Published on 12, July, 2020
I was wondering if anyone might have any experiences (either positive or negative) disclosing ASD to your boss/supervisor/line manager who is from the older generation?
Asperger Syndrome wasn't discovered until the mid-1900s, and wasn't really known of by most people until maybe the past 20 years or so. So it seems plausible that some people who are from an older generation might not have heard of ASD or know much about it. And because of this, it seems quite scary to tell a boss/supervisor/line manager who is in their 60s-70s that you have ASD, because it's something that didn't really exist in their time, so there's the worry that they might not believe it. I don't know if this kind of worry makes sense. I'm afraid they might just think you're not "trying hard enough" with the social stuff, rather than it's due to autism.
Before disclosing, I would really suggest to read the Equality Act carefully and reflect on the reasons you want to disclose and the line you are going to take.
One need to read and understand the meaning of disability - doing things differently, while achieving the same result.
Note that one still need to be able to do the job, be qualified, have skills and qualities required by the job description. Otherwise they are in their right to dismiss. One need to be able to demonstrate that the disability does not prevent from performing the duties to the same results as others, but may require reasonable adjustments on the how we do it.
There is a fine line on how to articulate the disclosure: what exactly are the daily activities that are impaired, how are they impaired and how it doesn't preclude from doing the job...but how it make us doing it differently, hence the need for reasonable adjustments. It is always a good idea to do some prior research to have examples of possible reasonable adjustments, to know what you want.
Disclosing is always risky as many already explained.
I was at a stage once when I really wanted to disclose it even during application, to say this is who I am. A recruitment consultant dismissed the idea in horror and ridicule, saying it is not relevant, employers don't need to know that. They need to know that you are 'talent' and you are good at your job. This upset and disheartened me a lot. I felt invalidated and disempowered. But this is a glimpse of sad reality. There are a lot of people out there who do not fully embrace neurodiversity.
There were incidences where people disclosed and were dismissed for not disclosing earlier during application. This went to tribunal and I think was deemed to be discrimination. But it could happen.
It makes sense to disclose if one need reasonable adjustments and if the dx explains some of the issues the employer has already noticed.
It makes less sense do disclose just because... But then again, it is part of our identity, so unless we start pushing it right in the face of employers so to speak, there will continue to be the attitude that it is something to hide.
It's your decision, but you want it to be informed and carefully thought through:)
I second the thank you from qwerty. This is really good advice.
Qwerty I disclosed to my employer and things got a lot worse for me. I don't want to put you off, and obviously I have no idea who your employer is or what they are like. A good line manager really does make so much difference. I was told before disclosing there were no concerns with my work, but since disclosing they've pretty much done all they can to make it as difficult for me as possible so they can turn round and say I'm not capable of doing my job. I think i'm facing dismissal very soon. I've not had any adjustments made, and the ones I've asked for that are standard adjustments for people with autism have all been rejected, but they continue to stick together and say they've offered me support. I would disclose it again in future however, and hope my next employer is more reasonable and understanding.
Hi NAS50557, thanks for your reply and sharing your story. I'm really sorry to hear how things have turned out for you. From all the (really helpful) posts by many people here, it seems that it can go both ways. I guess that's the scary part for me! I feel that it's really bad that the people who are monitoring how adjustments are offered are exactly the same people who administer them, so they can say that they are doing everything they can to help you when they in fact have not. I wish you all the best. Maybe you can find a better employer than your current one.
Yes, agreed!