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Depression and finding work

Medivh

Hi there,

I am a 26 year old adult with Asperger's Syndrome, and am looking for a bit of advice on two aspects.

I am currently suffering from depression for which I am on medication.

I have tried one to one CBT but struggled to do the work involved. This type of counselling does not seem to have suited me, and am wondering what other options I could try.

I am also struggling to find work currently. I had a part time job but the contract ended, and despite applying for other jobs I have not been successful.

I have not signed on as of yet and am wondering what experience others may have had with telling Jobcentre Plus about their AS, like would they assign a disability advisor etc.?

  • Once I started claiming benefits back in 2014, i declared I had social anxiety but I didn't declare the specifics like AS because in my experience jobcentre staff aren't well informed or educated about mental health issues. I was assigned a DEA back when it was called Jobseekers Allowance, now it's called Universal Credit which should be rolled out all across the UK by now. I attended Remploy which is a disability agency which in the end only found me work experience in retail which is not my first choice industry.

    Something the DWP haven't made people aware of is as of last year, if you are single and in a Universal Credit area, you're only allowed to claim Universal Credit (which replaces ESA, JSA, housing benefit etc) and it doesn't allow you to get assigned a DEA adviser, and in my experience Aspergers Syndrome on it's own does not provide sufficient evidence for a claim for ESA with or without UC.

    In other words you will get treated the same as every other unemployed person at the jobcentre regardless of your disability. I have since 'fallen through the cracks' and have a lengthy sanction because I haven't taken all the necessary steps to find work e.g. turning down unsuitable jobs, refusing group sessions. So advice will be to find work as soon as possible before you find yourself in the same boat as I am.

  • Hi Medivh

    Jobcentre plus do have schemes to help autistic people.  They run the Access to Work Scheme for those in work (and which has proved of immense help to me) and another scheme for those out of work via a disability advisor.

    Different 'Charities' get involved in providing the help, depending on where you live.  They shoulld all be specialist charities that deal with autism.

    Where I live, the service is provided by Autism West Midlands, and a link to their relevant page for the unemployed is here

    Their service is provided in conjunction with Advance Employement, which is based in Oxfordshire and covers, I think, Oxford, London, Leicester and Solihull.  I know it is unlikely you are in one of these areas but the autism west midland link above might helpshow the work which is avaiable.

    By declaring your autism the Jobcentre will give you different treatment from the targets that unemployed people usually have to meet.

    If you are unsure, you could ring the Jobcentre (or get someone close to you to ring on your behalf) and ask them what they can do with you.  I could certainly not contact a dozen employers a day asking for jobs, or even one.  To do so would cause me immense stress, and I have great difficulty using the telephone anyway.  Just make sure that you explain you are not stupid, and explain the difficulties you have, that would help prevent being put on a programme involving literacy skills.

    Regarding depression, I suffered severe depression and anxiety last year, which I am still recovering from.  I don't think drugs really help, and cbt was not a lot of good for me either.  Time away from the cause of depression (in my case work related stress caused by my autism and different work processes being introduced) is the thing that has helped me, and then getting adjustments at work (through Access to Work and with help from my Union and Autism West Midlands) has helped me.

    Anyway, good luck, and hope everything goes well and that you find a service that will help you that is local to you.