Autism & Employability

I'm waiting for an assessment and have got to this point because my medical phobias and the sensory issues were causing debilitating anxiety and some pretty dramatic meltdowns now that of an age where frequent medical treatment is required. It has made me very ill over the past couple of years.

I work with in an education department in our local council. My boss is an ex teacher and is great. He's very much a people person who cares about his staff. I've kept him in the loop throughout and he's been so supportive.

As soon as I said: "I think I've finally worked out what's happening to me and why, and I need an assessment for autism", he recognised it straight away and he thinks so too. He said: "we often pick up on boys in the classroom, and so often miss the girls" and then sent me a battery of links to resources on recognising girls in education.

As soon as I described what goes on for me in medical settings and the other problems I had as a kid, he recognised it, when every MH professional had failed to and written me off as ...well, I don't know what they think; just a naughty little girl throwing a tantrum possibly.

I'll give him sight of the report when I get it and I know that whether the diagnosis is ASD or some other sub-spectrum SPD, I'll get the support I need. I just want to be better so I can go back to crunching data and telling him how his plans need to be more specific, lol. I have a lot of loyalty to him.

I think what I am saying is a lot depends on the boss and the trust they engender. I've lucked out big time. I have a boss who values me, is a lovely human being and has the professional experience to know what ASD is when he sees it.

MH services put me in the bin as worthless, my boss never lost faith in me. It means a lot.

I'm waiting for an assessment and have got to this point because my medical phobias and the sensory issues were causing debilitating anxiety and some pretty dramatic meltdowns now that of an age where frequent medical treatment is required. It has made me very ill over the past couple of years.

I work with in an education department in our local council. My boss is an ex teacher and is great. He's very much a people person who cares about his staff. I've kept him in the loop throughout and he's been so supportive.

As soon as I said: "I think I've finally worked out what's happening to me and why, and I need an assessment for autism", he recognised it straight away and he thinks so too. He said: "we often pick up on boys in the classroom, and so often miss the girls" and then sent me a battery of links to resources on recognising girls in education.

As soon as I described what goes on for me in medical settings and the other problems I had as a kid, he recognised it, when every MH professional had failed to and written me off as ...well, I don't know what they think; just a naughty little girl throwing a tantrum possibly.

I'll give him sight of the report when I get it and I know that whether the diagnosis is ASD or some other sub-spectrum SPD, I'll get the support I need. I just want to be better so I can go back to crunching data and telling him how his plans need to be more specific, lol. I have a lot of loyalty to him.

I think what I am saying is a lot depends on the boss and the trust they engender. I've lucked out big time. I have a boss who values me, is a lovely human being and has the professional experience to know what ASD is when he sees it.

MH services put me in the bin as worthless, my boss never lost faith in me. It means a lot.

Dawn said:

my boss never lost faith in me

Similar story. It was because of my prior manager who started delving into reasons as to what the hell was going on with me that I got my assessment and diagnosis. I'll never be able to repay her for what she did. I took the decision then to disclose to the rest of the people I work with - although I could have kept it under wraps.

Every other place where I expected support pre-diagnosis, it didn't come through for me - and that includes family.