of knowledge) which approach would be most appropriate for someone e.g. on the autistic spectrum who is starting to work with a new online environment - a different issue from adapting to a changed environment (which has its own, equally serious challenges). Taking a very simple case, which I have long found interesting, does it work better to store all photos under the WIndows "Photos" directory with tags (putting it simplistically, my children's approach), or under "C: > Photos > Andy's camera > 2021 > holiday" (my old fashioned approach)? Now I know what many on here will say, i.e. the second one, but that could well be because it's the system we grew up with - particularly those of us who date back to DOS! 

    For me personally I think the best solution actually comes down to the size and type of data. If there was a huge volume of information in the forums then actually I wouldn't care how it was organised, I'd just use the search function to find anything that looks interesting. But while the volume of posts is pretty small (except in W&R), which it has been for the last 15 years, then frankly having them pretty much in one long list and scanning down the thread titles by eye works pretty well for me. At the moment this site isn't one thing or the other, there's not much on here, but it wasn't easy to find, I've now worked out just to go "all discussions" and scan down.

    P.S. My desk has always resembled the late lamented Bob Pease's https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/whats-all-this-bob-pease-stuff-anyhow/ , so although I now audit document control systems, any advice from me on filing systems is definitely "do as I say, not as I do"! Slight smile 

    I look forward to seeing with other views there are on this.

    Thanks,

    Andy

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