The Autistic Spiky Profile

In case you didn’t already know, autism is a lifelong condition that affects how individuals interact with the world around them.

But contrary to what some people think, it’s not an illness or a disease, it simply means that your brain works in a different way from other people.

Not better, not worse, just different.

In autism and other neurodivergent types, this ‘difference’ is often expressed using a concept known as the spiky profile.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the autistic spiky profile, what it means, what my own looks like, and how it can impact you and those around you in the workplace.

What is a Spiky Profile in Autism?

The autistic spiky profile refers to the idea that autistic and neurodivergent people have uneven cognitive abilities.

If we were to map out all of our abilities such as motor skills, verbal reasoning, working memory, and other cognitive areas, and plot how well we perform in each of those areas, we’d see that autistic individuals often excel in some areas while struggling in others.

Neurotypical individuals, on the other hand, tend to have a much flatter profile, with more consistent performance across the range of different areas.

The idea that autistic people have spiky profiles was confirmed in a study that looked at how well people with the condition performed in two widely used IQ tests.

The researchers found that most of the autistic children and adults they tested performed normally for problem-solving and understanding information, but they took longer to take in and respond to information and their ability to hold and use information in short bursts was lower than others.

Applying this to a practical workplace scenario, you can see how it would manifest if say for example, a team supervisor was verbally briefing a team on a new procedure.

While most people would be able to take this in and apply it fairly easily, an autistic employee may struggle to recall the steps later on, potentially leading to mistakes.

For me, the research really highlights the importance of employers making reasonable accommodations, not to provide an unfair advantage to autistic employees, but to support the areas of the cognitive profile where these challenges exist.

I believe that for an employer making accommodations, there’s a genuine return on investment because they can also leverage the strengths and higher-performing aspects of the spiky profile, so it’s a win-win.  

Now, when it comes to accommodations and cognitive profiles, the important thing to understand is that every autistic person is different.

You might find an autistic individual with exceptional attention control but poor reasoning skills, while another might have poor attention control but superb reasoning abilities.

This variability highlights the importance of understanding that not all autistic people are the same and that you can’t take a one-size-fit’s-all approach to autism. It’s essential to support each person on an individual needs basis.

My Autistic Spiky Profile

About a year and a half ago, my employer paid for a number of managers to take a personality test designed to help us reflect on key areas for development.

I answered the questions as thoughtfully and authentically as possible and was given a report that highlighted a mix of strengths and weaknesses.

It described me as “thorough and painstaking,” “able to deal with complex problems,” “disciplined and precise,” and “realistic and systematic.”

However, it also noted that I had a “tendency to over-analyze before acting,” placed an “emphasis on correctness that could delay implementation,” and that I “may appear abrupt.” It also mentioned that I “occasionally become too focused, risking tunnel vision” and was “unwilling to bend the rules, even in an emergency.”

Erm, any of this sound familiar?

By the way, this was all before I was formally diagnosed with autism, so I’m pretty certain the findings weren’t biased in any way.

At the bottom of the report was a bar chart that reflected Carl Jung’s preferences and color energies (see image above).

Mine was a textbook example of an autistic spiky profile. It showed a 98% preference for the logical and analytical “blue” areas of thinking, compared to just an 8% preference for the “yellow” areas, such as socializing and spontaneity.

I think it’s fair to call that a massively autistic spiky profile!

I accept and even embrace my autistic spiky profile, but there’s one thing I’d like to change: the name.

I feel that “spiky” carries connotations of being difficult or hard to handle, which doesn’t seem fair.

Instead, I’d prefer it to be called something that’s more neutral and descriptive, without any unintended negative undertones.

Something like “autistic profile variance” or “autistic peaks and valleys”. Anything sounds better than spiky profile.

By the way, if you can’t get access to a paid psychometric tool like the one my employer paid for, then I can highly recommend the 16 Personalities Test as a good alternative.

This is a free tool that allows you to see your personality type. I’ve run the test about half a dozen times on myself, and every single time I came back as an Executive (ESTJ).

Autistic Spiky Profiles in the Workplace

An autistic spiky profile brings both strengths and challenges to any setting, but I’ve always found it to be particularly noticeable in the workplace, where we spend long hours together, often in high-pressure or demanding environments.

Having a solid understanding of our own profiles allows us to better communicate our “peaks and valleys” to neurotypical colleagues. This, in turn, helps them understand where we’re coming from when we think and behave in certain ways, reducing the risk of frustration or misunderstandings.

From a neurodivergent perspective, this self-awareness also helps me focus on the areas where I know I need to be mindful.

For instance, I make a conscious effort to communicate more frequently with those around me rather than assuming that everyone thinks and behaves like I do or is comfortable with a light-touch, hands-off management style.

Conclusion: Embracing and Understanding Spiky Profiles

Autistic spiky profiles highlight the uniqueness of neurodivergent thinking, often reflecting exceptional strengths in some areas alongside challenges in others.

Understanding and embracing this cognitive variability is the key to unlocking the potential of autistic individuals, in any setting, but especially in the workplace where high degrees of communication and collaboration are expected.

It’s not about forcing uniformity or leveling everyone’s abilities but about creating an environment where each person’s strengths can shine while challenges are supported.

Reasonable accommodations, like providing written instructions, visual aids, or extra processing time, are not about giving special treatment. They’re about levelling the playing field and allowing autistic employees to thrive, which ultimately benefits the entire organization.

For employers who take the time to understand their team members’ profiles, whether neurotypical or neurodivergent, they payoff is a broader range of talent, creativity and problem-solving abilities.

If there’s a single takeaway from this article, it’s that every autistic person is different, and no two spiky profiles are the same.

By mapping out and understanding your own profile, you can increase your self-awareness and get ahead of potential challenges before they escalate into problems.

For that reason, I’d encourage you to reflect on your profile and how it affects you and those around you.