Allied Healthcare Professions for person with ASD

[cactusisblooming]

DD16 has high functioning ASD and ADHD. She is only doing 5 GCSE's due to anxiety (was doing 10) and wants to do nursing. She isn't doing a science GCSE for starters which will be a barrier and I think realistically will only do 1, maximum 2 A levels, again due to anxiety. She tends to get so anxious about exams that it prevents her from actually doing any work.

My question is, is there any specialist provision/considerations given to students with ASD in AHPs? Ideally DD would study part time, don't know if this is even possible in nursing? A greater question would probably be is she suited to nursing due to the anxiety, but I want her to feel that we've exhausted all avenues before considering something else.

Any advice welcomed.

Has she considered doing a diploma in Health and Social Care. This may be able to get her on to a nursing course if she passes with distinctions (look at uni requirements) I think work experience is part of the course which would give her an opportunity to see if she feels suited to a healthcare environment.

Thank you so much for that @Hello1290. It is early days yet, she is only in year 11 but it is something that I feel I need to think about now. She may not even get enough points to get back into school for A levels (she is in a grammar school) with only 5 GCSEs, I need to speak to the SENCO. Will look into the diploma, the work experience element would be great as that will give her a taste of whether she feels it will be within her ability or not.

Nothing is ever a barrier. If she really wants it she will find a way to get there.

I'm studying nursing, I completed an access course and have no GCSES.

A friend’s daughter got 5 GCSEs and went on to do the Health and Social Care diploma. There are only a couple of exams and I believe you can retake them. The rest is coursework. She got the top grade and a place on a midwifery degree.

If she doesn’t like exams I would definitely advise a BTEC or equivalent diploma.

Thanks again for the replies, the diploma sounds really promising. My main concern isn't her being able to get on the course though, it's more do AGO a make reasonable adjustments for students/workers with conditions like ASD? Things like mandatory part time hours, 'stress breaks' etc? I'm not sure in careers like AHPs if those adjustments are considered reasonable, as they are generally accepted as high stress occupations anyway. It's great that the diploma has a practical element, I suppose that would be the best gauge as to whether or not she was suited to the role.

do AHPs, not AGOs.

Nursing courses are notoriously intense. You do equal parts theory and placement and when you're in placement it's full time hours in a variety of settings whilst also having uni work to do around it. My first degree at a very good Russel group uni was a doddle in comparison to my nursing degree. I'm sure there are options to do the theory part time but placement is full time 37.5 hours a week (at least I've never come across a student on part time hours). I say this not to put you off but to be realistic.

ASD would be protected under the equality act i believe so reasonable adjustments are required by law so I guess the stress breaks or whatever could potentially be accommodated.

The OU has a direct entry nursing degree route, in association with Middlesex University or UWE for Adult Nursing.
www.open.ac.uk/courses/nursing-healthcare/degrees/bsc-nursing-adult-r39-ad#entry-requirements

Ngl, though, as DD would say - as a retired nurse, I can safely say that rewarding as the practice of nursing is, there is no way that you can guarantee a totally low-stress career in it. I am not sure that it is necessarily the wisest choice, for their own sake, for someone who suffers significantly with anxiety?

I absolutely agree that nursing is very high stress and I personally would have very significant reservations about her considering it as a career. I don't however want to put her off immediately and make her feel that because of her ASD that she shouldn't consider it before I do the research as to what might be possible 're adjustments.

You might find that she can compartmentalise the stresses in her chosen career, I am autistic and find that 'work' stress (and uni stress when I was there) is very different to the every day stresses of life. It entirely depends on your daughter- the worst thing that happens is she starts the course, discovers its not for her and leaves. Could she do another year of GCSE's in school if there's room in both the year 10 and 11 classes for her, or college, if she wants to do them, eg science, and start 6th form a year later? There was a boy who did that in my school.

Does this help?
https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/standards-of-proficiency/nurses/future-nurse-proficiencies.pdf

Whilst training she would need to demonstrate competencies. While reasonable adjustments can be made to the manner in which she is tested, she CANNOT have adjustments made to the competencies themselves. If she has to demonstrate to insert a cannula and calculate a drug titration within a two minutes (completely random example!), that's what she has to do. She cannot say her ASD means she only has to do one of those tasks at a time.

What is it that attracts her to being a HCP?

HI
I'm an NHS Therapy manager and a Speech and Language Therapist by background. Most of the allied health professions are degree entry but there are emerging apprenticeship routes, and we also have co-workers , assistant practitioners etc that support us - many of these have done the level 3 diploma route. Health care support workers can also follow an apprenticeship route. www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/ has lots of info .
. reasonable adjustments are decided on an individual basis against what the role involves, what the request is what the service can support etc and we are guided throughout by HR and employee health etc .

Most helpful, thank you. I would have serious reservations about her being able to safely meet those competencies. The situation isn't helped by her having a "the sky's your limit" careers teacher . I think I will guide her towards a health care qualification first and see how it goes.

Have a look to see if T Levels are going to be offered in Heath in any of the colleges near you. These are new qualifications with a significant work experience component, so might be a good way for her to see if she can manage in that environment.

They’re brand new quals with all the associated issues but worth thinking about

Hi OP, I have ASD and adhd and I qualified as a nurse when I was alot younger. I finished the course and qualified but never went into nursing. My anxiety was extreme and I just couldn't cope. This maybe very different for your daughter but the training us definitely hard work and I doubt she will avoid the extreme pressure and stress of the job. I think the advice to do a health and social care qualication is a good one. I still now in health and social in a rewarding job but it is nowhere near as stressful as nursing.

I'm on a different AHP course - this year of course covid has sent the world crazy and my mental health has suffered massively - coupled with having children of my own to deal with.

Faculty were fully prepared to adapt the course structure into part time or grant me a year break if I needed and I can't fault the support the department have given me - but placements are placements and the level of understanding there is likely to vary more.

I have recently worked with a newly qualified nurse with ASD and dyslexia. She did have some adaptations made due to her dyslexia. But as she kept the ASD very quiet I'm
Not sure if any allowance was made.

However, if your daughter's anxiety is so severe that she can't cope with GCSE etc. Then she needs to get it under control before considering nursing. It's a brilliant job especially paediatrics, but there is a lot of responsibility and it is stressful.

I've mentored students with anxiety and it's actually really difficult to try and support them as well as mange your workload. I had a student who had to keep going and having a bit of time out, which you can do when you are a student. But not when you are qualified.

That's not to say that she couldn't do it. But she needs to be in a very sting place to do it.