Gavin Owen - National Autistic Society

Question: You recently published a report on disability employment - what did it conclude?

 

Gavin Owen: In July 2004 we sent surveys to 956 Jobcentres, Jobcentres Plus and Careers Scotland throughout Great Britain to ask disability employment advisers (DEAs) about their understanding of autism and how many people with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) they had supported.  We received back just over a 140 responses which was a great result because it was unsolicited and accounted for almost 15 per cent ofDEAs.

 

The role of the DEA is to help people with a disability seek, find and retain employment. If DEA’s are to fully support clients with an ASD find work it is vital that they have a detailed level of understanding of conditions across the autistic spectrum. Our recent research showed that this wasn’t the case.

 

Question: What are the findings of this report?

 

Gavin Owen: The findings were mainly that DEAs wanted more training around autism, almost 90 per cent of DEAs had dealt with clients diagnosed with ASD but unfortunately almost 42 per cent hadn’t been able to place anybody with such a disorder into employment.  Only 33 per cent of DEAs thought they had sufficient knowledge to support clients with an ASD to find suitable employment.

 

Previous research showed that only six per cent of people with an ASD had full time paid employment and only 12 per cent of those with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome have full time jobs.

 

Question: Why do you think this is the case -are people ignorant to the issues involved?

 

Gavin Owen: The main reason given for not being able to place people with autism in employment was employers attitude, 46 per cent thought the main barrier to employment was the employers’ attitude.

 

The second problem that they cited was the client’s communication difficulties and that accounted for 30 per cent.

 

We think that both these problems are surmountable if the DEA knows enough about autism and he is able to explain to the employer any reasonable adjustments that would need to be made for the client to fulfil their potential.

 

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding over autism, one of the things we found last year during research is that people still think of autism as a childhood condition. Through our employment campaign we are trying to raise the awareness.

 

Unfortunately there are cases that come to the media but as we have stated to the press on numerousoccasionsthere isn’t a connection between autism and people who offend, in fact people are more likely to be on the receiving end of offences rather than to be perpetrators.

 

Question: What would the benefits be to the employer if they were to employ someone with ASD?

 

Gavin Owen: Many people with autism have great attention to detail, they can concentrate fully on one task, but also like any individual they have different ranges of skills. Their approach is straightforward and honest. They may have technical skills of a high order and a good knowledge of facts and figures.

One of the things that is often portrayed is that people with autism can’t do customer facing jobs, however we know a lot of people who work in shops or give advice over the telephone, so they have a range of skills and abilities just like any other section of society.

 

Also, people with can be very keen and enthusiastic workers especially when they have been given an opportunity, when they are so often overlooked.

 

Question: Does employment help the person with an ASD?

 

Gavin Owen: It would give them more independence and a better quality of life. Everybody wants to work to improve self esteem and have a place in society. It gives the person with an ASD more confidence, they are able to interact socially with their colleagues and that can lead to greater independence which has all started in the work place.

 

Question: What support have you had from the government?

 

Gavin Owen: There are both moral and financial arguments here. There was a report done by the Prospects employment service, which is the employment consultancy service of the National Autistic Society, and that showed how much the treasury has saved through Prospects by enabling people to work and also reducing their benefits.

 

It shouldn’t be that it is people's duty or they are being good citizens by employing people with autism they do bring a lot of benefits to the work place as I spoke about earlier. But also employers and managers themselves have said themselves because of the need for planning for people with autism and being able to have to communicate more effectively this benefits the whole of the workforce and not just the people with autism.

 

Question: What can be done to try and change this?

 

Gavin Owen: First of all we want to change employer’s attitudes and give them an understanding of what the benefits of employing people with ASD are.

 

We want to give DEA advisors more training around ASD and show them how they can then sell the attributes of their clients to employers because a lot of time that is falling down and because they don’t know a lot about autism they weren’t able to offer the benefits.

 

And thirdly we want to look at the schemes that the government is currently providing such as "Access to work" and "Workstep" and work with the Department of Work and Pensions so that these schemes sit more easily with autism – a lot of the government schemes are more focused towards physical disabilities.

 

Question: What would be your message to government?

 

Gavin Owen: I would say we have already had a positive response for the DEA report from Chris Pond, the minister for work and pensions, to update the DEA’s training.  We’ll also be seeking meeting to address how government schemes can be more flexible for people with an ASD.

 

Question: What would be your message to the employer?

 

Gavin Owen: The NAS launchesits "Undiscovered workforce" campaign on November 10.  The NAS will distribute the campaign information packs produced in conjunction with Prospects (NAS Specialist Employment Consultancy). 

 

One information pack is tailored for employers, and offers advice on what employees with autism can bring to the workplace, and practical guidance on how to implement reasonable adjustments for people with an ASD. 

 

A supported employment video featuring case studies, best practice, and real life examples accompanies the packs. 

 

The NAS will also be hosting a series of meetings in the New Year with both employers and employment professionals, in order to raise awareness and educate them on the issues of employing people with autism.

 

Our message would be to read our information packs and the forthcoming "Employment champions" report where there are excellent examples of good practice for organisations that have employed people with autism and they have reaped the rewards. 

 

The packs and the report give valuable information about the benefits of employing people with autism and that "reasonable adjustments" can be made easily.