Scottish trade union support better employment opportunities for people with autism

Earlier this year, NAS campaigner David Nicholson had a very positive meeting with Terry Anderson from the Scottish Trade Union Congress. Here's what he had to say about it:

 

 

This summer, I was accompanied by Robert MacBean, the NAS Policy and Parliamentary Officer in Scotland, to a meeting with Terry Anderson from the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) in Edinburgh.

The meeting came about after I did a dissertation on the issue of autism and employment. The research  looked at possible ways of how we could get more people with autism into employment and retain that employment. One of these ways was getting the trade union movement involved in helping get people with autism into the workplace. Therefore it was decided that meeting someone from the STUC would be the best way to seeing what, if anything, the trade union movement could do to help and if there were anything that they were doing presently which was helping people with autism get into work.

Terry was keen to listen to the points that Robert and myself put across on the issue under discussion. I emphasised the fact that only 15% of people with Autism were in any kind of employment, either full-time or part-time. I was also keen to stress to Terry that people with Autism often faced bullying within the workplace from fellow colleagues as well as the employers themselves. I stressed that this was down to a lack of awareness of the condition and that perhaps there could be a role for the trade unions in helping ensure that employers and employees were made aware of autism.

Terry understood my concern and highlighted that employees within the workplace could get support or assistance from the union if they were getting bullied by fellow workers or their bosses. If they weren’t in a union, then what happened was that they could phone up for assistance but this only lasted for a period of a year or so before that helped ceased. If the employee wanted to receive further help after that period then they had to join the relevant union for example Unite, GMB or Unison amongst others.

Terry also said that he was aware of the union helping a few people with autism out when it came to employment tribunal hearings but I was glad to hear that these were rare occurances and that often things were settled before they reached the tribunal stage

Terry made one point which really excited me that perhaps in order to ensure that the workplace becomes a more autism friendly place that employees with autism (who were in a union) could become union reps (shop stewards) so that they could then help fellow employees with autism but to also help make employees and employers understand autism more. I think this is an idea which has got potential and I would certainly give serious consideration to becoming a union rep if I were to find work.

 
Robert also informed Terry of the on-going campaign being run by the NAS entitled The Undiscovered Workforce and I hope that the STUC can play a role within that campaign. Before the meeting ended Terry stated that there was an STUC Disabled Workers Committee which also held an annual conference and he recommended that this was perhaps another channel that both Robert and myself could explore further.

Overall, it was a very positive meeting and I look forward, along with Robert, to having further dialogue with the STUC in the near future.

Dads in Scotland raise awareness

With Father Day (17 June) just around the corner, Ambassador dads in Scotland have been raising awareness of autism.   

Glyn Morris from Moray told us his experiences of caring for his 13 year old son Gregor who has autism

“Being a father of a child with autism can be challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. If another dad happens to drop into conversation that his child is on the spectrum, you suddenly feel an overwhelming connection. It’s like finding a long lost brother. Our children see the world very differently and every day we do our very best to support them and see the world through their eyes.

I would like all Moray fathers of children with autism to know that you are not alone. Many dads are experiencing similar challenges every day. Getting the right support at the right time can be a real struggle, but it is out there. 

At first, Gregor seemed to develop as expected. He was hitting all his milestones. He could say ‘Da’ – which is a fantastic moment for any father. Then suddenly, around 3, he started to regress. He lost his ability for speech and hasn’t said ‘Da’ since. 

At one stage he was getting up over 20 times in the night. Many people with autism rely on predictable routines to help make sense of the world, and Gregor would find changes in his routine distressing and disorientating. There would be 'meltdowns' in the car if we continued driving and didn’t turn off into a relation’s home as expected. Gregor also experiences huge sensory challenges and couldn't stand to walk on sand or even grass in bare feet. A simple thing like a visit to the hairdresser’s was torture. Loud noises were unbearably painful and disorientating.

These days, Gregor is a much happier, more laidback teenager. I couldn’t be prouder of the way Gregor works every day to overcome the challenges of his condition.  Some people with autism find socialising very challenging and disorientating, so we are very lucky that Gregor absolutely loves meeting new people and spending time with friends and family. His smiles and laughter are just infectious, and he has such a positive effect on everyone he meets.  He loves swimming, horse riding, car trips and anything with wheels attached. He has an extraordinary photographic memory and a fascination with numbers and jigsaws.

The right support at the right time at school, and calm perseverance at home, has made a huge, positive impact on Gregor’s quality of life.  So much credit has to go to my wife, Jennifer, who is not just a fantastic mum, but also the most patient and thoughtful person I know.

Gregor has very little speech, and mainly communicates by making vowel sounds. He has limited muscle control and movement and still needs constant care, but he has shown amazing progress.  He rarely wakes up in the night these days, and copes very well with changes and unpredictability when they are explained to him in advance.

Being a father of a child with autism does turn your world upside down but, I honestly, hand on my heart; feel incredibly privileged to be Gregor’s dad as he is such an amazing individual.” 

Ambassadors Kevin Foley, James Parker and Norman Gray also told their stories to the local papers.  

Campaigning on the PIP in Dundee

When my son, Andrew and I heard about the Autism Action Network, we immediately wanted to be part of it and get stuck in!  Crucially, we want to raise awareness of the coalition government’s plans to replace Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payment or PIP in April 2013, and the serious, negative impact this could have on the estimated 34,000 Scots aged between 16 and 64 who have some form of autism.

              

Working with NAS, we arranged a meeting with our local Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), Joe Fitzpatrick. We were joined by a journalist and a photographer from our local paper. We’ve always been very active in our local community in Dundee, but approaching our MSP in our new roles as NAS Ambassadors helped give us that bit of extra clout.

We explained that Andrew has Asperger syndrome, and if he does not qualify for PIP he will be unable to continue the part-time work he loves at our local Hotel. Many people with autism are facing a similar situation to Andrew’s: compelled to seek full time employment to continue living independently, even though the nature of their condition means that working full time will have an adverse effect on their wellbeing.

Between the ages of 4 and 19, it was mistakenly thought that Andrew had mental health issues. At 19 he was finally diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a developmental disability.  With the support of his family and the NAS Scotland, Andrew has met and overcome many of the challenges of his condition and gone on to remarkable achievements. A keen swimmer, Andrew won Gold at the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics for the 25m butterfly event and now coaches Dundee Discovery swimming club, a local club for the disabled. He volunteers for a local hospice and is Assistant Cub Leader with the local pack. Andrew works in the hospitality industry and recently became engaged to his girlfriend of 6 years.  Like many people with autism like him, Andrew is worried that the new PIP system may prevent them from continuing their valuable contributions to their local community and living a happy, fulfilled life.

Joe Fitzpatrick MSP was open, positive and  sympathetic. He told us that his door is always open when we want to discuss our concerns on welfare reform. He is now supporting NAS in becoming part of the Scottish government’s Welfare Reform Committee. This is just Andrew’s and my first week as NAS Scotland Ambassadors. It looks like we’re off to a good start.

Norman