Neurodivergent Communication: 5 Small Changes That Help Nonprofit Teams Work Better
For Neurodiversity Celebration Week (17–22 March), the Purpose Collective has kindly handed the blog over to Divergent Thinking to cover the topic of neurodivergent communication styles.
This feels like a natural invitation to say yes to, partly because we have already had the chance to work together through the “Writing Newsletters for Every Brain” session with the Purpose Collective’s Quarterly Newsletter Hot Seat. That session focused on dyslexia-friendly newsletters: clearer formatting, simpler language, and small changes that make content easier to read and act on.
The same idea applies far beyond newsletters. Clear, simple writing helps people understand information more easily, which is why practices like these 10 copywriting tips can be helpful.
A lot of workplace stress comes down to communication. Not bad intentions. Not lack of care. Just communication that is too vague, too fast, or too reliant on people “getting the gist.”
For neurodivergent staff, that can create a huge amount of hidden effort. In nonprofit teams, where everyone is already juggling a lot, that extra effort adds up quickly.
Often, the things that help most are not huge policy changes but clearer day-to-day habits.
What is neurodivergent communication?
“Neurodivergent” is an umbrella term for people whose brains work differently from what is often treated as typical. This can include people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other differences in thinking, focus, or processing.
That does not mean all neurodivergent people communicate in the same way. They do not.
But many people may find work easier when communication is:
clearer
more direct
written down
less rushed
less dependent on reading between the lines
In nonprofits, this matters a lot. Work is often fast, busy, and spread across many channels. A meeting, a Slack message, a quick verbal update, and an email can all be carrying different pieces of the same task.
That can be hard for anyone to navigate. For some people, it is exhausting.
Why embracing neurodivergent communication strengthens nonprofit teams
Most nonprofit teams are full of thoughtful, committed people. But commitment can sometimes hide friction.
People care deeply about the mission, so they push through confusion. They adapt to poor systems. They absorb stress quietly because the work matters.
That can make certain habits feel normal:
vague deadlines
verbal decisions that are never written down
shifting priorities
too many communication channels
meetings that create more confusion than clarity
A person may not be struggling because they are careless or disengaged. They may be struggling because the communication around the work requires too much invisible effort.
1. We recommend clearly defining workplace expectations
A lot of workplace language sounds polite but is not very clear. For example, you may often hear:
“Can you take this forward?”
“Let’s do this soon.”
“This should not take long.”
A clearer version to communicate the same message might be:
“Please send me a first draft by Thursday at 2pm.”
“This is the top priority today.”
“I need bullet points, not a full report.”
This helps everyone, but it is especially helpful for people who find vague language stressful or hard to interpret.
Clearer expectations mean less time spent guessing what someone really meant.
2. Follow up on verbal conversations in writing
A lot of confusion starts because something important was said once and never written down.
Then later people are trying to remember:
what was agreed
who is doing what
what changed
when it is due
A short, written follow-up can solve a lot of this.
It does not need to be formal. A few lines in an email, a Slack message, or a shared note is often enough.
This is especially useful for neurodivergent people who process spoken information more slowly or find meetings tiring. But again, it helps everyone.
3. Make meetings easier and more accessible for everyone
Meetings are often one of the hardest parts of work. They can be too loose, too long, or too dependent on fast verbal responses.
A few simple changes can help:
send an agenda in advance
say what the meeting is for
flag decisions clearly
capture action points
send a short summary afterwards
This makes meetings easier to trust and easier to process.
Setting guidelines for meetings also helps team members who need preparation time or struggle to track lots of discussion threads at once.
4. Clarify the unwritten rules at work
Every workplace has hidden rules, and it’s important to communicate them to the team:
● how fast to reply
● what counts as urgent
● when it is okay to ask for help
● whether “optional” is really optional
These things create stress because people are left trying to read the culture instead of just doing the work.
The fix is simple: say more of it out loud.
That might mean agreeing team norms around response times, priorities, or how feedback is shared.
This is not bureaucracy. It is clarity.
5. Ask what helps people communicate and work best
One of the most useful questions a manager or teammate can ask is:
What helps you work and communicate at your best?
Someone might say:
“I process things better in writing.”
“I need a bit of notice before meetings.”
“It helps when priorities are ranked.”
“I need time to think before I answer.”
These are not difficult demands. They are useful information that helps teammates work better together.
The more normal these conversations become, the easier it is to support different communication styles without making everything feel awkward or formal.
Final thoughts on neurodivergent communication styles
One reason I enjoyed the newsletter session with the Purpose Collective was that it stayed practical. We were looking at small communication choices that change how something feels to read, process, and act on. It is really the same principle here: when communication is easier to follow, more people can do their best work.
If your team wants to become more neuroinclusive, communication is one of the best places to start. The Purpose Collective offers content creation services to help make your newsletters, blog posts, and fundraising campaigns clearer and more effective.
Clearer instructions. Better meeting follow-up. Fewer hidden rules. More thought about how people actually take in information.
These are small changes. But they can take a surprising amount of pressure out of the day.
And in most nonprofits, that matters.
Nat Hawley is the founder of Divergent Thinking, a UK neuroinclusion consultancy helping organizations build more inclusive workplaces through practical neurodiversity training, audits, workplace assessments, and strategy support. He is a TEDx speaker with an MSc in Applied Neuroscience and focuses on translating research and lived experience into clear, actionable tools for teams.
To learn more about Divergent Thinking’s practical neuroinclusion work, visit our blog.
