Bit of a ramble following another shutdown...

I work for a very bad employer and they say they want to support at the same time as threatening with capability proceedings (unfounded).

Shutdown is one of those things that happen to autistic people which are not understood at all by neurotypicals. 

Don't think because you are so-called high functioning you don't qualify for support.  I don't know your circumstances, but what did your diagnosis say your difficulties were if you are diagnosed?.  You obviously have something that led you or, if diagosed, your psychologist/psychiatrist to the conclusion you were autistic.  I have said before that I consider the labels high and low functioning, mild and severe autism as misleading and unhelpful.  High functioning/mild autistic people have their needs not catered for, low functioning/severe autistic people have their abilities undervalued.

Access to work were an initial great help to me.  As well as their usual function of suggesting physical things that may help in the workplace, they also can suggest what reasonable adjustments are needed for you in the workplace.  And it has to be borne in mind that there has not been a case where their recommendations have been overturned in an industrial tribunal.  They can also give a grant to pay in full for training of workplace colleagues to explain how autism affects you, and also for a support worker (however much you feel you don't need one, your support worker can help explain things to your employer when you do have difficulties such as meltdown/shutdown.  The purpose of Access to Work is to keep you in a job so they will be fully on your side, I know it was all a great help to me. 

Make sure your employer is aware you have an impairment as defined in the Equality Act - once again this will be a lot easier with Access to Work.  Have you a local autism charity where you live who provide help under Access to Work?  To refer to Access to Work, just go to the website and there is an online form.  It is quite quick to get them to provide you with the help you need and it could save your job.  And you do not have to be diagnosed to seek their help.

Trainspotter said:

Make sure your employer is aware you have an impairment as defined in the Equality Act - once again this will be a lot easier with Access to Work.  Have you a local autism charity where you live who provide help under Access to Work?  To refer to Access to Work, just go to the website and there is an online form.  It is quite quick to get them to provide you with the help you need and it could save your job.  And you do not have to be diagnosed to seek their help.

I think they are aware of the fact it falls under the Equality Act now, but when I first disclosed my diagnosis, I was told I was too high functioning to fall under the Equality Act - I questioned this at the time as that statement alone suggests that the very Equality Act is discriminating in that case!

I shall look into Access to Work then to see what my options are.  Unfortunately, I live in an area that has little or no support for adults with ASD.  My GP has also looked into this and is equally frustrated with the lack of services available.  He referred me to mental health services and disability support groups and my referral has now been rejected three times as they have stated they don't deal with ASD in adults or only adults that are deemed low-functioning.  My GP agrees that it is a farce and they are letting numerous people down as a result.  He has resorted to referring me back to the psychiatrist that did my initial diagnosis as he is at a loss of who else he can turn to.

I am now waiting on a response from said psychiatrist to see if there are any support groups that could help me as well as provide a clearer explanation of my sensory processing issues.

Trainspotter said:

Make sure your employer is aware you have an impairment as defined in the Equality Act - once again this will be a lot easier with Access to Work.  Have you a local autism charity where you live who provide help under Access to Work?  To refer to Access to Work, just go to the website and there is an online form.  It is quite quick to get them to provide you with the help you need and it could save your job.  And you do not have to be diagnosed to seek their help.

I think they are aware of the fact it falls under the Equality Act now, but when I first disclosed my diagnosis, I was told I was too high functioning to fall under the Equality Act - I questioned this at the time as that statement alone suggests that the very Equality Act is discriminating in that case!

I shall look into Access to Work then to see what my options are.  Unfortunately, I live in an area that has little or no support for adults with ASD.  My GP has also looked into this and is equally frustrated with the lack of services available.  He referred me to mental health services and disability support groups and my referral has now been rejected three times as they have stated they don't deal with ASD in adults or only adults that are deemed low-functioning.  My GP agrees that it is a farce and they are letting numerous people down as a result.  He has resorted to referring me back to the psychiatrist that did my initial diagnosis as he is at a loss of who else he can turn to.

I am now waiting on a response from said psychiatrist to see if there are any support groups that could help me as well as provide a clearer explanation of my sensory processing issues.

No, I know what you meant, I guess I was just saying, you’re not alone with them. In that, I always thought I was alone with them until I started meeting others like me on here, and finding others made me start to realise that I wasn’t alone with them and that we can do something about them. 

Yeah, we definitely need more help out there. 

I suppose I didn't explain myself very well - what I meant is that ND struggles that I battle with are hard for NT around me to understand.  I didn't mean that they are exclusively my problems.  

Thank you for sharing your experiences though as it does help to feel like you are not alone and going mad in over analysing everything.

ASD is definitely getting more recognition, but it will be nice when it is celebrated and each individual is appreciated and helped with the skills they bring, rather than the things they struggle with.

My darling Starbuck, the other challenges that you say you battle with daily, that you say are yours and yours alone, I promise you, they are not yours and yours alone. They are mine as well, and many others on here and in and around the world. The reason they are so hard to explain and why it is so difficult to get others to understand, is because the language we currently have is nt language. It comes from a shared understanding, a certain world view, one that we don’t share. However, up until recently, we were barely recognised in society, let alone have a voice. And now that we’re finding our voice, but we haven’t yet quite found the words that would communicate what life is like for us. But I’m finding, that the more I identify myself as disabled according to the social model of disability, the more help I’m getting and the more inner clarity I’m getting. You’re not alone with this and the only reason we have issues is because we live in a different world to them. We don’t really, but that’s another story. But we do think differently to them. 

Thank you for the valuable post Trainspotter.  I struggle with all the difficulties you list above, with certain social situations, change of routine, noise disruption and fixation being the biggest factors.  I have spent many years perfecting my social interaction and working on my body language to the point I can pass as being a quirky NT, but it does take it's toll on me.

I have seen Occupational Health twice now through work, and little has come of it if I am honest.  I also found the first meeting was slightly insulting as I was told I don't look or act autistic, so your suggestion to get in touch with Access to Work is a valid point and something I am looking into.  The information you have provided will be invaluable and I am going to spend some time reading through it all in detail.  Work have accepted that I have issues, but they only recognise it so far as the shutdowns as they are very 'real' for my colleagues in that they can see and experience that first hand.  The other challenges that I battle with daily are my battles and mine alone, so hard to explain and get others to understand - especially as I am useless at explaining such things verbally.

I'm fortunate in that I haven't had a serious meltdown for about 8 years now.  I can feel them brewing, but have become better at controlling them and realising when I need to step back and calm myself.  Just need to do the same with the shutdowns now as originally, shutdowns would manifest following a meltdown or would occur a short while afterwards.

Again thank you for the information - you clearly know your stuff!

Thanks again Trainspotter. That is excellent information. Thanks for sharing it. It’s so difficult to know what support we would benefit from and it certainly isn’t for any manager to say whether we come under the equality act. This is such good info. 

The problem with having to prove your disability is covered under the equality act is that it is something that you have to focus on the negative parts of your disability.  What you find difficulty with, not what you can do.  And these problems have to be 'substantial'. 

However, how they define 'substantial' may not be how you would define it.  You will probably have some substantial problems that you can think of straight away - such as do you suffer from social communication problems?  Do you have communication issues even if only when stressed?  Do you suffer from anxiety?  Is your mind sometimes in such a position that you concentrate on one thing and forget everything else?  Are you easily distracted by extraneous noise or smells?  Are you easily misunderstood and do you misunderstand others?  Have you thought you were doing something someone wanted you to do and then questioned for not doing what they meant, they thought you were being deliberately obtuse? 

Even things like so-called 'body language' put you at a disadvantage since if your 'body language' does not conform you will be misunderstood.  Do you have meltdown and shutdown (you have already suggested you do).  Meltdown and shutdown is something someone autistic has very little control over, someone neurotypical has a lot of control over it. 

Do you like doing things in the same way, like having a routine and get upset when this routine is disrupted?  Do you have problems picking up where you left off if interrupted?  Some of these things you only have to say you are affected, you do not have to provide proof. 

Your employer may refer you to your occupational health service for advice, in which case take any information you have about your autism with you, your diagnosis report, and preferably someone who can give you support.  My experience of occupational health services is they are not good and don't really understand autism.  Which is why you should contact Access to Work, they will support your side, occupational health is to support the employer.

There are two useful publications, one from the TUC and one from Unison.  The links are:

Proving disability and reasonable adjustments in the workplace.

Autism in the Workplace

Make sure you read the first part of the Proving disability document, not just the section on autism within it.  There are several relevant parts there that will provide guidance for you.  Of course, if you are a member of a Trade Union you can also seek their help (I am, by the way, a trade union representative).

Regarding workplace support, Access to Work will try to find this for you if you cannot find a local support group yourself, I know one of the companies who do the assessment for Access to Work use Remploy in the absence of other services,  but I don't know what expertise Remploy have in this or whether Remploy subcontract to another service or independent specialist counsellors for support with autism in workplace situations.  But something will be available to you.