Published on 12, July, 2020
This is my first post. My son is 28 and a high functioning Aspergers. He's a great lad and I am very proud of him. Despite a university degree he has never managed full time employment despite a number of interviews. It's frustrating and very upsetting from a parent viewpoint. Employers lack insight and I feel that his diagnosis goes against him. He also suffers with recurrent depression and we are constantly battling with his poor self esteem and motivation. I work in the NHS and am acutely aware of the lack of resource and support for adult ASD. The job centre approach and attitude to assisting him gain employment is next to useless and a waste of time. Remploy have not been helpful either. We are in Warwickshire. Does anyone know of any contacts or support in helping ASD adults in this aspect? I am very grateful for any leads, thank you.
Hello and welcome to the forums.
Emma answered a similar question here a few days ago, mentioning Disability Employment Advisors, who may be hard to find in some areas nowadays:
https://community.autism.org.uk/f/introduce-yourself/12987/employment-adult-aspergers
NAS employment services seem to be in Leics, but not Warks: https://www.autism.org.uk/directory/browse/cid=318~aid=6.aspx
I've had a look through the NAS directory & only found:
Yes, depression and demotivation can be constant problems. Isolation can make them worse. Having people around who can identify genuine interests, plan and see the plan through may help. Graham mentions Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helps some people – just to add though that sometimes therapy needs to be adapted for autistic differences, and not all mental health professionals are aware of that. Here's another answer of mine mentioning some CBT books: https://community.autism.org.uk/f/health-and-wellbeing/12869/aspergers-friendships-and-depression/76265#76265
Sorry it's just links, but hope there's something of interest.
Many thanks for that, some hopeful links found this site https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/west offers support for ASD and LD looking for work. Lining up an appointment soon. Saw his GP today and action taken. Time to end this vicious circle
I suggest looking for a job that plays to his strengths and avoids his difficulties.
There are *a* *lot* of "unique individuals" in the field of software development.