Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All,
I've just had a formal diagnosis of high functioning autism and along with it a list of potential recommendations from a professional to be discussed with my employer. My employer has pretty much point blank refused things on this list or just ignored them entirely. Some of them are obviously unreasonable for such a small company like having a quiet place to work but others like adjusting communication styles don't seem to be to me. Essentially the only things I've had are passive things like being able to wear headphones and move desk. I feel like the diagnosis has given me a bit of breathing space at work and stopped some of their offensive behaviour but things are far from me being supported and accommodated.
So realistically, what do people find they are able to get as reasonable accommodations at work and how did you get them? Especially interested in any environments that are as close to small sized business software development as possible, i.e. limited resources and an office environment.
Thanks,
Craig
Craig39089 said: My employer has pretty much point blank refused things on this list or just ignored them entirely.
Then they have broken the law! I'm not suggesting that you immediately jump into legal action, but you should at least assert this to your employers; reasonable accommodations are your legal right according to disability laws. You are in a more fortunate position here than many disabled people, because your desired accommodations have been determined by professionals; so what is "reasonable" is relatively easy to establish, and your employers have no grounds to claim that you are attempting to obtain unfair privileges.
I didn't have an official diagnosis yet when I was last working, but my employer was very sympathetic to staff with disabilities and mental health issues. Among the things they allowed me were:
Craig39089 said:others like adjusting communication styles don't seem to be to me
Yes, and for autistic people, possibly one of the most important of all; so often, it is only vocational aspects of work which get looked at, but for many of us, it is the social experience of being at work which is most exhausting and most likely to lead to problems. There are two main difficulties with this one, I think.
What I suggest you do is to try to find some concrete examples of things that will help. Over the course of your working week, keep a note of times where you have struggled with communication, or have misunderstood what you've been told. You might be able to see certain patterns in it which can tell you what to focus on the most. From my own analysis, I realised quite quickly that my main problem was being told something when I'd been interrupted without warning. I can't switch into "conversation mode" quickly enough and what I'm told doesn't sink in. So, I arranged that my line manager would always call me into his office rather than him come to my desk. Some concrete examples like that are easier for your employer to understand and implement than an abstract concept like "communication style".
Thanks, that definitely helps. I'm aware of my rights but how to use them in a constructive way keeps proving challenging. Often feel like they're much more theoretical based on experience!
Awareness of communication issues is still building for me, which makes things difficult. I definitely have a direct communication style that some people tend to take offence to and then use as an excuse for being aggressive, for reasons that baffle me.
The more ongoing things like communication style changes are definitely the thing I can see helping the most, but are difficult to get.
How obvious do people find their communication issues are when it comes to you receiving communication? After a few months nothing clearly stands out for me and am wondering if I'm just not seeing it yet or that particular part doesn't apply to me.