Welcome to DANDA Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association,
for people with conditions such as Dyspraxia, ADHD, and Asperger's Syndrome.
A new organisation founded to better the lives of neuro-diverse people.
Patrons:
The Lord Laird of Artigarvan and Paul Shattock OBE
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Conclusion of a Dissertation on ‘Graduates with ND in the workplace’ by Janet Taylor
The purpose of this dissertation was to establish whether graduates with ND experience higher levels of unemployment or occupy lower paid jobs relative to their level of ability compared to NT graduates. This survey suggests that they do.
While some ND graduates had ordinary reasons such as
pregnancy or short term contracts for leaving their first job, there is conclusive qualitative evidence to suggest that graduates with ND are not as successful as NT graduates. Issues which would not affect NT graduates but are unique to ND graduates include being sacked from their jobs, or bullied due to lack of organisation. Awareness training of ND in the university careers service, job centres, for employers and the adaptation of ND-friendly job descriptions and ‘easy excellence ability’ was not covered by the DDA 1995 Part 2. 38 % of the participants had employment levels well below their ability and qualifications with their first job after leaving university. Lack of diagnosis until late adulthood was a key issue in affecting the ND graduate’s career prospects, as was lack of support in attaining independent living skills.
Although some ND graduates in the survey were not in their first job after leaving university, 38% of the sample were on an income less than £6000 or else unemployed. 70% of the sample were earning less than £15,000, well below expected graduate starting salary, even when regional variations and salary variations according to occupation are taken into consideration. Disablism was the main discriminatory issue which could have affected the participants’ career prospects.
Therefore graduates with ND experience higher levels of unemployment or occupy lower paid jobs relative to their level of ability and qualifications than NT graduates.
Recommendations
1.That awareness of ND should be raised in schools, from primary age, in a holistic way.
2. That awareness should be raised of ND for employers, in higher education and with disability advisors and access to work services at the job centre plus.
3.The materials in chapter 1 and the recommendations on chapter 5 in removing disabling barriers could be used as a resource and indeed are already used by the researcher in her ‘Dyspraxia Inclusive Training’ business.
4. A holistic diagnosis of neurodiversity within the NHS rather than identifying separate ND conditions so that graduates with ND can be aware of suitable career paths to follow, rather than being set up for failure by the entire system and becoming long term unemployed or existing on a low income.
5.That Aileen Quinton’s (2004) REAMAP model becomes part of the DDA’s (1995, part 2) Legislation, so that people with ND can concentrate on their ‘Easy Excellence; skills rather than ‘Pointless Purgatory’.
6.That more projects specifically cater for graduates with ND such as Prospects and Designing Futures to help particularly with life skills and confidence building (To help them retain future jobs.)
7. Work placements which reflect their ability and skills, with less emphasis on academic skills as they already have proved that they have this ability, (although a dissertation in an area of research to compliment their future career/business prospects could be helpful) with the option of setting up their own business( as two of the ND graduates who considered themselves a success were self-employed.)
This research could be used as a pilot study so that the researcher could carry out a more in-depth study for a PhD in the future. In retrospect she should have asked some other questions and worded some questions differently and carried out individual in-depth interviews if funds had been available.
The purpose of this dissertation was to establish whether graduates with ND experience higher levels of unemployment or occupy lower paid jobs relative to their level of ability compared to NT graduates. This survey suggests that they do.
While some ND graduates had ordinary reasons such as
pregnancy or short term contracts for leaving their first job, there is conclusive qualitative evidence to suggest that graduates with ND are not as successful as NT graduates. Issues which would not affect NT graduates but are unique to ND graduates include being sacked from their jobs, or bullied due to lack of organisation. Awareness training of ND in the university careers service, job centres, for employers and the adaptation of ND-friendly job descriptions and ‘easy excellence ability’ was not covered by the DDA 1995 Part 2. 38 % of the participants had employment levels well below their ability and qualifications with their first job after leaving university. Lack of diagnosis until late adulthood was a key issue in affecting the ND graduate’s career prospects, as was lack of support in attaining independent living skills.
Although some ND graduates in the survey were not in their first job after leaving university, 38% of the sample were on an income less than £6000 or else unemployed. 70% of the sample were earning less than £15,000, well below expected graduate starting salary, even when regional variations and salary variations according to occupation are taken into consideration. Disablism was the main discriminatory issue which could have affected the participants’ career prospects.
Therefore graduates with ND experience higher levels of unemployment or occupy lower paid jobs relative to their level of ability and qualifications than NT graduates.
Recommendations
1.That awareness of ND should be raised in schools, from primary age, in a holistic way.
2. That awareness should be raised of ND for employers, in higher education and with disability advisors and access to work services at the job centre plus.
3.The materials in chapter 1 and the recommendations on chapter 5 in removing disabling barriers could be used as a resource and indeed are already used by the researcher in her ‘Dyspraxia Inclusive Training’ business.
4. A holistic diagnosis of neurodiversity within the NHS rather than identifying separate ND conditions so that graduates with ND can be aware of suitable career paths to follow, rather than being set up for failure by the entire system and becoming long term unemployed or existing on a low income.
5.That Aileen Quinton’s (2004) REAMAP model becomes part of the DDA’s (1995, part 2) Legislation, so that people with ND can concentrate on their ‘Easy Excellence; skills rather than ‘Pointless Purgatory’.
6.That more projects specifically cater for graduates with ND such as Prospects and Designing Futures to help particularly with life skills and confidence building (To help them retain future jobs.)
7. Work placements which reflect their ability and skills, with less emphasis on academic skills as they already have proved that they have this ability, (although a dissertation in an area of research to compliment their future career/business prospects could be helpful) with the option of setting up their own business( as two of the ND graduates who considered themselves a success were self-employed.)
This research could be used as a pilot study so that the researcher could carry out a more in-depth study for a PhD in the future. In retrospect she should have asked some other questions and worded some questions differently and carried out individual in-depth interviews if funds had been available.
