The “Superpower” Trap: Why the Business Case for Neurodiversity is Failing Us

And what we can do …

For months, something has been sitting uncomfortably in the back of my mind.

As we approach Neurodiversity Celebration Week, I keep hearing the same “Business Case for Neurodiversity.” We talk about 28% higher profit margins, increased innovation, and productivity. We talk about “special superpowers” and “untapped assets.”

I have to be honest, this narrative has been sitting uncomfortably in the back of my mind for a long time. When we talk about neurodivergent people as “assets” or “tools for innovation,” we are saying that their right to a seat at the table is conditional. We are saying they are welcome if they are more productive, if they are more creative, or if they have a skill that serves the company’s bottom line.

When diversity is a metric, it’s a target to hit, a box to tick, or a “business case” to prove. This isn’t inclusion. It is treating human beings like software upgrades.

This is the “Superpower Trap.”

If we only value neurodivergent individuals because they are “more productive” or “more creative,” the question that remains is: “What happens when they are just… human?” What happens when they have a bad day, or when their “strengths” don’t perfectly align with a quarterly goal?

When we focus on the “Business Case,” we are accidentally reinforcing the Empire of Normality (as Robert Chapman calls it). We are still using the industrial-era yardstick to measure human worth. We are saying: “You are welcome here, but only if you provide a premium return on our investment.”

A Different Kind of ROI: The Return on Humanity

I don’t have all the answers, but I know we need a new language. We need to move away from “Superpowers” and toward Intrinsic Worth.

What if the “Return on Investment” wasn’t measured in profit margins, but in Human Flourishing?

• What if we built workplaces that celebrated difference not because it’s “innovative,” but because it is the reality of the human species?
• What if we stopped trying to “match strengths to tasks” and started building environments where a person can simply show up as their whole, wonderful, messy, human self?

Beyond the Business Case: Shifting for a Human-Centred Workplace

If we are to move beyond the “Business Case” and the “Superpower Trap,” we must change how we design our environments. Here are three ways to start:

1. Move from “Disclosure” to “Universal Design”
In many organizations, support is only available if an individual “discloses” a diagnosis. This forces people to label themselves just to get what they need to work well.

• The Shift: Instead of waiting for someone to ask for an “accommodation,” build flexibility into the foundation of your team. Whether it’s sensory-friendly spaces, clear written instructions, or flexible hours, make these the standard for everyone. When the environment is designed for human variety from the start, no one has to “prove” they are different enough to deserve support.

2. Audit the “Glass Ceiling” of Your Programs
If your organisation has a specialised hiring program, look at where those individuals are two, five, or ten years later.

• The Shift: Are they progressing into leadership, or are they siloed in technical or “back-office” roles? True inclusion means a neurodivergent individual has the same right to a messy, non-linear, and ambitious career path as anyone else. If your “program” doesn’t have an exit ramp into the wider organisation and a clear ladder to leadership, it isn’t inclusion—it’s a silo.

3. Redefine “Performance” Beyond the Industrial Yardstick
We often measure performance by how well someone mimics a “standard” way of working—how they sit in a meeting, how they “network,” or how they maintain eye contact.

• The Shift: Start measuring outcomes, not behaviors. If the work is being done, does it matter if the person was pacing, wearing noise-canceling headphones, or didn’t attend the “optional” social mixer? When we stop policing how people work and start valuing who they are and what they contribute, we move from “Diversity as a Metric” to “Diversity as a Fact of Life.”

A Final Reflection for the month ahead:
This March, as we celebrate the diversity of minds, let’s challenge the “Business Case.” Let’s ask ourselves: Are we building workplaces that are worthy of the humans who inhabit them, or are we just looking for better ways to power the machine?

It’s time to see the person, not the productivity.