Can AS diagnosis effect chance of employment

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Should I get diagnosed?
Yea 71%  71%  [ 5 ]
Nope 29%  29%  [ 2 ]
Total votes : 7

Bach89
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05 Dec 2011, 12:52 am

I am not diagnosed but I have a hunch (based on lots of research) that I have AS. I am pursuing a career that is atypical for introverts like my self, music therapy. There are a few music therapists that are very science oriented, logical thinking types, but the majority are extroverted, and spontaneous. I would like to know if there is a chance that being diagnosed by a professional (for AS) would necessarily be made known to any future employers. I am not sure how this will pan out. I am 22 and through the years, I have over come and found ways to deal with many of the symptoms that I am now recognizing to be typical of AS. With this sort of "stamp" I expect that people may expect differently of me. This is not what I want. I just want to know for myself if I have AS.



one-A-N
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05 Dec 2011, 2:40 am

If you are in the US a formal diagnosis might affect your health insurance. You should check this out if you are American.

Apart from the health insurance issue, I don't think you have to declare it to your employer, though, unless you want to. But if you don't declare it, you cannot expect any accommodations for your AS.

If you have done the AQ Test and similar scientific tests, read the diagnostic criteria and some reputable books about AS, and you are not looking for professional help (eg therapy by a clinical psychologist) then you don't need a formal diagnosis. As I don't live in the US and I was looking for therapy in relation to my unusual sound sensitivity and anxiety, I got a formal diagnosis. I have also disclosed it informally to my boss and to a couple of work colleagues that I have known for many years, although not formally to the organisation that employs me.



Ai_Ling
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11 Dec 2011, 1:58 pm

There are laws out there where you dont have to tell your employer anything. So you can have the diagnosis and you dont have to let them know. You dont really have to tell anyone about your diagnosis. If you want to get diagnosed and you feel it'll help you, then go for it. I dont see the harm. There is a billion privacy acts out there.



zer0netgain
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11 Dec 2011, 3:08 pm

In the USA, a diagnosis for AS is most useful in getting a job where positions are set aside for people with documented disabilities (some state and federal government hiring programs) and protecting your existing job from those who have issues with you because of how AS affects your ability to relate to them.

Otherwise, openly telling an employer about a disability before being hired would likely work against your getting the job in the first place.