JuRo4

Thanks for your reply Mel. I am glad you agree regarding disclosing the A/S to employers. I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought this to be important. To be fair to Job Centre Staff, the very wide range of abilities of people on the spectrum probably doesn't fit easily with the tick box culture they work within. Obviously those with less of a problem with communication may well feel that they would prefer not to disclose but really, for my daughter this is not an option. I would have thought it was obvious to our disability officer that My daughter wouldn't even be able to get to the Job Centre without me but apparently not. He keeps on about "going outside your comfort zone" which I think just about says it all ( to those of us who know anything about ASD in any case). Anyway, just wanted to say thanks. By the way the reply in French is nothing to do with me. I know I said in my first post I was new to this and I don't want you to think it was anything I did ! Julie

Hi, I am completely new to chat rooms/forums etc so forgive me if I am posting in the wrong place! My 22 year old daughter has Asperger's. Unlike a lot of people she was diagnosed very early, whilst she was still in nursery, and consequently got a lot of support all through her school years. After school she did a college course for special needs pupils which didn't finish until she was 19. Since then though things have been more difficult..... I am currently struggling with the Job Centre Official who doesn't really seem to understand the difficulties. My daughter is totally dependent on me and the family in general to organise her. The Job Centre do no realise the degree of support she needs to get through the day and are pushing her to find more voluntary work. She is currently on ESA in the Work Related Group with a further assessment pending sometime in the New Year. I didn't appeal the decision to put her in the Work Related Group last time but if the result is the same maybe I should. Does anyone know if appeals are successful ? In my ignorance I did think the Job centre would be able to find her some supported work but they have been hopeless. They tell me we should not disclose her condition on her CV but it is vital that any employer should be aware and understanding. I don't know how this can be achieved if they don't know the difficulties. My daughter would never in a million years be successful at an interview if the company did not know in advance about her very poor communication skills Sorry, I know I am rambling but the new year is always difficult because the problems never go away. I am seriously considering taking her off all benefits because of the strain but she would then be effectively outside of the system and off everyone's radar. I worry so much about what will happen to her when I am not here..... There must be others in my situation. I know other people have much worse problems but sometimes it is so hard to deal with disabilities that are not immediately obvious. Thanks for listening.