The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Sam I Am, The Sneetches, The Grinch are well loved Dr. Seuss personalities in The Ranno household.

With three book-loving children, we have spent eight years enjoying the rhythms, delighting in the whimsical stories, and taking away important lessons on creativity and acceptance from Dr. Seuss’ works.

Of late, the classic, The Cat in The Hat, is on heavy rotation in our home, as my daughter recites its pages by heart night after night. Anyone with a person in their life on the autism spectrum knows the equal parts comfort and mind-numbing annoyance of this repetition. As I ease into the 35th night in a row reading about Sally, the Boy, the Cat, the Fish, and Thing One and Thing Two, I still find joy reading the words, listening to the lilting rhythm, and observing my daughter point out things I have missed in prior readings.

Since her diagnosis three years ago and, I expect throughout the rest of my life, I will vacillate between acceptance and the desire to change my daughter. I work in the world of recruiting and staffing. Daily I am giving career advice, coaching through interviews, reviewing resumes, talking to hiring managers about “ideal” candidates, and offering strategies to recruit and retain stellar team members. If there is one thing I know is 100% stacked against my daughter and other people on the autism spectrum, it is the social and nonverbal communication skills that are required to land a job and move into positions of success.

I accept her gifts and limitations; I accept a possible different “future of success;” but I still hope, as any parent does, that she finds meaningful work and relationships – that she, and the world, continue to change for the positive.

Dr. Seuss and my daughter see and express ideas in different, wonderful, and perplexing ways. Dr. Seuss creates whole worlds and people of fantastical color, uniqueness, and diversity. My daughter speaks in scripts, discovers patterns on a hike through the forest, and points out the parts of a picture or scene that are lost on most of us–like the bird in the tree being rained upon in the opening of The Cat in the Hat.

How often during a team meeting or a product design effort could we use a different set of eyes, a unique approach, a creative way of thinking to improve upon what we are doing?

Neurodiversity efforts aren’t just good for the accessibility and D&I numbers, or even corporate social responsibility programs. The acceptance and, active inclusion of, those on the autism spectrum brings forth more innovative products and services, and in turn more bottom-line revenue opportunity to an organization.

Last year, leaders from more than 50 companies including SAP, Microsoft, HPE, EY, JP Morgan, and Ford convened at the Autism at Work Summit to share ideas, strategies, and hope for inclusion of adults on the autism spectrum in their workforce. These companies see an untapped population of thinkers and workers (and consumers) who can help them solve problems, deliver on business-critical tasks, and yes, serve customers.

The movement towards acceptance, inclusion, and diversity in the workplace continues to gain awareness with large enterprise efforts like those being established at companies like SAP and Microsoft, but the numbers of unemployed people on the spectrum remain depressingly high at 80-85% globally.

With a rate of one in 68 children in the US being diagnosed on the autism spectrum annually, it’s not enough for us to look to our HR teams or a few large companies to employ a couple hundred neurodiverse people. It will take a doggedly persistent, “Sam I Am” effort (do you know he was rejected 69 times?!) to begin to see real changes in hiring and performance management processes, to begin to see the creative and innovative products that are delivered from these uniquely skilled individuals and teams.

It will take each one of us in our own places of work–in our own roles as hiring manager, recruiter, HR professional, team member–to care and act. Our friend The Lorax says it best: “Someone like YOU – to care a whole awful lot, or nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Stephanie Ranno is a wife, mother of three, and believes that a woman can have it all: success in career and family life, as well as success in creative and community projects. Recently recognized as a 2017 Maryland Leading Woman by The Daily Record for professional accomplishment, community involvement and a commitment to inspiring change, Stephanie tries to pursue an integrated life at home and work. As the Director of Enterprise Business Development for TorchLight Hire in Washington, D.C., she helps marketing leaders build talented teams and grow meaningful, progressive careers. Having reviewed thousands of resumes and job descriptions, and advised hiring managers and candidates alike through hundreds of searches and placements, she is uniquely qualified to speak and write on what really works in recruitment and talent acquisition strategy.