WIBU to tick the 'disability' box on an interview form?

[Bridgertonned]

I am applying for a job with a local council, and on their application there is a tick box if you 'consider yourself disabled', there is an explanation that they guarantee interviews to people who meet the essential criteria from certain groups such as those with a disability, care leavers, ex armed forces etc.

I don't think of myself as disabled, though I was diagnosed ASD a year ago and I have realised that ASD is a major factor in why I feel my current job isn't sustainable.

I feel uncomfortable ticking the box to get an advantage for getting an interview - I don't feel disadvantaged as say, being ex armed forces. However I'm wondering if I didn't select this, whether it would cause an issue if I asked for any reasonable adjustments as part of the role if I was offered it (simple things such as being allowed to wear headphones in the office if it's noisy)

WIBU to tick the box for disability? I'm still getting my head around ASD, and as you might guess I tend to question about etiquette in different situations!

Generally speaking, in my industry, we measure disability using the Equality Act Definition, which means having a physical or mental impairment (don’t really like those terms but anyway) that has lasted for at least 12 months and has a substantial impact on your everyday life.

I don’t personally consider myself disabled and I wouldn’t really describe myself that way if anyone asked. But I do have a long term health condition that does sometimes substantially impact my life (depending on a flare). My OH team has said technically it’s a disability. I do tick those boxes now as I think it’s good that it’s noted. I would assume that ASD is technically a disability too. I would probably identify it as such if I didn’t think it would have a negative impact (the interview team should not be made aware so it shouldn’t).

Yes I tick it. You don’t need a blue badge or anything and you do have a medical condition that affects your life

Yes it is a disability.
You have every right to tick it.

I can understand why you would feel uncomfortable ticking the box to guarantee an interview. It would feel to me like they are only seeing you to show they are doing some good, rather than they think you are capable of the job.

Public sector here. In my organisation you’d be “eligible” to tick the box, but no one would hold it against you if you didn’t and later needed to request a reasonable adaptation.

It depends if you consider yourself disabled. My dd has autism and she refuses point blankly to tick disability because she says she isn't disabled, she's just different

Thanks all. Without wanting to sound big headed, I'm confident id get an interview anyway - there's a shortage of experienced people in my industry. I think it's just with the option re disability only being mentioned in a section about the guaranteed interview scheme along with those other groups made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I don't think of ASD as having the impact on my life as a disability, but at the same time I think I have grown up adapting (and sometimes limiting myself) because of it, albeit I didn't know the reason before.

My current manager says that they're sympathetic about ASD while at the same time seems to think that because I know about it I should be able to change it. I want to be open about having ASD so that I can try and set better boundaries with any new employer.

I have ASD and other mental illnesses. I’ve never ticked the disability box, I don’t want to be seen as different and like knowing I’m getting interviewed because of me and not because of a tick box.

I have a life-long serious (but hidden) disability but never disclose it.

I did as an experiment twice and wasn't offered the job. I was offered every other job when I didn't disclose.

It might help to think about the social model of disability, rather than a medical one.
The medical model of disability basically says that you are disabled by a condition or impairment - i.e. there's something wrong with you.
The social model says that you have a difference or impairment, but you are only disabled by the barriers that society creates for you.
An easy to understand example is a wheelchair user, who can get around fine on a flat surface. They have an impairment, but they are only disabled when society creates stairs and narrow doorways. Or imagine that you went to a party in a pub, and every person at the party and all the staff behind the bar were Deaf, and everyone but you communicated in British Sign Language. The only disabled person in the room would be you (assuming you are hearing and not fluent in BSL!).
So as an autistic person, you have some differences in the way that you experience the world (e.g. intense world theory, sensory processing, sensory overwhelm), and probably some differences in communication (e.g. you might prefer not to make eye contact, you might communicate clearly and literally instead of through hints and subtle body language). If the world was set up for autistic people, there wouldn't be bright buzzy fluorescent lights, people wearing stinky perfume etc. Your interviewer wouldn't expect a firm handshake with eye contact, and they wouldn't be thrown by your honesty.
But the world isn't set up for autistic people, and therefore you are at a disadvantage - disabled. If you have a disadvantage caused by things outside of your control, then (if you want to) you should tick the box and make things fairer.

I have both physical (albeit hidden) and mental health issues which meet the criteria but I don't consider myself disabled so I never tick the box. Never any issue with reasonable adjustments when I've been in a job though.

@Creepy2023 I'd have the same view for a private employer. Councils usually are a lot better at employing people with disabilities, as well as those with caring responsibilities.

You are protected by law, whether you tick the box on the form or not.

Choosing not to tick it doesn't change the fact you are protected by law. You can still request a reasonable adjustment in future.

Same here. Everytime I ticked it, I failed to meet the requirements for interview. Everytime I didn't, I seemed to be exactly the sort of person they wanted to see.

Strange, that.

DH ticked the box once, genuinely being entitled to do so.

He was invited for interview and travelled long distance to attend (overnight stay required).

The interview lasted 15 mins. They clearly only interviewed him because they had to - they couldn’t have been less interested from the outset. This was NHS, not some ‘hack’ employer.

He didn’t bother ticking it for future applications (and has never had trouble securing a role).

@Bubbleswithsqueak that is a great way of looking at disabilities, and it has certainly got me thinking.

@Bridgertonned good luck with your interview! My boyfriend has ASD and works for a council. They have been very accommodating with him.

@mynameiscalypso out of interest, at what point did you share that you had needs that required reasonable adjustments? My worry is waiting and then a manager not taking it seriously.

My current manager sees me as capable which is a good thing, but at the same time seems to think I'm just being awkward/annoying about certain things instead of recognising that its an issue re ASD (no one likes hotdesking' 'no one likes the noise in an open plan office' 'it's your job to manage last minute diary changes [because I'm disorganised and want you to cancel what you were doing for something non-urgent of mine] '

It's also not literally a guaranteed interview (ie not everyone who ticks the box gets an interview). It basically means that if too many people meet the minimum criteria for interview and so they up the pass mark, anyone who ticks the GIS box gets an interview if they met the original pass mark, even if they don't meet the increased one.

When I recruit, that is the only time in the process I would look to see who has ticked the GIS box (ie where I have upped the pass mark, to see if I need to include any additional candidates in the interview offer).

If the pass mark doesn't get upped, or if you get to interview, it no longer has any impact on whether you are successful.

If you qualify, I would tick the box.

@Bridgertonned It depended on the job. One I needed them after over 10 years on role, another after about 6 months. But for the vast majority of the time, I've worked for people who are flexible enough that I haven't needed any because I just work in a way that suits me. I'm senior enough and valued for my skills/expertise so that the things I might find harder to do, like coming into the office 5 days a week, aren't really considered relevant to my performance.

I also had a very panicked phone call from a recruiter once (after I honestly filled in the medical form) asking "Are you sure you're well enough to be working?"

• I've taken a max of 7 sick days a year over the past 6 years. People jump to conclusions so it's easier not to disclose.

@Creepy2023 that's awful treatment, sorry you had to put up with that.

@mynameiscalypso thanks that's helpful. My industry is tricky, on the one hand I have additional qualifications and experience that I know make me desirable to employers. There's a real shortage of candidates applying for jobs and many are graduates fresh out of uni. On the other hand, the recruitment shortage and sometimes the lack of good experienced managers means that some managers take their anxieties/pressures out on staff eg around things like days in the office, flexibility of working patterns.

Thanks @JagerPlease and sorry if I wasnt clear, I'm aware it's not automatically a guaranteed interview. The essential criteria is easily met as I have the required professional qualifications and substantial experience in similar roles.

@XenoBitch thank you! Glad your husband has found something that suits him. I have known a number of people with various disabilities who have done well with council roles. My particular profession requires a lot of social skills/networking and empathy and I think within it, there are still plenty of people who think that it's not possible for someone to have ASD and do the job, or that if you can do it, you must be 'only a little bit autistic')
(My current manager did actually say 'everyone's a bit autistic' when I told her my diagnosis)

I've always gone by 'fake it til you make it', I just didn't realise that I was probably 'faking it' more than most!

Honestly, disclose only when you’ve either been offered or got a significant way through the process. There’s a raft of people who, on paper, could meet requirements. You could get to interview but it would be on the basis of ‘if I employed this person I’d need to do x/y/z’ which is not starting the interview off on an equal footing. Once you’ve started the process and they’re thinking ‘I can see how this person could fit’ then adding the criteria of reasonable adjustments is seeing how you could make it work with someone you’d want on the team. You are working against unconscious (sometimes conscious) bias and while, as a society, we need to get past this, we’re not there yet.

it’s actually really easy to accommodate some aspects of asd and quite difficult to accommodate others, depending on both the nature of the asd and the requirements of the role. My preference as a hiring manager would be to conduct interviews without the information, but to discuss specifics once we’d got to the final interview stage. Our company does not disclose the information to hiring manager until post offer which is the best anti discrimatory position but does leave you exposed to managers who pay lip service but don’t actually want to deal with it.

from my experience, most asd conditions are fairly easy to accommodate and oddly linked to some of the specific features which are highly beneficial but I have a lot of personal relationships with ND people so it’s not a red flag. Sadly not everyone is the same. Fwiw, I don’t have any ND but do have some trauma related idiosyncrasies such as ‘don’t expect me to hotdesk anywhere people can continually walk behind me as my flight/fight response is constantly triggered’ which is flipping difficult concept to get across to someone who doesn’t appreciate it!

The social model of disability only helps/explains to a certain point.

You can turn off the flickering lights, much more difficult to turn off the inside of your mind, whether you want to or not. And if you manage it it's usually because of meds or therapy.

I think the social model of disability is overstated a lot. All the accommodations in the world - some will still be disabled.

@HidingFromDD thanks that's very helpful.
I lot of my idiosyncrasies I previously put down to earlier trauma (and some still could be, there's probably a mix but it was probably why I didn't look for any other reason to explain it) I can certainly relate to your hotdesking requirements!

Reasonable adjustments for me Id like to think are fairly simple - some autonomy over my diary, using earbuds if the office is busy, WFH the morning after any particularly large group gatherings (eg conferences). Not expecting me to switch projects unexpectedly without explanation. Clarity around deadlines, preferably discussed in person rather than email.

When I discussed with DH why I struggled with my current manager he said that my reasonable adjustment seemed to be just 'not having a manager who is a dickhead'. Which made me feel a little better!

I'm a manager level myself, and my manager has even delegated to me to do all the risk assessments/support plans for people in our department who have additional needs, including being ND, she just hasn't considered that I might need the same. I gave up discussing it as she frames it as how I need to make sure I get support to make sure that I can properly support her (ie get support so I can be less autistic I guess)

I'm fortunate that a benefit of my ASD is that my profession is essentially one of my 'special interests' so I have a lot of specialist knowledge and a level of detail that is unusual compared to peers, that usually helps me at interview stage. I appreciate your point that people will have their own views though, and the risk of bias.