R.E.A.L. Neurodiverse™:
Your Program Guide
Foundational Leadership Development — Organizational Pilot
This page is your home base for the entire six-month pilot. It is organized from top to bottom in the exact order you will move through the program. Each section tells you what to do next, and includes forms, scheduling calendars, embedded assessments, and links to everything you need along the way.
Start by bookmarking this page so you can find it easily when you return. Then begin at the top and work your way down. You do not need to complete everything at once. Simply come back to this page each time you are ready for your next task, and pick up where you left off at A, B, C and so on.
A. Register to Participate
Before anything else, please take a moment to register below. This lets us know you are joining the pilot. Once we receive your registration, you'll receive an email with your next steps, including instructions for signing a brief agreement acknowledging that R.E.A.L.™ provides coaching services, not therapy or legal advice. If you don't see it within 48 hours, check your spam or graymail folder.
A Note on Privacy:
Your participation is voluntary and your coaching sessions are confidential. Your employer will receive overall participation numbers and de-identified numerical scores from the assessments only. They will not know who chose to participate, what was discussed in any session, or how any individual responded. This is a space for honest questions and real work, and it stays that way.
Fill Out This Form To Register:
B. Complete Your Pre-Assessment
Before you begin watching videos or attending coaching sessions, please take a few minutes to complete the short assessment below. It contains six quick questions asking you to rate your current confidence navigating neurodiversity-related situations at work.
This is not a test. There are no right or wrong answers. Your responses establish a baseline so that at the end of the pilot, we can see how things have shifted for you.
Your responses are completely de-identified. Met Council will receive numerical scores only, with no names or identifying information attached.
Use the five-point scale to select your response for each question, then press Next to continue. There are six questions in total. After the final question, press Submit to record your responses.
C. Open Your R.E.A.L.™ Portal
The video modules for this program are housed in the R.E.A.L. learning portal. Click the button below to create your account. Once your registration is confirmed, you will receive a welcome email from R.E.A.L. letting you know that your portal access is active and you are ready to begin.
Please check you spam and graymail if you don't receive the email within 24 hours.
D. Coaching Session 1 — Orientation
This is where we get to know each other. We’ll explore the neurodiversity-related questions, challenges, and goals that matter most to you in your role. There’s no wrong place to start. This session is designed to meet you exactly where you are and help shape the direction of our work together.
Schedule your first session, then watch the Foundational Videos to prepare for your appointment.
Watch the Foundational Videos to Prepare
These brief educational videos are the backbone of this program. Watching them before your coaching sessions means we can spend our time together on the questions and situations that matter most to you, rather than covering introductory material. Watching is recommended but optional.
The videos come in two versions: one for autistic adults and one for non-autistic adults. The content and educational material in both are identical. The only difference is that each version includes a few reflection questions tailored to your neurology, designed to help you get the most out of what you've watched.
Choose the version that feels right for you. No diagnosis is required and your choice is completely confidential. If you're not sure which to select, simply go with what feels most like you right now.
Foundational 1: Introduction to Neurodiversity
In these videos, Anne MacMillan introduces herself and the personal and professional experience that shaped the R.E.A.L. Neurodiverse™ framework. You will learn what neurodiversity actually means, why the neurodiversity movement matters, and how to use the language that autistic people themselves have asked us to use. You will also get a clearer picture of level 1 autism specifically, the autistic adults who are out in the world every day, often undiagnosed, and who may already be part of your workplace without anyone knowing it.
These videos set the foundation for everything that follows in your coaching sessions.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Foundational 1. Introduction to Neurodiversity
🔷 Autistic: Foundational 1. Introduction to Neurodiversity
Foundational 2: Understanding the Role Neurodiversity Plays in Our Lives
These videos go deeper into what neurodiverse families actually look like from the inside. You will learn why Level 1 autistic adults are often unrecognized in the workplace and in everyday life, how autism and other neurodivergencies tend to run in the same families, and why the people closest to autistic adults are often neurodivergent themselves in a different way. MacMillan also introduces the concept of high body empathy neurodivergence and explains how these different neurologies interact with each other in families and at work.
These videos will begin to shift the way you see the people around you.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Foundational 2. Understanding the Role Neurodiversity Plays In Our Lives
🔷 Autistic: Foundational 2. Understanding the Role Neurodiversity Plays In Our Lives
Foundational 3: How Neurodiverse Systems Work — In the Family and the Workplace
These videos introduce the Neurodiverse Family Systems framework that underlies everything in this program. Although the language is framed around families, the same principles apply directly to workplace dynamics. You will learn why neurodiverse miscommunications happen even when no one is doing anything wrong, why education is almost always the place to begin, and how understanding different neurologies as part of a larger system changes the way you see the interactions happening around you every day.
As you watch, simply substitute "team" or "workplace" wherever you hear "family."
🔶 Non-Autistic: Foundational 3. How Neurodiverse Systems Work — In the Family and the Workplace
🔷 Autistic: Foundational 3. How Neurodiverse Systems Work — In the Family and the Workplace
Optional: Session 1 Preparation Form
If you'd like to arrive with your thoughts already organized, you can download this brief preparation form to complete beforehand. There is no obligation to share it with your coach unless you choose to.
Attend Coaching Session 1: Orientation
This is where we get to know each other. We’ll explore the neurodiversity-related questions, challenges, and goals that matter most to you in your role. There’s no wrong place to start. This session is designed to meet you exactly where you are and help shape the direction of our work together.
E. Coaching Session 2 — Practial Application
Now we dig in. This session focuses on translating what you’ve been learning into real, constructive problem-solving at work. We’ll talk through how to build stronger relationships across neurological differences, approach accountability in neuro-affirming ways, and navigate the everyday dynamics that can feel challenging without the right lens.
Schedule your second session, then watch the Step 1 and Step 2 videos to prepare
Watch the Steps 1 through 3 Videos to Prepare
As before, choose the autistic or non-autistic version, whichever feels right for you. Log into your portal to access these videos. Watching is recommended but optional.
Step 1: Accept Wholeness and Maintain A Future Orientation
These videos introduce the mindset that underlies the entire program. You will learn what Neurodiverse Relationship Dynamics actually are and why they create so much confusion in everyday interactions, even when no one is doing anything wrong. The focus here is not on the past or on blame, but on gaining understanding and using it to take action, build skills, and move forward. As you watch, you will also be introduced to the idea of wholeness, approaching yourself and the people around you as complete people whose neurologies bring both strengths and challenges.
These videos set the orientation for everything that follows in your second coaching session.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Step 1. Accept Wholeness & Maintain a Future Orientation
🔷 Autistic: Step 1. Accept Wholeness & Maintain a Future Orientation
Step 2: Understand Your Own Neurology
These videos focus on your own neurology and how it shapes the way you experience the social world. You will learn about the specific ways your brain processes social interactions, reads others, and experiences empathy, and why those experiences feel as natural and self-evident as they do. Because autistic and non-autistic brains work so differently, each group watches different videos in this step. Choose the track that matches the neurology you sense is the best fit for you right now. It doesn't have to be the same track you selected at the beginning of the program.
Understanding your own neurology is the foundation for understanding everyone else's.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Step 2. Understand Your Own Non-Autistic Neurology
🔷 Autistic: Step 2. Understand Your Own Autistic Neuroolgy
Step 3: Understand Your Coworkers' Neurologies
These videos focus on the neurology that is different from your own. In this step, each group watches what the other group watched in Step 2. You will learn how a different kind of brain processes the social world, experiences empathy, and navigates everyday interactions at work. You will also begin to see more clearly where neurodiverse miscommunications come from and why they happen even when everyone involved has good intentions.
This is where the picture starts to come together.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Step 3. Understand the Autistic Neurology
🔷 Autistic: Step 3. Understand The Non-Autistic Neurology
Optional: Session 2 Preparation Form
If you'd like to arrive with your thoughts already organized, you can download this brief preparation form to complete beforehand. There is no obligation to share it with your coach unless you choose to.
Attend Coaching Session 2: Practical Application
Now we dig in. This session focuses on translating what you’ve been learning into real, constructive problem-solving at work. We’ll talk through how to build stronger relationships across neurological differences, approach accountability in neuro-affirming ways, and navigate the everyday dynamics that can feel challenging without the right lens.
F. Coaching Session 3 — Integration and Forward Vision
In our final core session, we’ll review what’s shifted since we started, whether in your thinking, your approach, or your interactions. We’ll set forward-looking goals for how you continue engaging with neurodiversity in your work, long after the pilot ends. This is about sustainable change, not a one-time effort.
Schedule your second session, then watch the Step 3 and 4 videos to prepare
Watch the Step 4 Videos to Prepare
Same as before. Choose the version that feels right and log into your portal to access these videos. Watching is recommended but optional.
Step 4: Understand Empathy Differences
These videos get into the heart of why neurodiverse miscommunications happen so consistently, even among people with the best intentions. You will learn about the differences between body empathy and emotion-sharing empathy, explore five spectrums that shape how all of us experience and respond to others' emotions, and understand how empathy, sympathy, and compassion work differently across neurologies. These concepts apply directly to how people lead, how they respond under pressure, and how they make decisions that affect the people around them.
This is some of the most practically useful material in the program.
🔶 Non-Autistic: Step 4. Understand Empathy Differences
🔷 Autistic: Step 4. Understand Empathy Differences
Optional: Session 3 Preparation Form
If you'd like to arrive with your thoughts already organized, you can download this brief preparation form to complete beforehand. There is no obligation to share it with your coach unless you choose to.
Attend Coaching Session 3: Integration and Forward Vision
In our final core session, we’ll review what’s shifted since we started, whether in your thinking, your approach, or your interactions. We’ll set forward-looking goals for how you continue engaging with neurodiversity in your work, long after the pilot ends. This is about sustainable change, not a one-time effort.
G. Complete Your Post-Assessment
You have reached the final task. Please take a few minutes to complete the post-assessment below. It is the same short survey you completed at the beginning, and it is the last thing you need to do to complete the pilot.
Use the five-point scale to select your response for each question, then press Next to continue. There are six questions in total. After the final question, press Submit to record your responses.
What About Additional Sessions?
If you find the coaching valuable and want to go deeper, additional sessions beyond the initial three can be made available on an as-needed basis. Your coach will discuss this with you if it feels relevant to your goals.
Questions You Might Have
Is participation mandatory?
No. This is a voluntary coaching resource being offered to you. You choose whether and when to participate.
Will my manager or HR know I’m participating?
No. Your employer will see aggregate participation numbers for the group, not the names of individuals who choose to participate. Your coaching session content is never shared.
I don’t think I work with anyone who’s autistic. Is this still relevant?
It very likely is. Many autistic adults are undiagnosed or choose not to disclose, which means you may already be navigating Neurodiverse Relational Dynamics™ without realizing it. This program builds skills that improve communication and relationships across all kinds of neurological differences, not just the ones that are visible.
I think I might be autistic. Is this program right for me?
Yes, and no diagnosis is required to participate. You decide for yourself whether you identify as autistic or non-autistic, and you choose which track of materials to work with based on how you choose to identify. If you're still questioning, the program may actually help you get clearer understanding of yourself. And whatever you land on, you'll be supported. We take a neurodiversity-affirming approach, which means autism is treated here as a different neurology, not a disorder.
How much time will this take?
The videos are short and self-paced. Expect to spend roughly 20-25 minutes watching videos before each session. The coaching sessions themselves are approximately one hour each. Across the full six-month pilot, that’s a modest time investment for a meaningful shift in understanding.
What if I want more than three sessions?
Additional sessions can be made available on an as-needed basis. If you and your coach agree that continued work would be valuable, we’ll talk to your employer for you and see if we can make that happen. Your identity will never be shared.
What does “neurodiversity-affirming” mean?
It means we treat neurological differences, including autism, as a natural part of human variation, not as problems to be fixed. The goal of this program isn’t to teach you to “manage” autistic employees or, if you are autistic, to "fix" yourself. It’s to help you understand how different neurologies experience and interact in the workplace, so you can lead with greater insight, fairness, and connection.
