Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I am new to this. I hope this is okay to post. I am 30 years old. I was misdiagnosed for a decade in the mental health system and was finally correctly diagnosed with autism at the age of 27, exactly 10 years after entering the mental health system. I have unfortunately spent over 7 of those years as an inpatient. It has been an incredibly traumatic time for me. I am finally out of hospital after the biggest battle of my life. As soon as I was diagnosed my mental health has been the best it has ever been as finally everything makes sense. I am so grateful I finally know why I am the way I am. However due to so many years stuck in the system and stuck in hospital, it has meant that I have never been in employment before. I really wish to be able to work but I am aware that it is going to be very challenging to get a job with my lack of experience. I have done several level 2 courses this year and have done some volunteering also. I am also plan on doing more volunteering soon. I feel like honesty is the best policy for myself - I find it difficult to say anything but the truth if I were ever questioned why I do not have much on my CV for the past 10 years. I feel like when applying for jobs in the future I just want to be honest about my situation and what happened and hope that someone gives me a chance. But I am also aware that some employers may not be keen.
I was wondering if anyone else has gone through something similar and how they deal with it? How do you tell someone you spent a decade being misdiagnosed, stuck in hospital, and now desperate to get on with my life and hope they do not judge you for being failed by the system. I feel incredibly alone in what I have gone through even though I know sadly my story is not unheard of. Thank you for reading this
Hey Rox. I was diagnosed at 30.
I have read through your thread and I hope that you're doing well now, I see you've done some volunteering over the summer which must be something new and exciting!
My advice would be to be honest and open where appropriate when looking for employment. There are a number of reasons I could list out but the main reason is if an organisation doesn't want you based on your openness and honesty about your diagnosis and past experiences then you know that you can bin them off immediately and move on to the next one. Why would you want to put yourself through the stress of working or volunteering for an organisation that isn't going to understand and support you?
You may already know about these resources, but some of the links I have saved to help autistic people find work, work experience or volunteering opportunities. It's best to work with organisations that can bring out your strengths whilst being supportive of your autism. There are also organisations that can give you advice on things like CV writing, where to look for work, interview skills, etc.
Just a few things to have a look at, if you haven't already:
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/employment
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/employment/seeking-work/autistic-adults
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/autism-training-and-best-practice/training/e-learning
https://www.autismcentral.org.uk/guidance/finding-job
https://employmentautism.org.uk/i-am-autistic/
https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/what-we-do/employment/work-experience-opportunities-alerts-signup
Hopefully, this is useful for you.
All the best!
Hi thank you so much for these links! I really appreciate it and am very grateful for your message. Yes, I too agree that I prefer to be honest about my situation and hope that someone out there is willing to help me. Thank you for helping me with these links, I will take a look
No problem at all! I hope they help you!