Anthony Porter is a Lead Data Analyst who started his first-ever job in our Brisbane office, working on various geospatial projects. He joined us when he was on a Disability Support Pension. However, after being supported, he became a leader and relocated to Melbourne to continue his geospatial career. In fact, he has terminated his pension because he found a sustainable career. Find out more in the above video and Anthony’s transcript below.
Anthony Porter: My name's Ant Porter, and I'm a Lead Data Analyst. I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when I was quite young. While I did quite well at school early on, I struggled a lot later on, especially in high school, and I ended up spending a lot of time in special needs and then leaving school early.
“After a few years of being out of education and employment, I found it quite difficult to get back into that. But I was also struggling with a lot of mental health issues at the time. I guess there was a lot of pressure, and just trying to fit in with how everything's structured for most people was quite difficult for me.”
I found out about ASA, applied for a position, and got my first job here as a Junior Data Analyst. ASA, obviously, most people are neurodivergent, so it allows me to not feel out of place and just feel comfortable with everybody. It's very inclusive; people are free to be themselves, and many accommodations are made.
“It's helped me to grow my confidence and social skills as well as given me a lot of experience in leadership and project management, which I want to apply in my career further. I was never really interested in leadership, mostly because I didn't think it was something I'd be any good at and that because of my neurodivergence, I wouldn't be able to do it.”
But I found that many of what I thought were weaknesses, especially in this workplace, happened to be strengths. As a leader, I find it quite helpful to have similar experiences to the people I'm working with and be able to apply what I've learned to help them develop. It's just about being accepting and looking at what neurodivergent people can provide and then finding out what ways they can accommodate that person to get the best results.
Neurodivergent people really have a lot to offer. It just might take a little bit of work to help them feel comfortable in an environment. They might think differently to most others, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have lesser ability.
You can find out more about Anthony in his interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Bright Side podcast.