Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Jan 23 • 10 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X

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I asked autistic and ADHD people what challenges they face at work and out of approx 1500 responses (thank you!!), these were the most common challenges, in order.👇🏻

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

I am not surprised that navigating colleague relationships, the sensory environment and unclear instructions/communication took the top three places.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: navigating colleague relationships and interactions; the sensory environment; unclear instructions or communication; colleagues and managers not understanding autism/ADHD; distractions and interruptions; changes in routine.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: unwritten expectations or rules; background noise e.g. printers/phones/chatting; exhaustion from masking; focusing/concentrating; frequent burnout; becoming bored quickly.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: meetings - icebreakers, team-building tasks, interrupts workflow; frequent overwhelm; open-plan offices; doing tasks with no purpose/interest/reasoning/variety; communicating in a socially acceptable manner; managing a 9-5 schedule.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: remembering things/forgetfulness; time management; fluorescent lighting; ableism in the workplace; prioritising, organisation and planning; office politics.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: having a different way of learning things; lack of motivation; needing longer to process things; being misunderstood due to different communication; staying on task; getting started on a task and finishing it.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: bullying; being on time; being consistent with productivity; accessing reasonable adjustments; managing emotional dysregulation; meeting deadlines.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: processing verbal instructions and information; multi-tasking and transitioning between tasks; hierarchy/authority that doesn’t make sense; unclear or short-notice deadlines; waking up early due to poor sleep; running out of energy quickly.

Challenges autistic and ADHD people face at work.

The title ‘challenges’ at top of page followed by six white boxes each containing a phrase: small talk; being accused of not being a team player; getting back on task after interruptions; expectation to attend office events/parties; managing anxiety and meltdowns; having to make and answer phone calls.

Stay tuned for part two of what people said would help them at work and a blog post summarising all this! ✌🏻

If you liked this thread, my book is available for pre-order now! 🫶 linktr.ee/girlunmasked

A photo of my book Girl Unmasked: how uncovering my autism saved my life by Emily Katy Out 28 March with the text ‘pre-order GIRL UNMASKED now - link in my bio!’

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More from @ItsEmilyKaty

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Sep 10

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and here are some things I would like to talk about.

#WorldSuicidePreventionDay

Graphic reads: September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day

The statistics around autism and suicide are sad.

Autism & suicide. Autistic people are significantly more likely to die by suicide than the general population - research suggests 7 times more likely, with up to 35% of autistic people considering suicide and 25% attempting suicide. (Autistica; Kirby et al., 2019; Newell et al., 2023)

Research around ADHD and suicide show similar devastating facts.

ADHD & suicide. Adults with ADHD are 5 times more likely than those without ADHD to have attempted suicide. One study found 23.5% of women with ADHD have attempted suicide compared to 3.3% of women without ADHD. (Fuller-Thomson et al., 2020).

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Jul 20

The misdiagnosis of autistic distress in the mental health system. A thread. 🧵

When I am asked why I wrote Girl Unmasked, I say that I was angry. Which is true...

I was angry at finding myself sectioned on a psychiatric unit at the age of 16, at the doctor there telling me I just had high social anxiety not autism, at the fact they described my autistic meltdowns as ‘hysteric attacks when she doesn’t get her own way’.

My anger only grew when I discovered how many other autistic people were struggling like I was with being autistic in a world which doesn’t accept us very much, ending up stuck in a mental health system where our autism wasn’t being recognised or understood.

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

May 6

Autistic burnout 🧠 - a thread.

A graphic with the title autistic burnout on a white rectangle on a pastel coloured background.

What is autistic burnout?

What is autistic burnout? Autistic burnout is extreme long-term exhaustion and overwhelm triggered over time, where the stress of coping with life’s demands exceeds the autistic person’s ability to cope. The individual may lose the ability to carry out every-day tasks, lose skills they usually have, and experience increased sensory difficulties.

Autistic burnout is different to work burnout and burnout that everyone experiences.

Research by @dora_raymaker @AutismAdulthood: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Research has shown that autistic burnout is different to work burnout and the burnout that everyone experiences. “Autistic burnout is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic life stress and a mismatch of expectations and abilities without adequate supports. It is characterised by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.” — Dr Dora Raymaker

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Apr 23

Research suggests that 80% of autistic people experience mental health problems throughout their life, and around 40% of suicides are estimated to be autistic people.

What are some of the reasons why this is the case? 💭🧵

Why do so many autistic people struggle with their mental health?

The statistics are sad.

(Autistica, undated; Cassidy et al. 2022)

Research suggests that…80% of autistic people experience mental health problems throughout their life, and around 40% of suicides are estimated to be autistic people. (Cassidy et al., 2022). This may be because of...

1. Lack of recognition.

(McCrossin et al., 2022)

Lack of recognition. There are many autistic people who aren’t recognised, particularly those of marginalised genders or from minority ethnic groups. 80% of autistic girls remain undiagnosed after the age of 18 and are diagnosed later than their male counterparts. This can have a detrimental effect on their mental health.

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Feb 25

To @MrDavidScales (and all schools restricting toilet access),

As well as health issues affecting ALL young people…

Know that your toilet policies are not inclusive of neurodivergent children (though also everyone for that matter). For several reasons. 👇🏻 /1

https://twitter.com/lucygobag/status/1761028804678443249

Autistic students often struggle using the toilet at busy times due to sensory needs. School toilets become very cramped and loud during break-times.

Hand dryers in particular would send me into sensory overload in the school toilets. /2

Autistic people can struggle with interoception (identifying bodily sensations), so often don’t know they need the loo until desperate.

I remember seeing a peer wet themselves during class because they weren’t allowed to go. They were humiliated for a basic bodily need. /3

Emily♡

@ItsEmilyKaty

Feb 17

A highly requested addition to my neurodiversity mindmaps - PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), or alternatively ‘Pervasive Drive for Autonomy’.

As @PDASociety state: ‘recognition of PDA is currently inconsistent…however, a PDA profile can, and should, be taken into consideration when undertaking autism assessments…when assessing and diagnosing, clinicians can add appropriate descriptive terms to an autism diagnosis…

…such as a ‘PDA profile’ or ‘characterised by extreme demand avoidance.’ However, whether this happens is variable between different teams and clinicians.

@PDASociety have useful guidance and letter templates on their website to support families through the diagnostic process.

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