Last edited 26 Apr 2024

Autism and the workplace

1 What is Autism
2 National Autistic Society
3 Autism accreditations
4 Autism Acceptance Day, Week and Month
5 A personal account of how employees with Autism can benefit the workplace
6 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] What is Autism

The UK National Austistic Society states 'Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.'

Autism is a spectrum condition and affects people in different ways. Like all people, autistic people have their own strengths and weaknesses. Below is a list of difficulties autistic people may share, including the two key difficulties required for a diagnosis.

Social communication and social interaction challenges. Difficulties interpreting both verbal and non-verbal language, reading, recognising or understanding others' feelings and intentions and their own emotions.
Repetitive and restrictive behaviour. Preference for familiar routines to help navigate the world which can seem unpredictable and confusing. Change to routine can result in distress and anxiety.
Over- or under-sensitivity to light, sound, taste or touch. Certain situations can cause severe anxiety or even physical pain as a result of sensory impacts often not noticed by others.
Highly focused interests or hobbies from a fairly young age, which can change over time or be lifelong. Can do well academically and in the workplace but may neglect other aspects.
Extreme anxiety. Social situations or change can have psychological and physical affects. Coping mechanisms and knowing triggers can help to find a way to reduce anxiety.
Meltdowns and shutdowns. Intense and exhausting reactions when everything becomes too much. Meltdowns occur when completely overwhelmed by a situation can result in temporarily loss of behavioural control. Verbal (shouting, screaming, crying) or physical (kicking, lashing out, biting) or both. These are not same as temper tantrums in children. Shutdowns appear less intense externally but can be equally debilitating.

The UK National Austistric Society also states: 'The definition of autism has changed over the decades and could change in future years as we understand more. Some people feel the spectrum is too broad, arguing an autistic person with 24/7 support needs cannot be compared with a person who finds supermarket lights too bright. We often find that autistic people and their families with different support needs share many of the same challenges, whether that’s getting enough support from mental health, education and social care services or being misunderstood by people close to them. We will continue to fight to make society work for autistic people.'

[edit] National Autistic Society

In 1962, a group of parents with autistic children set up what would go on to become the National Autistic Society. At the time, there was no provision for autistic children, who were often diagnosed with childhood schizophrenia and sent to institutions. In 1965 John Lennon donated £1,000 to help set up the world's first school specifically for autistic children in West London. 10 years later Sybil Elgar and parents of children at the school opened the UK’s first residential service for autistic adults in Somerset, helping them to feel more independent and part of society. By the 90's the Centre for Social and Communication Disorders was opened at Elliot House in Bromley by Dr Lorna Wing who some years earlier had developed the term ‘the autistic spectrum’ with Dr Judith Gould. In 2009 the Autism Act, required a government strategy for improving services for autistic adults, underpinned by legally binding guidance to councils in England. In 2019 the Autism at Work Programme was started in association with the Bloomfield Trust, to help increase the number of autistic people in sustainable paid employment. 2022 is the 60th Anniversary of the National Autistic Society.

For further information see the following link: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do

[edit] Autism accreditations

The Autism Accreditation Programme is the UK’s only autism-specific quality assurance programme of support and development for all those providing services to autistic people. Achieving accreditation demonstrates that an organisation is committed to understanding autism and setting the standard for autism practice. It is a way for organisations to show they offer excellent support to autistic children and adults. Autism Accreditation is an internationally recognised quality standard and, with over 30 years of accreditation expertise, one of the longest running programmes in the world.

Benefits include:

A more autism-focused service	A more personalised service
Increased expertise in supporting autistic people	Increased referrals to the service / school
A foundation for informing strategic planning	A decrease in vacancies for placements
Better outcomes for the autistic people / colleagues	Evidence for commissioning bodies
Reassurance for families / carers	Ongoing development for the service / school.

The programme consists of specific awards tailored to different provision types:

Autism Specialist Award is tailored to specialist providers in the education, social care and prison fields.
Autism Inclusion Award is for mainstream providers in education, general health, community activities and the criminal justice system.
Autism Friendly Award supports customer-facing organisations of all sizes to provide an autism-friendly environment and inclusive customer service.
Autism Inclusive Employer Award is designed and certified to provide endorsed strategies tailored to your organisation’s needs and size.
Product Approval Scheme helps unlock new opportunities and supporting your efforts with autistic people.

[edit] Autism Acceptance Day, Week and Month

The United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day is on April 2, marking the start of April as World Autism Awareness month .

World Autism Acceptance Week Is held each year with a variety of different information campaigns and events designed to raise awareness and acceptance of autism. In 2022, World Autism Acceptance Week ran from March 28 to April 3, in 2023 from March 27 to April 2 and in 2024 it ran from April 2 to April 8 2024

To find out more visit https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/raise-money/world-autism-acceptance-week-2024

[edit] A personal account of how employees with Autism can benefit the workplace

Barbour ABI is a leading construction intelligence provider. Lucy Hilary is one of Barbour ABI’s top researchers and she has autism. She is very keen to spread awareness and acceptance of autism and has led the company’s week of events to highlight the condition.

Despite being very sociable and outgoing Lucy finds noise, crowded spaces, and small talk difficult and this has been a barrier to her succeeding in workplaces in the past. “I was being treated like a child and not being listened to”, explained Lucy. “The thing with working in an office was I had a massive issue with the noise of typing on a keyboard. It would paralyse me and invoke internalised rage that I would have to manage to appear calm on the outside but on the inside, I was exploding”

Lucy did extremely well at school and university but was told by one employer that she wouldn’t be suitable for their graduate trainee programme, despite having a degree. “I had big ambitions I wanted to be a manager and do well and be successful,” Lucy explained. “Throughout my 20s I realised this was never going to happen for me and by the end of my 20s I had stopped applying for higher paid positions with more responsibility because I had always been told I wasn’t good enough.”

Things changed for Lucy when she started to work at Barbour ABI her first role where she had an official diagnosis of autism and was able to ask for reasonable adjustments. Lockdowns during COVID increased anxiety for Lucy about returning to working in an office, but her manager, the HR team and senior leadership at Barbour ABI took the time to try to understand her condition and what she needed to flourish in her role.

“It was decided I would create my own timetable on returning to work and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. There was also no pressure to keep to the timetable. It gave me a sense of control,” said Lucy. “I was sat in the corner by the window but still on a bank of researchers, so I felt part of the team and I was facing the door and allowed to use my own headphones.

“With this newfound support I am now the top researcher in the department and am often asked for input on different elements of the job to see my take on it. Sometimes I will be asked to look at projects to see if I can find out new information because I have a knack at looking at something and knowing if something isn’t quite right or finding out something new to point us in a better direction.”

Jamie Cullen, Head of Research at Barbour ABI said: “Lucy is a fantastic and valued member of the team. By listening to her and trying to understand her needs we were able to make a number of very minor adjustments from our side that made the world of difference to her. She is now thriving, and we are able to benefit from her unique insights that come from a slightly different way of looking at things. If we didn’t support Lucy properly those insights would be lost, and the company and our clients would be worse off.”

“I can’t be cured, nor would I want to be”, said Lucy. “Autism is not a disability it is the wrong environment. If you took away my noise cancelling headphones, made me sit in the middle of people and treated me like everyone else, I would not be able to succeed in my job.”

Lucy Hilary, a researcher at Barbour ABI, is campaigning to raise the acceptance of people with autism. Her blog can be found at https://www.barbour-abi.com/autism-acceptance-week-2022/ and https://barbour-abi.com/autism-acceptance-week-2023-making-reasonable-accommodations/

The final section is based on a Press Release received April 1 2022 from Barbour API written by Lucy Hilary, a researcher at Barbour ABI. The prior sections are based on information published by the UK National Austistric Society.