World of Work is a Topic Spotlight series from Autism Valued Incorporated, focused on one of the most important issues facing the autistic community today — the world of work.
Across this focused series, we explore what employment really looks and feels like for autistic people, from the barriers and challenges to the remarkable strengths and contributions autistic employees bring to every workplace.
Whether you're autistic and navigating your career, an employer looking to build a more inclusive team, or a colleague wanting to better support the people around you, this series aims to offer honest conversations, practical insights, and real stories that matter.
Topics covered include workplace inclusion, reasonable adjustments, autistic strengths in professional settings, recruitment and retention, and the everyday experiences of autistic people at work.
Publisher
Jacob Alan Kness: On behalf of Autism Valued Incorporated
If We Rebuilt Work From Scratch — with Dr Peter Smith
You can’t switch an employment system off overnight. But you can start building a better one alongside it.
In this episode of The World of Work, Jacob speaks with Dr Peter Smith, Director of the Centre for Disability Employment Research and Practice. Peter works with governments, universities and international agencies in Australia and overseas. Rather than asking “how do we get this person into a job?”, his work asks “why are our employment systems producing the outcomes they are?”
Peter shares his path from support worker to systems researcher. He and Jacob then dig into why current systems fall short and what a better one could look like.
In this episode:
Why systems that pay for discrete milestones struggle to support employment as a lifelong journey
Why inclusion and decent work have to be defined by the individual, not the system
Measuring what a job actually changes in someone’s life: independence, finances, housing and health
Peter’s Sensory Comfort Mapping Tool, and why finding the right sensory environment can come before finding the job
Customised employment and finding the “jobs behind the jobs”
How Australia’s three employment systems could work together as one journey-based system
Building a new system alongside the old one, piece by piece
Peter closes with what gives him hope: governments and organisations around the world are still searching for better answers rather than settling for “good enough”.
Resources:
Centre for Disability Employment Research and Practice, which offers online training, free employment toolkits, an annual customised employment conference and its own podcast: https://www.cderp.com.au (https://www.cderp.com.au)
Connect with Dr Peter Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-peter-smith-54a50844/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-peter-smith-54a50844/)
This conversation is part of Autism Valued’s World of Work series. The series explores neurodivergent employment, workplace reform, and what inclusive work design looks like in practice. Join the conversation through the AV Career Network on LinkedIn.
30 Sept 2026
Understanding Emotional Intelligence From the Inside
Jacob speaks with Paul Micallef from Autism From The Inside about emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and the empathy gap between mainstream and neurodivergent culture. Paul is an autistic life coach, speaker, facilitator and trainer with a background in engineering, and a deep passion for helping people understand the human side of autism. Together, Jacob and Paul explore what changes when autism is understood from the inside rather than judged from the outside — covering communication, emotional safety, self-understanding, workplace relationships, and why many workplace misunderstandings are interpretation issues, not capability issues.
31 Aug 2026
When Autism Is Valued — with Leslie Clements and Callum Stuart
Inclusion lets people into the room. Value lets them influence the room. In (http://room.In) this episode of The World of Work, Jacob is joined by two of his own Autism Valued teammates — Leslie Clements, General Manager, and Callum Stuart, Community Engagement Lead — for a conversation grounded in both leadership and lived experience. Together they explore what it actually means for autism to be valued rather than merely accepted: the difference between being included in a workplace and being trusted to shape decisions, systems and culture.
This conversation is part of Autism Valued’s World of Work series, exploring neurodivergent employment, workplace reform, and what genuinely inclusive work design looks like in practice.
2 Aug 2026
Adjustments as Performance Enhancers — with Leslie Clements
Adjustments aren’t special treatment — they’re good work design. In this episode of The World of Work, host Jacob sits down with Leslie Clements, General Manager at Autism Valued, to unpack their own working relationship: Leslie as a leader, Jacob as an atypical innovator. Together they explore what happens when workplace adjustments are reframed as the same performance conditions used by executives, founders, athletes and high-performing teams — role clarity, prioritisation, admin support, protected focus, recovery and clear communication.Adjustments do not lower the standard. Done well, they help people reach it.This conversation is part of Autism Valued’s World of Work series, exploring neurodivergent employment, workplace reform, and what genuinely inclusive work design looks like in practice.
30 Jun 2026
What Nobody Tells You About Getting a Job - Guests: Sarah Ballard & Jack Palit
Episode 5: What Nobody Tells You About Getting a Job Guests: Sarah Ballard & Jack Palit
Job seeking is hard. For autistic people, it can feel like navigating a system designed to exclude you. Career practitioner Sarah Ballard and Community Admin Manager Jack Palit bring their complementary perspectives — one supporting NDIS clients through complex employment barriers, the other with lived experience in the disability and allied health space — to unpack the unspoken realities of finding work as an autistic person. Practical, warm and full of the kind of advice you won't find in a standard careers guide.
11 Jun 2026
The Hidden Cost of Fitting In at Work - Guest: Xavier Gunn
Episode 4: The Hidden Cost of Fitting In at Work Guest: Xavier Gunn
Masking at work has a price — and for many autistic people, that price is steep. Data scientist and disability sector volunteer Xavier Gunn opens up about the toll of hiding who you are in professional environments, and what it really means to work in a place that aligns with your values. A raw and honest conversation about authenticity, burnout, and what workplaces need to change.
7 May 2026
You're More Capable Than Your CV Shows - Guest: Sandra Thom-Jones
Episode 3: You're More Capable Than Your CV Shows Guest: Sandra Thom-Jones
A CV can only tell part of the story — and for many autistic people, it tells very little of it. Proudly autistic academic, advocate and author Sandra Thom-Jones joins host Jacob to explore the gap between what autistic people can do and how they're perceived on paper. Drawing on her own experience as a former Pro Vice-Chancellor and her books Autistics at Work and Autistics in Academia, Sandra makes a powerful case for rethinking how we recognise capability in the workplace.
16 Apr 2026
Rethinking Recruitment - Guests: Jennifer Spoor & Lyndel Kennedy
Episode 2: Rethinking Recruitment Guests: Jennifer Spoor & Lyndel Kennedy
Hiring processes weren't designed with autistic people in mind — but they can be. In this episode, we're joined by two leading researchers from the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University. Associate Professor Jennifer Spoor and PhD candidate Lyndel Kennedy share what the evidence tells us about barriers in recruitment for neurodivergent candidates, and what employers can do differently to attract and retain autistic talent. Essential listening for anyone involved in hiring.
16 Apr 2026
The Productivity Debate - Guest: Jeremy Nagel
Episode 1: The Productivity Debate Guest: Jeremy Nagel
What does productivity actually mean for autistic people — and is the way we measure it at work fundamentally broken? Jeremy Nagel, neurospicy software developer turned startup founder and PhD researcher, joins host Jacob for a candid conversation about autism and productivity, challenging the assumptions that too often leave autistic workers feeling like they're falling short. Thought-provoking, practical and deeply relatable.
16 Apr 2026
Series Introduction: The Why Behind the Work Host & Guest: Jacob Alan Kness Co-host & Interviewer: Jeremy Nagel
Series Introduction: The Why Behind the Work Host & Guest: Jacob Alan Kness (Employment Programs Manager, Autism Valued) | Co-host & Interviewer: Jeremy Nagel
Welcome to World of Work — the Topic Spotlight series from Autism Valued exploring what employment really looks and feels like for autistic people. In this opening episode, the tables are turned. Series host Jacob steps into the guest seat as co-host Jeremy Nagel asks the questions, drawing out the personal and professional story behind the series. Jacob shares what brought him to his role as Employment Programs Manager at Autism Valued, what drives his commitment to changing the world of work for autistic people, and why this conversation matters so much right now. An honest, warm and fitting way to kick off the series.
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