Introducing the series

In January, we will launch a completely updated employment advice hub, with content for autistic people and for employers. To support this launch, we are creating multimedia content with autistic people about their experiences of work. This content will appear on our website and social media channels. 

We know that work is too often not inclusive of and accessible to autistic people. Our full set of employment content will be upfront about these issues and will include content for autistic people about support at every stage of the employment cycle, plus content for employers about their legal duties and what they can do to be more inclusive. 

Alongside this, we are hoping to make some positive and practical multimedia content about the lived experience of autistic people at work and the steps they and their employers have taken to make their jobs work for them. 

Below are three opportunities to take part in multimedia content projects. Please fill out the form for each project you would like to be involved in. You can respond to one, two or all three! Please note that we are making limited sets of content and so may not be able to use all the responses we receive. 

Please submit your responses via the forms linked below.

1. Do you love your job? Are you happy to be filmed at work?

We are looking for autistic people in the UK who love their job! You must be employed or self-employed and should have a passion for what you do in a role that suits your interests and needs. Your job does not need to be glamourous or high-profile, it just needs to be right for you. Unusual jobs are welcome! 

We want to film up to five selected people in their work environment and interview them about their experience. You need to be happy to talk on camera about your job and why it suits you so well. We want the series to present a diverse range of experiences, so we are asking for some biographical information to help us choose participants. 

We will contact the selected people with more information about how we would like to collaborate them and their employer to make the film. Because we can only make a limited number of films, we are sorry that not everyone who applies will be selected. 

2. Tell us about reasonable adjustments you have at work (in writing)

Do you have reasonable adjustments in place to help you do your job? Ideally these will be formal reasonable adjustments that have been agreed with your manager or HR department, but they could be informal adjustments that you have made for yourself without formal agreement. (For more general wellbeing tips, please respond to project 3 below.) 

Reasonable adjustments are changes to the way a person does their job to stop them being disadvantaged compared to other workers. Examples of reasonable adjustments include: 

• The use of assistive technology, such as an ergonomic keyboard or AAC device, or productivity software such as time and task management applications
• Changes to work logistics, such as working from home some or all of the time, or changing your working hours to avoid rush hour
• Changes to how you are managed, such as receiving tasks in writing or having more regular catch-ups
• Changes to the work environment, such as having a specific desk rather than hot-desking, having softer lighting in your work area, or having a quiet space to go to if you need to. 

We want to share examples from autistic people who have reasonable adjustments in place, because many autistic people know they have a right to reasonable adjustments, but don’t know what to ask for or how to ask. We hope this series will present a range of examples and experiences. 

3. Share your tips for wellbeing at work (in writing)

We would like to gather tips from autistic people about how you take care of your wellbeing at work (including self-employed work.) These tips can relate to any aspect of work or your work-life balance. 

Ideally these will not be formal reasonable adjustments agreed with your manager or HR (for these, please respond to project 2 above about reasonable adjustments). 

You could share wellbeing tips related to: 

• how you approach or manage your work 
• how you get on with your colleagues 
• how you use your break times 
• how you make the work environment more comfortable for yourself 
• how you manage the logistics of travelling to work (or travelling for work) 
• how you rest, recover or relax to help you manage work stress 
• any other tips that may be useful to other autistic people to support their wellbeing at work.

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