Occupational Health

Dear BrokenBiscuits,

You might like to have a look at our guide ‘Support at work – a guide for autistic people’ which you can find here:  

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/employment/support-at-work/autistic-adults  

Kind Regards,

Rosie Mod

If it comes back to bite you then appeal or if you can appeal anyway, I've had similar, not from occupational health people but from Atos assessors who can't seem to cope with the idea, that a big part of my health problems are allergies and one of the worst ones being allergic to nearly all pain killers, I dont' take anything for fybromyalgia or osteoarthritis because there's nothing I an take, not that I dont' need it. Autism is also ignored because of no medication, it's short sightedness on thier part and maybe the things they're told to disallow, you can get this overturned an appeal. I wonder if a letter to the persons professional body complaining of this oversight and lack of training woudn't be a good idea?

I hear you, thanks for the feedback.  I think there is a huge amount of work that can be done to broaden the understanding people have of autism. 

Perhaps people sharing stories like your own could help

Thanks for sharing

The concern incase what one says or writes may be viewed wrongly is a big thing today.  On another autism site I am on I long stopped posting as it just became too politically biassed through its moderation and there is no point in being part of site which does not take a politically neutral stance. 

Anyway... Sorry. keep going off on tangents. 

The fear of getting something wrong so one avoids contact or speaking etc is the worst hidden aspect of limiting free speach and  the more marxistic the UK becomes, the harder it us on autistic people to cope and fit in.  I would argue that the increase in autism diagnoses is not because there are mor autistic people. Thy have always been there regardless if they knew they were on the sectrum or not.  It is the communistical political involvement in the education system today which exposes the autistic pupils, where in the past most of them could hide as individuality was once encouraged as it was what made Britain Great!

When, for whatever reason one is forced into silence it is time to leave, be it a job, a website or anything else, because one needs to be in a place where one feels one has a worth abd a sense of value for one to grow.  

If one is not valied, whatever one does is going to be a waste of time continueing. I have sadly learned that the hard way. There are some places where it is worth carrying on if one has a certain goal in mind as miriacles can happen, but one has to ensure one is on the right path to begin with if this is the case. 

The issue with pushing through despite the situation is it can take a negative toll on ones mental health, and boy do we need to preserve our mental health as we go older!  I would not have been hit so hard had I had known what I know now! If only I knew in the past!

My concern with a lack of GP understanding was when I origionally asked if I was on the spectrum because it was evident that the lady doctor (Who was the other doctor as my usual lady doctor could not see me so it was the firdt time I met this lady) said she did not think I was on the spectrum because I did not experience meltdowns. (I tried to explain shutdowns I was experiencing as I didn't know what rhey were called, and I knew the same things caused them as meltdowns). It was clear she did not know much aboutautism even tougshe was avery intelligent doctor. I was greatful to her as she did refer me to the autism people.

Apologize. Tried to ammend several times as it posted before I was ready, and then gave up and deleted most of it as each ti!e I tried to finish what I put it was cutting me off and going back to what it origionally said which was half of what happemed so it was easier to delete half of it than carry on...

I do also go off on tangents.

My word that sounds hectic, if I read that correctly it sounds like you've got a huge amount going on in your head, I know how chaotic that can feel so many thoughts jostling for attention.

Those examples sound depressingly similar yes, there sounds to be a lot of difficulty there especially with toxic feminism.  Rather like Autism awareness, there probably also needs to be a greater understanding on the issues which have caused a lot of women through history difficulty which are still causing problems today.

Hopefully the more we talk about it all, the more chance we have of understanding other peoples point of view and just maybe we'll be able to do something useful with it.

Is only recently I was assessed so have lived through a few decades of not knowing and trying to find out what was wrong with me as shutdowns take place in me in a physical way (Is mental as well of course, but I noticed more the physical which is why it took so many years for me to work it out as the NHS system didn't have a clue in finding out what was happening to me. 

In the six and a half years I found out I could be on the spectrum (First 2 years trying to ask doctors but unable to speak about autism due to mindblank and the rest on NHS waiting lists to be assessed)  I have been both amazed at some health professionals knowledge about autism and absolutely shocked how others really don't have the slightest idea, and this is at levels where they "Should" know a bit and be able to make very simple accomodations to those with issues be one on the spectrum or not. (Simple things such as allowing me to wait just outside the glass door which was easily visible from the receptionist as was only around 10ft away when I was mask exempt (She wasn't having any of it) and could not stand the face shield. (I don't breath at all wearing a mask as I automatically hold my breath and can not find a way to stop my mind doing this. Tried for six months before masks became manditory but couldn't do it, and also faceshields I would start to panic while wearing it for a few minutes. Behind the glass door and windows by the door is the outside and I would be fine waiting there. But receptionist said I would have my appointment cancelled and she would tell the autism people I was not co-operating and not to send me again for an EEG as she would refuse it. (I hardly spoke to her!  Why did she regard me as her enemy before she even got to know me?)

ah my boss almost fired me for gross misconduct as they was harrassing me and trying to get me fired for a while so i complained on facebook and one of their supervisors got on around my freinds only privacy and tried to use it as a social media policy breach and got me on my final warning, i would have been fired but i fought it well enough to just get me a final warning.

im guessing by the sounds of it your gross misconduct was a similar thing. social media policy breach? 

Thanks for the responses.  My ASD is official and was done by Mind through the Right To Choose scheme (which I would recommend to any readers who are currently sat in a very long que waiting for the NHS - Google "Right To Choose" and Mind to find out more) neither the depression or the autism has seen me take time off work, so neither would have been more of an issue on the form, neither would have been more of a red flag than the other.

My concern is that earlier on in my career I was fired for "Gross Misconduct" which was incredibly painful and difficult, and caused my entire world to fall apart.  Part of the difficulty understanding what I was going through was because none of it made sense.  I don't want to go into details because it is still too painful, but to me it was the same as being fired for theft because you wrote a phone number down on a post-it note and took it home; or fired for sexual harassment because you told someone you thought their earrings looked nice. My truth of the matter was if in either case you WANTED to make an issue out of it, you could - because there was evidence there, but my confusion is WHY would someone?  That's the thing that hurt, confused, made me angry.

Since I spoke with my ASD Mentor, he made me feel better about it.  Making comparisons to a person with cerebral palsy on a building site making a mistake because of balance, then someone like myself with ASD making a mistake based on society norms is equally as unfair.

My initial instinct was worry, worry something like that may happen again, getting "professional" vindication from OC felt important.  I feel I am more likely to be judged negatively at work because of something that happens as a result of ASD rather than that of Depression.  But the former is much less understood. 

I was just wondering if the NAS had experience of this, if they had the sort of contact or influence to make it happen to make businesses more aware through Occupational Health

also i think its mainly on things that have effected your work. such as being seen for depression is a thing that effects your work as many people are off with depression.

if you wasnt off for autism they dont care as it hasnt effected your fitness to work... while depression would have.

like how i claimed a sick note off for a month with stress, thats on my record now and that would count towards something like this as theres a record of me taking a month off work with stress and so thats a thing employers want to know to judge fitness for work. i havent however been off with autism.

Nah, just sounds like your occupational health don't understand Autism that well.  Yes, it's technically and legally a "disability", whether we think we're only "socially" disabled or are "medically" disabled is another matter.

And no you absolutely cannot medicate Autism.  The absence of medication doesn't make something not a disability.  You can't medicate a an amputated leg either.  It doesn't mean a person wouldn't be disabled if they only had one leg, does it?

And yes you can have statements of reasonable adjustments at work.  It's up to you to decide whether they need to make any for you, but legally - as long as they are "reasonable" they do have to make them.  I'd go back and have a word with occupational health.

it depends what they mean.

they cannot dispute that autism is listed as a disability, they cant say it isnt as its listed as one by law and is protected under disability acts.

but it depends what they mean. they may mean because you wasnt seen to for autism but was seen to for depression that they cant count it, they would require a diagnosis to count it in that manner. a employer would ask for documentation and until they get it they wont count it. they dont take self diagnosis and they dont care if your in a diagnosis que, they just want the documentation and proof of diagnosis.