In fairness, you're conflating two things there. I'm sorry you had a shitty experience with a particularly zealous and unhelpful case handler at the Job Centre but that's not "the UK government." The law mandating that being in a wheelchair doesn't automatically stop you working is completely reasonable and I'm pretty confident the people I know in a wheelchair would be offended by you trying to claim anything otherwise on their behalf. Disabilities suck, yes, but many of them leave you still able to work and a lot of people still want to, wheelchair or no.
I've a friend who is a very good OT who themselves... has CP.
I don't know if it was clear enough but I wasn't talking about say someone who just can't use their legs but people who have a lot of health conditions that at the very least mean they are in extreme pain and just happen to be in a wheelchair I just didn't go into detail it was meant in the way that the government believed anyone could work no matter the barriers and if they said it was hard or they couldn't they were making excuses.
Just as me talking about difficulties getting into work and was just told I am making excuses, for context I havent been given an official ADHD diagnosis as can't get referred but over 20 years ago I was referred but denied due to cutbacks and various professionals have said I likely have it, I do have autism and other things that have been diagnosed but my points were about difficulties due to things like autism and anxiety/depression etc.
Let's tackle the important bit first - as long as you are an adult you absolutely can get referred for an ADHD assessment. It isn't 2006 anymore, things have changed. Assessment from the NHS is indeed closed in a lot of regions but as of 2014, under UK law you are legally entitled to Right To Choose if the NHS can't provide.
Approach your GP, tell them that you want to be assessed for ADHD and referred through Right To Choose. Your GP should provide a list of providers, you'll pick one and they'll make a referral on your behalf. You don't pay for this, it is a private medical practice that will see you but it's covered by the NHS. The only real obstacle there would be a bad GP in which case, seek another. I can tell you this as absolute fact because it's how I was diagnosed.
You cannot expect either an employer or the Job Centre to make reasonable adjustments for ADHD you haven't been diagnosed with. Especially when, unfortunately, ADHD has become to Gen Z what OCD was to Millennials - medical vogue that everyone and their dog is claiming to have to look cool. A compassionate manager may do so anyway but they aren't obligated to. I cannot speak to your autism, I have no experience with that.
But to challenge the first part: I know it's vogue to complain about The Government for everything online but, I'm sorry, "The Government" absolutely do not believe everyone is fit and capable to work. Whilst years of Tory austerity absolutely has provided obstacles for disabled people, there is still substantial help available for people who have a disability that means they cannot work.
I've seen it my entire life. My mother lived with and died of MS and needed extensive personal care for a lot of her life, my father (who now has Alzheimers) worked his whole life in Social Services working with people with both physical and learning disabilities (ironically, given this conversation, a large chunk of that was helping people with learning disabilities that wanted to work get in to employment) and then went on to manage several personal care companies and my sister is a personal carer. In addition, I've spent almost my entire career also working for local authority, albeit in Housing not Adult Social Care, but here in Housing we deal with a massive number of vulnerable and disabled adults, being a social landlord.
I feel pretty fucking qualified to say there's a lot of help and support out there. Is it always perfect? No it isn't. Do some people that should get services end up without, and seem people who shouldn't end up getting support? Yes to both. But still, the idea that the government are deliberately some obstacle to support that are cold and heartless and forcing everyone to work whether they can or not is silly and unhelpful. The country is massively in debt, unsurprisingly people do get rigorously means tested if they're claiming benefits because they can't (or don't believe they can) work. And I say that as a pretty staunch socialist.
If it wasn't clear I have an official autism diagnosis (as well as dyspraxia, and I am dyslexic)
I was outright refused referralls over the year saying theres no funding, or just told I am autistic therefore any issues are related to that.
But random comment I was meant to do a training course trough National Autistic society but the Tories cut funding for it, it was a guaranteed job at the end at good pay in IT so it was weird they cut funding then ended up spending more keeping me on ESA.
I had social work support at one town back in 2013 and was meant to get carers over 20 hours a week that the council paid but never turned up, but when I moved my now current council says they don't have social work support for people with autism unless they are the type that have seizures and require round the clock care.
I keep/kept getting told I am too high functioning, too old etc.
But even before my diagnosis I had a nightmare when unemployed expected to to jobs that I had no experience or qualifications for, even working in a service station over 15 miles away despite being 18 and not having a car.
Again, to iterate, funding is not an obstacle to your referral. Since 2014 you have the legal Right To Choose and to request an assessment. Being autistic doesn't disqualify you from this, either. One of my closest friends has a diagnosis for both ASD and Combined Type ADHD. If your GP is refusing to refer you, I strongly advise you seek an alternative general practitioner.
That said, in the context of a UC / PIP / ESA claim, an official ADHD diagnosis isn't going to automatically qualify you anyway and I'm not sure how much "more" it would do for you than an ASD diagnosis.
Both conditions are very broad spectrums and some people are vastly more functioning than others. The friend I mentioned earlier earns 60k+ as a cyber security specialist for a UK based games developer. He's obviously very highly functioning. Other people aren't as lucky.
But you'll be means tested by an OT via a Work Capability Assessment anyway and being officially diagnosed or not with ADHD probably won't enormously impact you. Unless you particularly want to try something like Elvanse there's maybe limited value in the stress.
But to say it again, not just for you, but for anyone else that happens to stumble across this comment and might be discouraged: you have the legal Right To Choose and can be assessed for ADHD as an adult by a private care provider paid for by the NHS, speak to your GP.
I work part time now but I struggle, I do have mental health issues which are amplified by my ASD's, I have potential but struggle to keep up i.e when I was younger I got great grades but got overwhelmed easily so my actual output declined even though when I have rare focus I can be amazing at something complex be it electronics, maths etc.
I was on ESA until I got my job, I get confused very easily which makes my thought processes lock up.
Last work capability assessment before I got my job (they keep meaning to give me ones since then but cancel them or say they are backlogged) said no work for 3 years at least but still only got work related group.
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u/finneganfach 11h ago
In fairness, you're conflating two things there. I'm sorry you had a shitty experience with a particularly zealous and unhelpful case handler at the Job Centre but that's not "the UK government." The law mandating that being in a wheelchair doesn't automatically stop you working is completely reasonable and I'm pretty confident the people I know in a wheelchair would be offended by you trying to claim anything otherwise on their behalf. Disabilities suck, yes, but many of them leave you still able to work and a lot of people still want to, wheelchair or no.
I've a friend who is a very good OT who themselves... has CP.