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Reasonable adjustments/Access to work for autistic teacher

Sparrow

Are there any other autistic teachers out there? I’m newly diagnosed and really struggling at work. They’re sympathetic but I’m wondering what adjustments could possibly be made. (I didn’t know I was autistic when I started my latest job in September, having always assumed everyone else was equally stressed or that I was just a bit more feeble than the others)

Has anyone used the government Access to Work scheme? One of my sons suggested I ask for funding for better hearing aids to cope with the noise. I also have a hearing impairment.

Thanks! 

Parents
  • Sparrow said:
    I’m wondering what adjustments could possibly be made

    The best starting point would be for you to create a list of things that are stressful or difficut for you in the workplace.

    For each of these, create a list of things which could make it less stressful and rank them in order of most help.

    You will have a long list I expect.

    Now on each of these note how practical and cost effective they would be to implement. Forget anything expensive or difficult to implement (eg if the fix is to get rid of students then it isn't going to work).

    Your top half dozen items of easy to implement and low cost are probably what will get accepted, but throw in one or two of the ones that make a lot of difference to you just in case.

    This will become a negotiation between you and them as to what is "reasonabe" to implement, but whatever gets approved it helps to think that each item is a way to improve things, so don't see any unapproved items as a loss.

    Remember to keep copies of all communications, send in everything by email (to improve tracking) and if they don't confirm meeting outcomes in writing then write to them to say that "this is what I understand was agreed in the meeting, can you confirm please" so you get them on record just in the outside case that it all goes wrong later on.

    Keep copies of all this at home just in case you lose access to your work email etc.

    That would be how I would do it.

  • in reply to Iain

    This is very good advice, I’ll start jotting things down. Would be nice not to have some of the louder students but I do have the advantage of being able to turn them down! Thanks. 

  • in reply to Sparrow
    Sparrow said:
    Would be nice not to have some of the louder students

    Have you looked into noise cancelling earphones? They should help regulate the noise of some of the students and block out a lot of background noise to make your ears less "stressed" through the day.

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