Autism

I work part time (21 hours a week). My job includes front facing customer service based roles as well as organisation tasks and some level of creative input. I work a lot with vulnerable people (including disabled people, homeless people, asylum seekers, older people) I enjoy this part my job because it allows me to give something to the community - I also have an amazing work team which helps. But working does tire me out and I spend most of my not at work days recovering from the work days :) I like working with people but my social battery has its limits :)

I don't have any designated in work adjustments as such. I am lucky that I have two very approachable team leaders and the overall site manager is also very receptive to discussions relating to disability. There are also other ND people in my work team which makes for a nice balance, and so ND workplace challenges are openly discussed in the team as a "normal" state of affairs.

I think the problem with getting into work as a person with autism is in part the recruitment/form/interview process. Some companies will allow you to have questions ahead of time, and it's always good to make sure you know where the interview will be held and such, but it doesn't necessarily make the experience better. That has always been my biggest obstacle to both work and actually, education - I was turned down by the only university that actually interviewed me.

I think the most important thing is a good employment team, though. And that can be hard to discern from just the site or application process. If you have an opportunity to volunteer or do a work trial in a place, I'd recommend that. I had to do a rather self-designed version of that (working a lower paid lower hours job for several months to show I could do the job because I was so bad at interviewing - ultimately that experience got me my current job).

I don't think that the government's accessibility support into work is doing much good for people at the moment because the waiting list is so long.

You know your autism best, though. I would choose a job that meshes with your interests and skills, and with the level of social interaction you feel you can handle. :)

I know I can't work full time (25 hours is the most I've ever worked before having a full burnout - the one time I worked more I ended up absolutely broken). There are a lot of autistic people who do work full time, though - so there's a lot of individuality involved in this :)