Looking for a career coach for my partner who specialises in neurodivergence and the tech industry

iglu

Hi all! My partner is fairly recently diagnosed with ADHD and Autism and has been having a really tough time at work for the past 2-3 years. He works as a developer and his employers have been very unsupportive while he's been struggling/getting diagnosis. He has recently returned back to work after an extended period of sick leave (due to stress, anxiety and what we now realise was autistic burnout). He is in a really tricky situation at the moment where he doesn't feel like he can leave his current employer as his skills are very rusty after a long time off, his confidence is really low and he's worried about being out of work for any length of time if it takes him a while to find something new. He's also questioning whether his current line of work is actually what he wants to do, considering all the stress he's been through in the last few years. 

I've been trying to find a career coach for him who could help him work through all of this and improve his confidence so he can think about what to do next. It's essential that they specialise in coaching neurodivergent individuals (even better if they're neurodivergent themselves) and it would be great it they at least have some knowledge of experience of the tech industry.

I was just wondering if anyone on here knows of someone who could help?

Thanks 

Alex_Alumni

Hello @iglu and thanks for reaching out and explaining your situation. I can see you're a very caring partner yourself, and it's positive that you're both looking for support that will empower your partner to make the changes he needs to feel happy and comfortable  

I don't know of any career coaches as such, but I'd encourage your partner to have a look at Scope's Employment Support Services. Although some schemes have certain eligibility criteria, like location or age, the team may well be able to advise and support him further.

Let us know if there's anything we've missed, and I hope you enjoy spending time here on the forum.

iglu

Hi @Alex_Scope thanks very much for replying and for your kind words 😊 We’ll definitely look into the employment help available through Scope.

Alex_Alumni

You're welcome Best of luck!

You're also welcome to browse around the community if you'd like to, here's a few of the best places to get started:

• Recent discussions is where you'll find all the latest conversations our members are having
• The categories page shows all the different topics for discussion
• The virtual coffee lounge is a place to chat, get to know other members, and play games too

Please ask if we can lend a hand with anything further.

L_Volunteer

Hello @iglu. Thank you for reaching out to us. I appreciate the courage it can take to reach out, especially when you are fairly new and things are tough at the moment.

Unfortunately, I don't have a strong knowledge of the technology field. However, I am a fellow autistic. Have you heard of Exceptional Individuals?

On Exceptional Individuals' front page, they define their work as

"We provide neurodiversity consulting, recruitment and employment support to employers and individuals with dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and autism".

Also, I may have inner insight into Exceptional Individuals and know that most of their team are also neurodivergent. 

Additionally, I am wondering if there are any sort of neurodivergent membership groups within your partner's workplace? Sometimes, there might be internal neurodivergent mentors. 

Another potential option is Access to Work. It might be worth looking into, though they are broader than neurodivergence. 

I hope this at least semi-helps. Please don't hesitate to let us know if you would like to talk about this further or if there's anything we can do to support you with this in the meantime 

iglu

Hi @L_Volunteer, thanks very much for your reply and for your warm welcome

Neither of us had heard of Exceptional Individuals, so we'll definitely take a look at the kind of support they could provide. That's great to hear that a lot of the team are neurodivergent too.

My partner is going to look into whether there are any groups within his workplace. He's already registered for Access to Work, but there's a long wait at the moment. Hopefully they'll be able to help when he can be assessed though  

Thanks so much for your help!

L_Volunteer

I hope some of these resources are at least semi-helpful for your partner @iglu, especially whilst waiting for Access to Work.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else we can do to support you in the meantime. We are all here for you and listening to you