Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, please can anyone help? I am Mum of autistic daughter who is applying for jobs two years after university. In the 2 years she has been doing no work. I think it took this long to think about this as she was burnt out after university. She has in last 6 months been receiving universal credit. She is trying to applying for nhs jobs but doesn't have a reference for last two years as been at home not working. Also has no interaction with wider world, just friends and her parents. Any suggestions or ways of getting support. Thank you
NAS94593 said:She is trying to applying for nhs jobs but doesn't have a reference for last two years as been at home not working.
Does the university have an alumni program? This may give her a chance to catch up with some professors and former students and start building a network this way.
Have you identified what are the main things holding her back? Is it problems in social contact, fear of change, demand avoidance etc?
If you can pinpoint what is a likely candidate then you may be able to read up on possible ways to help these and by exension, her.
Another very important aspect is what does she want. Not what she thinks she should be doing, but what does she want. It is not uncommon for graduates to lose interest in their chosen field after burnout in my experience (I graduated in Applied Phsyics and ended up working in IT as it was much more interesting).
Yes it does, she doesn't engage with that. She doesn't take any support from us well either, it all has to be in her own time. I think she struggles with her executive function. She also thinks she has adhd and us on long list for that too. She loves her chosen field, creative writing. It's more practical steps to get her an interview by explaining the gap.
NAS94593 said:It's more practical steps to get her an interview by explaining the gap.
She may find it simpler to be honest so that interviewers don't catch her in any lies during the interview.
It isn't uncommon to have a gap in your CV when finishing your degree although 2 years is getting excessive without anything to show for it.
She may be better doing what Sporadic Sparkly suggests and start building some experience with voluntary work that can be "embellished" as lasting longer if she believes it is necessary.
NAS94593 said:She also thinks she has adhd
If this is the case then a simple online test should give her some confidence in this to request a formal diagnosis from her GP. Just search "free ADHD online test" and you will find plenty - try a few and see if the results corrolate.
NAS94593 said:I think she struggles with her executive function.
This will make holding a job very difficult. Has she received any therapy for it? If not I would suggest trying to persuade her to do this as the benefits of having a degree of control may help her break out of the rut she finds herself in.
I would also get her to start writing a story about her situation in a style that she can use later - it may give her the impetus to get writing again and encourage her along the self discovery route through therapy which all helps towards her end goal.
Just my thoughts on it.