This is a pre-accident post that was originally posted on my AUDHD Facebook page on 26th February 2023:
How many of you feel that being Autistic or ADHD has directly affected you financially?
This is my own situation:
I worked for many years in administration of various kinds. I have a particular love of data and organising. I love Excel (Google Sheets these days), I’m obsessed with automation and Trello Boards and could spend hours staring at a spreadsheet. I’ve been a PA, a data analyst, a sales administrator, a Project Co-ordination, even a Junior Project Manager at one point (I passed my Prince 2 before I decided it was too much pressure).
Most of the time I would excel at those jobs for the first 3 months or so. People would be amazed at how efficient I was. How much I got done. I even got accused of being too efficient, too good. But that would not last. There would be issues. I would start to slack off. I couldn’t control my timekeeping and would often be late. I would sit in my car outside the office leaving it until the last minute to go in because it felt painful to be in the office. I would have difficulties with other people in the office (which lead to me being sacked on a couple of occasions – especially if they were there first). I would have periods of “depression” and end up crying in the toilets or getting signed off for depression (any more than 2 weeks would usually end up with a conversation about how its ”not working out”).
My last job I was earning around £35k as a data analyst (around 6 years ago). I was let go after taking 2 weeks off due to mental health reasons (there was a very good personal reason that contributed to this). On my first day back at work after my time off, I was taken into the office and told that my work hadn’t been up to scratch and it wasn’t ”working out”. (They had never mentioned these issues before or given me a chance to fix whatever they were) and I was asked to take my things and leave then and there (they paid me for a month or two so there was at least that).
I decided then and there that I was done with offices and trying to fit myself into this hole when I was clearly the wrong shape!
I did some care work for a while and considered being a writer as I’ve always loved writing. I even did a course on journalism, which I completed but I decided I would struggle with the pressure of having to sell articles to editors so I gave up on that idea.
I then became a virtual assistant by accident. I did that for a couple of years but I struggled to find new clients (not because I wasn’t good at my job but because I struggled with marketing myself – selling my skills etc. I found networking meetings overwhelming. I had one summer where 3 big clients left me (not for reasons to do with me) and I got into severe financial difficulties. After which I decided to give it up.
I then started a small cosmetic product business. I make all the products myself in a converted shed in my garden. I sell them online and on Etsy. I’ve been doing that for 3 years. But I’m barely making a profit. I love what I do and it gives me purpose and a creative outlet.
So that’s what I do now. I survive off Universal Credit and DLA for my oldest child (plus carer’s allowance – although UC deduct that so I’m not sure what the point of it is) plus whatever I can take from my business to give me a bit extra. Which is not very much at the moment as people aren’t buying and I’m too exhausted and burnt out to promote it properly.
The more I think about it, the more I’m realising that being ADHD/Autistic has basically made me disadvantaged quite considerably.
Not that I necessarily want that, but if my brain didn’t do what it does, I would probably be a high flying Project Manager or Data Analyst or something like that by now.
Anyone else have a similar experience?