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Opening up about autism at work

Squid

Hi everyone 

I'm new here. I'm currently off work for a couple of months due to general mental health issues. Part of this is that I'm just starting to work through that I'm likely autistic. I've been referred for an assessment by my GP (which will take months to begin) but I know myself really well and I think it's extremely likely that the assessment will say I'm autistic. I've felt that I might be for years but have never built up the strength to do anything about it.

I work in a job/role that really isn't that compatible to my autistic traits but I've masked so long and so well that no one would really know how deeply uncomfortable and distressing it is to me on a day to day basis. This period off work feels like the culmination of me trying to cope for years and years and finally getting to my limit.

I'm really keen that this is a turning point for me where I'm really open with my work about things because this feels like a huge opportunity for me to change my life for the better by finally just being open and honest. But this is also terrifying me and I keep getting stuck on the "but they "know" me as this person so how can I then be like, actually that isn't really me, I've just been incredibly good at masking for a long time" thought pattern.

I'd love to hear anyone's experience of this kind of thing or tips on how to approach it cos at the moment I'm trying to make my way through it without a clue what I'm doing or what I could do.

Thank you Heart️ 

Parents

  • Good morning from America,

    So my experience was interesting in the fact that my current position is to help people with disabilities find employment. Because of this, I announced my diagnosis in my interview, just to make it clear that I can understand people with disabilities due to my own. My coworkers are pretty aware and accepting of my diagnosis (Ex. my boss once asked me to drive to the big metropolis nearby, but then stopped herself when she realized I can’t handle driving on big city streets). But again, this is an interesting case where my coworkers are used to being around people with disabilities and some of my coworkers even have disabilities of their own.

    My last job at a factory I was way more careful. In my area (The Midwest) there’s a lot of misconceptions about Autism, so there’s a big chance that revealing your diagnosis will be met with being belittled or messed with. I only let a handful of coworkers I knew were safe know and one supervisor in case I ever needed help.

    So I guess my advice is be careful. I’ve seen that it can be very helpful, but make sure you can trust the people you tell.

Reply

  • Good morning from America,

    So my experience was interesting in the fact that my current position is to help people with disabilities find employment. Because of this, I announced my diagnosis in my interview, just to make it clear that I can understand people with disabilities due to my own. My coworkers are pretty aware and accepting of my diagnosis (Ex. my boss once asked me to drive to the big metropolis nearby, but then stopped herself when she realized I can’t handle driving on big city streets). But again, this is an interesting case where my coworkers are used to being around people with disabilities and some of my coworkers even have disabilities of their own.

    My last job at a factory I was way more careful. In my area (The Midwest) there’s a lot of misconceptions about Autism, so there’s a big chance that revealing your diagnosis will be met with being belittled or messed with. I only let a handful of coworkers I knew were safe know and one supervisor in case I ever needed help.

    So I guess my advice is be careful. I’ve seen that it can be very helpful, but make sure you can trust the people you tell.

Children