The Thrive into Work neurodiversity service at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust supports neuro-diverse citizens to gain and retain employment that matches their aspirations and interests.
To mark Autism Awareness Month, the team have shared the support they can offer autistic citizens and how people can access the service. Autistic people are more likely to face barriers to employment and unemployment than their non-autistic peers, so the work of the Thrive into Work service can make a real difference to people’s lives.
The service sees vocational specialists work one-to-one with clients to search for jobs, work on CVs, make applications and prepare for interviews. They listen to the client’s interests and goals to give them personalised support to help them get where they want to be.
The team are there to help employers too, so are on hand to provide advice to make the workplace and recruitment processes more accessible for autistic employees and jobseekers.
Retention Workers in the team also work to help autistic employees maintain their jobs by offering support and advice to iron out any issues in the workplace.
Andrew Stanley, team leader for the neurodiversity service, said: “Whether for out of work clients or our retention clients, we like to enable people so they don’t need the service once they’ve been discharged. We provide information, advice and help build their confidence. We set them up for a long term plan during their time with us, helping them to have the independence and skills to achieve their goals.”
The service is unique as people do not need an official diagnosis of a neuro-diverse condition to access the service. People can self-diagnose as neurodiverse which helps to make it more accessible. Referrals can be made through routes such as GPs, or individuals can self-refer. The service is available for people in the West Midlands, aged over 18.
To mark Autism Awareness Month, the team have shared how the service can help autistic individuals through a series of videos that are available to watch on the Trust’s social media channels.
To find out more about the service, visit: https://www.blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk/our-services/employment-services