Published on 12, July, 2020
My daughter was diagnosed last year during a year out of Uni because everything got too much. She returned in September to complete her final year (thankfully with support in place) and we've been talking about applying for grad jobs but given she is struggling so much with time management, motivation, communication and pressures of deadlines I just cant see she could hold a full time job. I literally have to remind her to do day-to-day stuff and she'd easily just not get out of bed if she had a choice. I dont know what will happen when she finishes Uni and if there is support to help her get a suitable job. I worry she's had a dream job in her head and this is never going to happen and then she wont have motivation to look at anything else. Any advice you have is welcome.
Whether or not she can do a full-time job is probably a whole journey she'll have to find out for herself. What I think is important though is that young disabled people can visualise all sorts of happy and exciting futures, where they get to engage in stuff they're passionate about, where they get to utilise their talents, without working full-time. I think, maybe, rather than trying to force yourself into the shape of the mould of full-time work, it's best to work out what kind of structure you need in your life in order to thrive and do the things you want to do. If there is paid work that can accommodate that structure, then great. If there isn't, there's nothing stopping you from working on your passions anyway, once you've worked out how you're going to finance your survival. This is what I've settled on. I survive on benefits and family help. Before now, my solution was to work part-time, live in places with cheap rent, and pursue my vocation in the spare time that afforded me. Now, I take everything slow. I have 4 days a month that i dedicate to my vocation, I'm really happy with the work I'm producing, and really excited about what I'm building for the future. A vocation and a full-time job are two very different things. A full-time job can be a very difficult and frankly harmful thing to do, for anyone, let alone disabled people. But that doesn't need to stop you from pursuing your vocation.