Background

Many employees on the Autism Spectrum do not tell anybody at work about their autism. Not disclosing an autism diagnosis can make it difficult to get the support they need, both officially and from colleagues. At school or college, you might not have received or even needed any support outside your family. However, work is very different from school and college and the help available at work can make it easier for you to concentrate on doing your job to the best of your ability.

What do we mean by disclosure?

‘Disclosure’ in this context means telling people at work that you have a disability. You might not consider your autism to be a disability, but that’s how organisations recognise that you may have some additional need, and the declaration prompts your employer to make contact with you in order to explore any needs you may have and the support options available to you. Telling your employer you have autism does not mean that you have to tell everyone you meet if you don’t want to, and nor does it mean that you will be forced to accept support you don’t want or need.

Disclosure and accessing support

Disclosure is a necessary part accessing the Access to Work scheme, to ensure reasonable adjustments are put in place and to receive financial support, where necessary. Your employer needs to know that you have an autistic spectrum condition in order to make any ‘reasonable adjustments’, if you need them. Disclosing your diagnosis means that it is unlawful for your employer not to make any reasonable adjustments. So disclosing your diagnosis can have important legal implications, in case of discrimination.

Why is this relevant?

Many employees on the Autism Spectrum do not identify as disabled, so they don’t tick the disability box on the job application. Even if you have never needed support or reasonable adjustments, it’s helpful for your employer to know how many employees on the Autism Spectrum they have. That way they can take the needs of people on the spectrum into account. If you’d like to read more about reasons to disclose or not, from an employee on the Autism Spectrum, read this article, if you would like to read about the employer's view on disclosure please follow this link.

Is disclosing your diagnosis a good idea?

If you get support early, preferably from the start of your job, or even during the recruitment phase, settling into work is a lot easier. Getting the support you need in the first few weeks, even simple things like someone showing you around all the places can be really important. In many cases, employees on the Autism Spectrum only request adjustments when they are already struggling, and then it may be too late, as it takes time to process applications for adjustments, so the earlier you can do it the better. Research shows that those that disclose their diagnosis are three times more likely to be in employment and that first impressions are more positive when the person has disclosed their diagnosis.

When I disclose, who will find out?

Disclosing your diagnosis doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone – it’s a confidential process. The Occupational Health or HR departments can discuss with you what, if any, information needs to be shared and who it needs to be shared with. No one will tell other colleagues without your permission. Information is only shared with staff who are required to make adjustments, or with those who would benefit from being aware.

Even if you agree that the information is passed on, you will still probably have to do some of the legwork yourself. Also, just because your colleagues don’t have to know you are on the autistic spectrum, it doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be helpful for you to tell them. You may also decide to share information where you think it may be helpful to understand a bit more about you, but this is entirely your choice.

Practical tips

Making decisions about who to tell and when can be difficult, so below you have some questions that will help you plan what you are going to do.

In some ways, making a decision on whether to tell officially about your autism is a simple one with obvious benefits and clear boundaries. Disclosing means you can access support. You can tell them any time, but if you tell them as soon as you can it’s better for everyone.

The decision ultimately is yours, the right path for you is something you need to work out for yourself depending on whether you can do your job without any support or adjustments.

Questions to think about

To help you decide on whether to disclose your diagnosis or not, it may help to ask yourself, or the person you support the following questions:

• What do you want to achieve by disclosing your diagnosis? Do you think you may need adjustments either at the recruitment stage or after? If you do, it would help to disclose your diagnosis. Also, by disclosing your diagnosis you are entitled, by law, to reasonable adjustments.
• Who to think needs to know? Who needs to know depends on what you need. For instance, if you need to bring someone to the interview both HR and the panel need to know, but still need to think of what you disclose (i.e., the actual diagnosis or the adjustment need).
• When do you need to disclose? You may want to disclose at application stage, during recruitment, on the first day, later or never.
• How to disclose? Would you like to disclose your diagnosis yourself or would you like someone else to do it for you?
• What to disclose? You need to think about what you what to disclose. You can disclose your diagnosis only, or disclose both your diagnosis and your needs, or you may want to just disclose any needs you may have (i.e., sensory issues), but not the actual autism diagnosis.

Additional information and links

• You can read here a reflection from a law graduate on the Autism Spectrum on whether to disclose or not.
• Here you can read the perspective of a job coach regarding disclosure.

You may want to read after

• Telling people about your autism
• The employee's view on disclosing diagnosis
• The employer's view on disclosing diagnosis