question about disclosing at work

I declared myself as autistic (before diagnosis) and in fact it helped me tremendously.

I am sure I would have been dismissed if they hadn't known.  You will have to remember that unless your company is aware of an impairment, they are under no obligation to do anything about it.

I would not say it was an easy journey after disclosure, but they did make some noises.  And with the help of access to work (they would have wondered why I was getting Access to Work in and in any case it is a condition of Access to Work that your employer knows about your condition) I have received great help.

If you think your condition does not affect you at work, and you don't want any assistance, you may decide that there is no advantage in disclosing.  But just because you don't disclose does not mean that other people do not realise you are 'different'.  And there may have an inner firework waiting for its touch paper to be ignited for a spectacular display simply because others do not know of your condition.  If you are affected by delayed comprehension, sensory overload in any of your senses, do not like change, like to do things your own way, are liable to misunderstand what others are saying, take things literally, do not have good 'social interraction', get flustered by too many instructions at once, and many other things, you are liable at some time to be criticised or put on a 'performance plan' because your work is being affected by the environment of a workplace.

Disclosing your condition will open doors for you.  If you do not think your employer would understand, there are some good resources available for employers, and you could print these out and give them to your employer along with anything which will help explain how you are affected.  If there is a local autism charity they may be able to help you if you make an appointment for a chat with them.

Autism West Midlands has some useful documents which you print out:

https://www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk/online-resources/information-resources/

You should be able to ask for someone to accompany you to any 'meeting' with your manager (workplace colleague, union official, or autism support worker) as a 'reasonable adjustment' at the very least, but there again only if you disclose.  Many situations you have a statutory right, but things like ''iniitial investigations' you don't, so having the assurance that you will can have some support with you is very helpful.

Access to Work can provide funding for a support worker, training for managers and colleagues, and suggest to the managers what adjustments should be provided.  Training is very helpful as it will assist if things are not done to help you later as your managers could not then try to plead ignorance of your needs and the way you are affected.

I declared myself as autistic (before diagnosis) and in fact it helped me tremendously.

I am sure I would have been dismissed if they hadn't known.  You will have to remember that unless your company is aware of an impairment, they are under no obligation to do anything about it.

I would not say it was an easy journey after disclosure, but they did make some noises.  And with the help of access to work (they would have wondered why I was getting Access to Work in and in any case it is a condition of Access to Work that your employer knows about your condition) I have received great help.

If you think your condition does not affect you at work, and you don't want any assistance, you may decide that there is no advantage in disclosing.  But just because you don't disclose does not mean that other people do not realise you are 'different'.  And there may have an inner firework waiting for its touch paper to be ignited for a spectacular display simply because others do not know of your condition.  If you are affected by delayed comprehension, sensory overload in any of your senses, do not like change, like to do things your own way, are liable to misunderstand what others are saying, take things literally, do not have good 'social interraction', get flustered by too many instructions at once, and many other things, you are liable at some time to be criticised or put on a 'performance plan' because your work is being affected by the environment of a workplace.

Disclosing your condition will open doors for you.  If you do not think your employer would understand, there are some good resources available for employers, and you could print these out and give them to your employer along with anything which will help explain how you are affected.  If there is a local autism charity they may be able to help you if you make an appointment for a chat with them.

Autism West Midlands has some useful documents which you print out:

https://www.autismwestmidlands.org.uk/online-resources/information-resources/

You should be able to ask for someone to accompany you to any 'meeting' with your manager (workplace colleague, union official, or autism support worker) as a 'reasonable adjustment' at the very least, but there again only if you disclose.  Many situations you have a statutory right, but things like ''iniitial investigations' you don't, so having the assurance that you will can have some support with you is very helpful.

Access to Work can provide funding for a support worker, training for managers and colleagues, and suggest to the managers what adjustments should be provided.  Training is very helpful as it will assist if things are not done to help you later as your managers could not then try to plead ignorance of your needs and the way you are affected.

Thanks so much, Trainspotter, for your very detailed reply and some very good advice. Thanks also for the link to the website - I didn't realise they had so much information, it's wonderful! 

I agree, I probably wouldn't consider disclosing if I didn't need any assistance. But I do experience all the difficulties you mentioned: delayed comprehension, sensory overload, do not like change, like to do things my own way, liable to misunderstand what others are saying, take things literally, do not have good 'social interaction', and many other things... I think any support or even just understanding would be very helpful to my current situation.

One thing I worry about is that my supervisor might not understand (e.g., he might not really know what autism or Asperger Syndrome is), or worse might be that he might not believe the condition exists (there are people who think it's just a lack of practice or not trying hard enough to socialise). I have no idea what he will think, so it's just scary.

Another thing is that I have worked here for a few years now without saying anything about autism. I have struggled massively, but often just kept it to myself, e.g., like working extra hours at night just to keep up, crying in the bathroom or at home. I would really like people at work to understand my difficulties better, but they might believe that I have been fine in the past few years, and how come I am 'suddenly' having autism? It would be a lot easier to disclose if I did so at the beginning. But I'm not sure how one should do it after so many years.