Disclosing autism to employers or disabilities

kirkyboy26

I start a new job on Monday the 12th December 2022 and haven't told them I have autism in case it affects my job what would other people do 

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

I would advise to disclose especially if completing a health questionnaire as if you don't you are not being truthful and that isn't a good start 

You may need some reasonable adjustments in order to complete your job so if you don't make them aware of your condition they may not take this into account 

kirkyboy26

Thanks well when I start on Monday I will explain to them.
And thank you for the welcoming 

Tori_Scope

Hi @kirkyboy26 How are you feeling about starting your new job on Monday? When starting a new job, I find I'm both nervous and excited. 

It's up to you whether you'd like to disclose that you have autism or not. We have a page on our website about disclosing disability to an employer, which you might like to read.

Have you had a think about whether getting any reasonable adjustments (Scope) could help you in your new role?

Elysium

Disclose you are Autistic ONLY once you’ve done your probationary period or they may start bullying/discriminating against you or even dismiss you. This is what happened to me. How long is your probationary period?

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing your experience with us @Elysium. It sounds really difficult that you have experienced this. I would, however, like to point out that disclosing autism works best at different stages for different people. 

For example, I always disclose at the application/interview stage. For me, if an employer does those things they aren't worth working for anyway so the sooner I find that out the better 

L_Volunteer

Good luck @kirkyboy26 for starting your new job tomorrow. How are you feeling about explaining it to them at the moment and starting it more generally?

We are all here for you and listening to you if you would like to share more with us. Please feel free to let us know how it goes and if you need any further support with it 

Puja

I have mixed views depending on the employer and job and if you think you will need any adjustments really? 

L_Volunteer

I agree with you @Puja. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us too @Ada. 

It is really positive to hear that, over time, working life and climbing the ladder improved for you.

However, I can hear how sometimes telling people might mean we are perceived as lower than we are