Published on 12, July, 2020
Yet again I have had another shutdown at work and have been sent home.
I was off work before Christmas due to the shutdowns and started to feel better after a few weeks. I have only been back at work for just over 3 days and I have had another one.
As a result, I am now worrying about my security in my job and the prospect of finding another job in a similar role. Since my shutdowns have become worse, the director of my department no longer speaks to me and I have yet to see the follow-up from occupational health. My boss appears to be supportive, but I am aware I am bringing little value to the company at the moment.
My confidence is currently really low and I am frustrated I can't manage things better. There seems to be no help and support as I am considered to be very HF and so don't qualify for adjustments, support, guidance etc.
I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation and whether you manage to get the help and support you need?
I am worried about my employment as I have a hefty mortgage to pay with no financial support from family etc. I can't afford to lose my job as I have been down this route before and ended up being homeless.
Sorry for ramblings and lack of cohesion, my anxiety is very high and I still haven't recovered properly.
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.
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.
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.