Neurodiverse Spoon Theory: A Close Examination of Burnout and Employee Wellbeing

Career Level: Basic-, intermediate-, and advanced-level career services, university relations and recruiting, and business affiliate professionals
Competency: Working with diverse populations
Fee: FREE (member); FREE (nonmember);

Summary
In today's demanding work environments, burnout has become a prevalent concern. For neurodivergent individuals, the risk of burnout is significantly higher. Often, neurodivergent individuals feel compelled to mask their diagnoses, exerting additional effort to conform to perceived expectations. This constant masking, coupled with the inherent challenges of navigating a neurotypical world, can lead to severe emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. For career services staff preparing individuals for workplace transition or liaising with employers, this presentation aims to explore strategies that individuals and workplaces can implement to promote inclusion, prevent burnout, and harness the unique strengths of neurodivergent employees.

Following this program, you will be able to:
- Gain a basic understanding of neurodivergent burnout, spoon theory, and aspects of the intersectionality of the neurodivergent experience.
Presenters

Marlee Bickford-Bushey, Career Counselor, Landmark College
Marlee Bickford-Bushey is a career advisor at Landmark College and uses the lived experience as an autistic woman in her current role to foster self-advocacy and workplace transition skills with the college students that she works with. She has a Bachelor of Science from SUNY Plattsburgh in global studies and a Master of Science in student affairs and higher education.

Jan Coplan, Director of Career Connections, Landmark College
Jan Coplan, M.Ed. has more than 28 years’ experience in the field of education and has been a career counselor for the past eight years. She is currently the senior director of Career Connections and Employer Relations at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, an institution exclusively for students who learn differently, including students with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), ADHD, or autism. She is passionately committed to creating greater awareness of the advantages individuals with learning differences bring to the workplace. During her eight years at Landmark College, she has worked fervently to increase the number of professional work experiences for neurodiverse individuals both locally and nationwide, including placements at Hasbro, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, SAP, EY, Prudential, CAI Neurodiverse Solutions, Tufts Point 32 Health, and Dell Technologies. She is a member of the Executive Steering Committee for the college’s Center for Neurodiversity and serves as chair of its Partnership Building Committee. She recently joined the Advisory Board for CAI Neurodiverse Solutions. She played an instrumental role in Landmark College becoming the first Neurodiversity Hub (a collaborative to create employment opportunities for neurodivergent students) in the United States and was appointed as an adviser to the Hub in fall 2018.

Malinda Kim, Technologist, Chevron
Malinda Kim has been with Chevron for 17 years and is currently a technologist for the Asset Development team in Bakersfield, CA. She restarted Bakersfield’s ENABLED Network in 2017, the network focuses on awareness and advocacy for those with apparent and non-apparent disabilities. She has helped grow Bakersfield’s ENABLED membership six-fold since taking on the chapter site lead role in 2022 and recently joined ENABLED’s Global Leadership team as the regional engagement officer for the Western U.S. chapters.