Making employment work for autistic people

Diederik Weve

Autism Embassy, Autminds, PAS-Nederland, Shell

Diederik Weve (1957, The Netherlands) studied Chemical Engineering at the Delft University. He joined Shell in 1983 in an R&D role and has since worked in a variety of specialist engineering functions in several Shell companies. He currently works as a senior Process Technical Safety engineer, assisting projects and Shell-advised operating companies in the identification and management of process technical risks. For this work he travels 33% of his time through Europe, Africa and Middle East.

Being diagnosed with Asperger’s aged 52 he could finally understand his earlier struggles with the glass ceiling between his specialists roles and ‘leading’. But more importantly he was struck by the negative consequences of the stigma surrounding mental conditions, especially when higher education is involved.
Using the motto ‘Coming out for Autistics’ he started a project at Shell to promote disclosure and acceptance a autism as a normal aspect of (working) life. His regular job as a safety engineer brings him around the globe and since 2011 he takes his story with him: over 900 colleagues world-wide participated in his workshops ‘Autism as a Diversity’.
He chaired enABLE NL, the Shell NL employee network for people with impairments. As member of the governmental taskforce Vab he started the Autism Embassy, a project that trained 25 autistic empolyees in other large organisations to successfully engage with colleagues as well. He is chairman of PAS Nederland, a society for adult autistics and co-founder of Autminds, a foundation organizing conferences like Autscape. He writes columns for the NVA, the parent-led Dutch society for Autism.
He has two adult children, studying and growing up with a diverse and largely neutral image of autism.