The culture of scientific workplaces can cause neurodiverse scientists to face challenges. However, employing inclusive strategies and practical adjustments to the laboratory and the wider environment can help these differently skilled and equally valuable scientists thrive.

Being neurodiverse, I have sometimes concluded that I should not have specialized in chemistry. A subject in which lab work is central does not make the ideal environment for someone with poor spatial awareness and fine motor skills, but I am nevertheless glad that I made this choice. Over the course of the past 20 years, I have worked with numerous neurodiverse science teachers and students, as well as met many more at accessible STEM outreach events. In this article, I would like to reflect on what has made it possible for those of us who are neurodiverse to succeed in practical chemistry and what lessons there are for making our subject inclusive to others like us.