A
recent study looking at employment within the autistic community found that
roughly 22% of the autistic adult community were in full time employment*. I
find this so sad to hear as the autistic community have so much to offer.
Over
the past years I have had both great experiences of work and some that
have been a real struggle. I can be a really difficult decision to
know if and when to disclose that I am autistic. I feel that this is
wrong, there are strict steps taken to reduce discrimination in the employment
recruitment process but I don't know how much this is reflected with the
autistic community. People have such a limited understanding about the
topic and there are so many misconceptions around autism that I think often
people are just scared of the unknown of employing an
autistic individual.
I
want to use this post to explore some of the amazing benefit's of working with/
employing autistic people but also some of the simple steps you can take to be
a more understanding colleague/ employer. I might be a little bit bias on the
topic but I truly believe that autistic individuals can be some of the
more valuable team members if we are given a chance!
Top Tip 1: Don't assume ASK!!!
I
have experienced first had the lack of understanding and support that employers
have when it comes to autism. This can make it really difficult to disclose my
diagnosis. I am now at the end of my nursing degree so while I haven't been
paid for the past three years I have 'worked' on a number of wards in a student
capacity. I can remember a recent example when I was on a ward and a member of
staff was discussing a patients presentation commenting they are so autistic.
To this other members of staff commented and talked very negatively about how difficult
this patient was. Not only is this unprofessional it is also very isolating to
me sitting there knowing that the individual being discussed as the same
diagnosis as me. This completely put me off disclosing my diagnosis and
therefore was not able to access the additional support that may have made that
a better work environment.
Reflecting
back I so wish that I had stood up for this patient and changed the thinking of
these staff members that autism isn't a one size fits all but out of the fear
of not knowing how it would be received it kept quite.
I
would strongly advise you not to comment about anyone behind their back on a
topic you don't know anything about. It can be upsetting and isolating, without
you even intending you mean this. instead ask. If you have contact with someone
with autism though your job then simply ask them, they are far less likely to
be offended. show an interest in them and how you can better support them. This
is the same for so many things, dyslexia, physical disabilities, mental health
challenges and so on.
I
have done a previous post on labelling and I would really recommend having a
read of that to expand on this point if you are interested!
Top Tip 2: Reasonable adjustments don't mean we are lazy!
Autistic
people do have struggles, I am not going to brush past that. Employers have a
legal requirement to make reasonable work place adjustments to meet the
needs of individual employees. Within a nursing environment one example of
a adjustment that have been made for me are that I don't work night
shifts. I personally find the transition between eating in the night and
sleeping during the day to swapping back to a normal way of working really
stressful. I need routine and can't therefore cope with my day being
completely turned around.
For
me this has made work accessible and a lot less stressful. It hasn't been
met without criticism though. Each placement that I go to I am so anxious at
telling the manager that I don't work nights, it makes me feel a failure. I
have been met by people telling me that it wont make too much of a
difference so why don't I just work one or two in a row... This puts
me in a really tricky place standing up for myself or pleasing the work place.
This isn't the way it should be.
Please
don't judge colleagues that work shorter hours or work a different pattern
to you or maybe have more time off than you. You don't need to know why. It is
an agreement that has been made between the individual and the
management and therefore you commenting isn't necessary or helpful. We all
have different life circumstances and a good employer will adapt to
the needs of any employee weather they have a disability
requiring them legally to make adaptions or just because they care
about you!
Top Tip 3: Don't assume we are huge brain boxes!
Autistic
Individuals could be known as 'geeks'. While some are many have very average
intelligence. Many autistic individuals have specialist interests and in
these areas we may have a lot of knowledge about. But please don't assume we
know everything! I wouldn't put myself in this category. I have 5 GCSEs, 3
A-Levels and a Degree but have had to put in a lot of work to achieve that.
Somethings I wish I was an 'autistic Einstein!!'.
Having
said this you can be assured that if you need something researching that an
autistic colleague is likely to take this task seriously and complete to a good
standard. From a personal perspective when given a project I can so easily get
carried away and learn so much when needed and get great enjoyment from the
process.
It
is however key to remember that some autistic people do have incredible brains
and their ability to process and retain information is outstanding. This is
something that should be celebrated as it is an amazing talent and can be of
great use! But just remember this isn't reflective of all of us!
Top Tip 4: Be direct, remember we are literal thinkers!
This
one is kind of explained in the heading. We do take things literally. What to
you might be just a bit of office 'banter' may come across to an autistic
individual as quite hurtful. This can lead to people feeling quite isolated and
upset without it ever being intended to come across that way.
It
can be helpful to give clear timeframes to autistic individuals to help us know
what is realistic. For example asking something to be done ASAP is very open
ended and can put a lot of pressure on that is has to be done right now whereas
you may actually mean could you make it a priority to have x done by the time
you go home.
It
takes a few simple thoughts in your head to clear so many things up for an
autistic pal!
Just
think in my head what am I wanting/ needing/ asking and ask directly for that!
No need for added complications with unclear, indirect language that can be
misunderstood!
Top Tip 5: Get to know us, it is worth it!
My
final point is that we are actually just normal people and can be great to work
with and get to know beyond that environment like any other colleagues. Even if
we lack the social skills to start the conversation make an effort, we are all
human and some of us will clash but take the chance!
In
embracing autistic individuals you may actually learn quite a lot about
yourself. For example I LOVE a good bit or order and organisation to life.
While not everyone's cup of tea I have been able to shed some of my
organisation on to others. I can think of many store cupboards in the hospital
that have a lovely labelling system that nobody else had been able to see a
solution for my slightly different perspective was able to be a great help when
people got to know me.
I
could add so much more but I don't want to bore everyone reading so I shall
leave it at 5 points. The National Autistic Society** have a great amount of
information available for employers and employees around autism which I would
recommend having a look at. Above all though please just ask. We wont be
offended. It will be a real encouragement that you care and hopefully a step to
allowing the workplace to be more assessable to autistic individuals.
As
always thank you so much for reading this post. I really can't believe the
interaction I have had since starting this blog. Please do feel free to share
with others. I have an Instagram and Twitter account that I post the blog onto
each week (@anautisticSNT) so feel free to give them a follow to.
Hannah
:)
*Office
of National Statistics (2021) Outcomes for disabled people in the UK:
2020. Available from: Outcomes
for disabled people in the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Once again a really helpful post Hannah. Thank you. I know that even this week you have had to deal with unwitting discrimination which has been worked out with dialogue with helpful colleagues. Well done.
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