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The Origin of EVT
EVT is not neurodiversity training.
Neurodiversity training is about people. It's about your autistic, ADHD, dyslexic, dyspraxic and other colleagues with different ways of thinking. Its goal is to get the neurotypical majority to understand difference and reduce stigma: adjusted interviews, create quieter spaces, give clearer instructions, be more patient.
It's about how you treat others. And sadly it has no long-term effect. The largest meta-analysis - 260 studies spanning forty years - found that this kind of training reliably transfers knowledge about a group, and that knowledge sticks, but its effects on attitude and behaviour are smaller and decay over time.[11]
People come away knowing more facts about neurodivergence while their actual behaviour goes back to the default. And even in the best case, where it actually 'works' as intended, i.e. understand how you treat others, it enables the neurotypical to be kinder rather than truly understand the differences. Long-term change demands deep levels of understanding.
So that is what EVT isn't and an important motivation for creating it.
It is well known that having a meal with strangers breaks down barriers.
When conceiving EVT I realised we need to create something similar, where the common activity leads to breaking down barriers, not building them up. I thought what in a work setting is like having a meal and I realised it was problem solving.
Problem solving is a universal common goal. To solve problems well we need to understand each other, and to do that we need to listen and understand. In doing so our differences can dissolve away.
Rather than active listening we actually listen; rather than neurodiversity training, we hear first-hand from our colleagues about how they work and how they need to be treated to thrive. It’s individualistic and the only thing that works. With EVT can you end up solving problems brilliantly; inclusion is simply a byproduct.
A universal goal is key to success within a team setting and I had found what I think is the most important one, solving complex problems.
[11] Bezrukova, K., Spell, C. S., Perry, J. L., & Jehn, K. A. (2016). A meta-analytical integration of over 40 years of research on diversity training evaluation. Psychological Bulletin, 142(11), 1227-1274.