Work coach pushing caring jobs - how do you decline

[Makingthebest]

I’ve seen this a lot and I was wondering can they remove certain types of jobs and not force you to apply for certain roles if you can’t.

Caring is one job I absolutely would never be able to do. Can I specify that? Do I have to explain all the reasons why I can’t do it and do they accept that?

Tell your work coach about your autism and ask about a work capability assessment, they may put you into the limited capability for work group then you will have fewer obligations and, hopefully, more help. You could also consider applying for PIP, if you get PIP you will not HAVE to look for work which should take the pressure off and give you more time to find the right job for you.

What would you LIKE to do, OP? Maybe work with animals? Outdoor/gardening? Think about what you can and want to do, not what you can't.

How about something like data entry? If you enjoyed quiet exam halls you'd probably enjoy the quiet slog of recording data in a database. You'd need high attention to detail and basic IT skills. Lots of office type work is now WFH and something like data entry wouldn't involve talking to clients etc.

Do you receive PIP? I thought if you did there was no expectation to look for work. If you don't, could you apply.

I honestly feel right now that I’m two different people . The person on paper with a high IQ and great gcse and a level results and the person in real life who isn’t functioning and you’d almost think of you met me that I perhaps had a learning difficulty. When I can get words out I literally say the wrong ones yet I excelled at English and my exams were near perfect I didn’t muddle up words then. It’s so , so frustrating.

I’ll go to the gp and explain in depth more of my difficulties I’ll take a list of everything. I’ll see if they can help explain to the work coach and go from there. I’m just frustrated at myself

I didn’t apply as was worried they’d then think of I can’t do certain things that they would question my parenting and I was scared

There must be some free courses to learn basic computing skills. A WFH job really suits many autistic people. You will be limited to manual jobs such as cleaning or something outdoors which given you have a levels seems a shame. Study for a degree you will get extra help being a disabled student laptops, printers bought for you and this may open up more work opportunities. Lots of degrees now online.

I really think you should get the work coach to refer you to the team that deal with health and disabilities.
You sound like you've really lost confidence in your abilities but you will have lots of work related skills you're using every day without realising it. Just because these then become "work" you feel you won't be able to do them.
They may be able to support you into looking at technology again because, if you can't use a computer, then you are really cutting down your options if you want to work in a more solitary role and not public facing.

Good luck

Definitely review tech jobs again and maybe do a course or develop skills so you can work in one of those industries. You could be working from home or even self employed as a developer or web designer etc. Do your best not to end up with a life on benefits as you have a brain so do have options

Consider bookkeeping? And even accountancy beyond that.

lot’s of autistic people in accountancy.

It sounds like you have had a long period of unemployment since getting your qualifications? I think you may need to look at some kind of access training course, computer skills are what you need to get an office based job, and from what you have said this would work best for you.

I just wish there was a way to access what I have . It’s like my brain goes completely scrambled I actually either can’t talk at all or say nonsense.

If I have pressure to work immediately I’ll have to just try to find something like office cleaning after hours

@Makingthebest get in touch with the charity Ambitious About Autism because they offer internships & have a job board specifically for people with autism. They can also advise you on your future job search and how to deal with your incompetent job coach.

Get in touch with your local mencap and disability charities because they will also have a similar programme to above.

You could also set the filter to remote only jobs on the charity jobs uk website. A remote position is more suited to your particular needs.

I would also make a complaint about your job coach as they are not taking your disability into consideration. They are discriminating you by offering jobs that aren't suitable therefore they're setting you up to fail.

I had a total breakdown after a levels. Did about 2 weeks at uni had to quit and go home it was a total disaster. I got so unwell I was admitted to hospital this was when I ended up being diagnosed with autism .

It sounds like you're panicking, sorry OP. I think in general if you don't want to work directly with people and have issues with perhaps unpredictable sensory triggers in an environment, then working with computers might be best.

You mentioned proof-reading - can you suggest to your coach that you do further training in this? It sounds like an enjoyable job, although you will want to improve your computer literacy for it.

yes I have panic attacks a lot

OP, I don’t mean this unkindly, and I am autistic myself, although less severely affected, but your posts are all heavily slanted towards what you can’t do, and endless reasons for that, rather than any positive thoughts about what you can do.

As my DD often says to me, “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions!”
Try looking at this the other way round. Imagine there was no benefit system, and you HAD to work, or your children would starve. What would you do?

Start considering the strengths we have as autistics - the ability to focus intently on a single task, our attention to detail, our logical reasoning, our ability to cut through bullshit, to work alone and unsupported.
Think about what things you enjoy doing - could any of them be a potential earner.

It is all too easy as an autistic to get into a negative rumination spiral - to keep rehearsing in your mind all the reasons why you can’t do something. Cognitive behaviour therapy could help you break out of that, and I urge you to consider it.

You are over thinking this. All the work coach cares about is that you are applying for jobs. Apply for cleaners jobs. And send in your cv to jobs you have no chance of getting E.g. childcare where you need a qualification. This gets the number of jobs you are applying for up to levels where your work coach is happy. And ask to be referred to a scheme that supports disabled unemployed people. Or google and find your local scheme and ring them. You can be more honest with these people and get help to figure out what to apply for.

There are charities who help people with autism to apply for jobs. They will help you to identify the kind of work you are able to do, prepare a CV and application letter and support with the interview process so that you are not overwhelmed or uncomfortable.

Ambitious About Autism is one and the National Autistic Society. The NAS will also be able to tell you about other schemes near where you live.

Even though you are obviously very intelligent and capable, it can be stressful and overwhelming to find a job if you're autistic.

There is help out there! Good luck.

As long as you are showing willing by applying for plenty of jobs you can do you will be fine.

Also be aware lots of work coaches know nothing about various disabilities and will just think you are making excuses. So send in your cv to loads of jobs you won't get for half an hour each day, no covering letter. And then spend the rest of the time figuring out what you actually need to do.

PIP is completely separate to UC so having PIP does not automatically mean you have no commitments.
It may be useful for you to have a look at claiming it though. They will not question your parenting.

How old are your children? Their age sets how many hours of job search is expected.

Have you told your work coach about your diagnosis and difficulties? They can only base the claimant commitment on the information you have given them. Do not be afraid to tell them how you are affected.
Ask to be referred to the disability employment advisor. They can provide more help and support.

@Onlinetherapist that is not true. You are expected to apply for a certain number of jobs. You are supposed to spend thirty hours a week applying.

It sounds like you’re going to have to find some area that you can be comfortable in - given that you’re also a bit averse to tech stuff (that is likely to be a huge barrier to any WFH job). There’s a great deal
of fear and overwhelm coming through in your posts.

Could you ask your work coach about boot camp type things to develop skills and confidence in an area that you can then find work in? There’s information here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-skills-bootcamp. There are loads of different camps for different roles within each sector.

If you can agree to one of them, and get a place on a course, that will satisfy your work coach and should lead to a job (which might actually suit you and make use of your talents) at the end.

I am long term unemployed through no fault of my own. Whilst I haven't been diagnosed with anything, I have extremely fragile mental health.

I do feel pressure from work coaches. I have 2 and I have to attend re-start meetings as well as the job centre.

I too feel like I couldn't do care work and I'm avoiding cleaning jobs if I have to.

I have never had pressure to apply for anything I didn't want to do. The pressure I get is to attend meetings, apply for everything I think I can do/ want to do and as many hours as possible.

It's hard but I live in fear I'm going to be pushed into doing things I don't want to do but the reality is it hasn't happened yet and it's probably best not to worry about it until it does.

In which case my answer has been to apply for as much as I can in as many different areas as I can and just lately when I've got an interview I have jumped through hoops to try and land it.

If you don't feel support and have reason to make a claim against the work coach then do. Mine refused to help me with references and my re-start coach hasn't sent me the course programme she promised so my feeling is they shouldn't put pressure if they're not delivering the service.