Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello! After 29 years of unexplainable difficulties and eventual burn out, I'm currently going through the assessment process and I'm placed on a waiting list right now. I want to sign up to the job centre to claim job seekers allowance or universal credit but my question is, without the official diagnosis would they still make adjustments for me or allow me to join skills for work programmes? I haven't worked in a long time due to what I thought was some kind of chronic stress problem. I can't face going back to a normal job again without reasonable adjustments being made for my needs and sensory problems :( Does anyone have any advice or experience about benefits, job searching and autism? I'm so worried because the waiting lists can be like 20 months or more and if i need the paperwork and diagnosis before I can get support, I have no idea what to do until then Thank you!!
Sari-chan said:without the official diagnosis would they still make adjustments for me or allow me to join skills for work programmes
Unlikely I would say, or loads of people would suddenly decide they were autistic and start asking for all kinds of adjustments to make their life easier.
To get further up the list on your diagnosis, ask your GP to give you "right to choose" which will allow you to choose a private organisation to perform the diagnosis and is normally much, much faster.
If you are not diagnosed then there are no benefits to be had, and even if you are diagnosed, you need to be severely affected by your condition and need to apply for a PIP:
Info on the PIP can be found here:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/benefits-and-money/benefits/types-of-benefit/personal-independence-payment
Info on benefits can be found here:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/benefits-and-money/benefits/types-of-benefit/employment-and-support-allowance
What line of work do you have experience of? Is it the same one you are applying for?