Even with diagnosis there is little if any support. It depends on where you live.

I have come across many people who
I am sure are on the spectrum in my 14 years doing the job.

My wife thinks that we may both be and we’ve done some informal tests that seem to indicate that it is so, but we are concerned that a formal diagnosis might be prejudicial.

We would value your opinion on that.

I disclosed my autism and got pupillage. But I agree that there is a lot of misconceptions regarding autistic people at the Bar, although many barristers are clearly on the spectrum.

Hi Lewis

Can I ask are you a life coach in the UK. I am ADHD diagnosed and considering being an ADHD coach but in the UK there are not as many opportunities as In the USA for instance.

We are disabled by the unsupportive structures we are forced to exist in, and the refusal of services and workplaces to offer flexibility to our needs. That applies to physical, visible, and invisible differences.

Why do you want “priority”?

Ask for understanding, support, whatever.

But priority?

I praise all who come forward to dispel myths about autism, but also worry that prejudice is rife within the legal profession.

I don’t think treatment is the right term, and going through a “treatment” program is entirely inappropriate. It’s not like treating a physical sickness.

I went to an autistic school in my secondary years and it propelled me to become who I am today, an autistic lawyer. But this was as I was growing up, and it was a tough road to follow and affected my academic performance at the time. As an adult, I don’t think you can simply be treated and fix these things when you’ve grown up without the right support. It will always be difficult to manage and getting the right support is imperative to assist but no course is going to be a magic bullet.

As an autistic person, I am perfectly happy to refer to myself as having a disability or disorder. I don’t think they necessarily have the same connotation you suggest.
However, I do think there is space to educate neurotypical people that language needs to be used sensitively and it would be better to use other terms, like neurodivergent for example.

I am a nurse in my forties diagnosed with ASD in childhood, then again in my late thirties when the NHS Neurodiversity Clinic I worked for as a Specialist wouldn’t accept and believe my diagnosis.

I wonder if there is another reason the legal profession can’t disclose?

My personal experience is that I have been denied the right to appear in court for legitimate purposes on two occasions. Legal staff representing me have felt I am unable to speak in court due to being on the spectrum which somehow means I lack credibility. This is despite being a published academic and nurse of more than 20 years. They understood ASD really well but this has been the position of a number of lawyers.

In the past I have appeared in court without issue as an expert witness. Although, for much of my adulthood I didn’t identify with my childhood diagnosis and disclose it.

I think in a legal setting based on my experience it is probably best not to be so open. To do so seems to strip you of the same rights as people who don’t disclose.

This is unjust, however if we have a system which weaponises ASD against us then we have to respond accordingly. This might involve mindfully masking in order to survive. I had to leave my job of 23 years due to not having the same legal opportunities as a result of diagnosis and disclosure.

Would you please explain why, you think a diagnosis is “well worth having”? Do you mean because of interventions that maybe available? Is this what you mean by a “course of treatment” please?

Very well chosen words, especially about the implication of autism being a disability. Hopefully we will be getting nearer to proving the ignorance of many people to thinking otherwise (often from pure judgement) very soon 👍😊

Hello, it’s Concetta here – please drop me a LinkedIn message to chat further!

Without diagnosis there is NO support

I’m a 41 year old person with autism. I hope your workplace is supportive. Xx

What course had these people done?

I know of a person obviously very highly autistic and exceedingly intelligent to the extent that they went through a book entitled General Degree Pure Mathematics, aged 15, doing all the exercises, and proving to others that they really did understand it. In all other areas, including languages and d.i.y., it was a similar story. Anything they put their mind to they excelled at; whether it was rebuilding a motorcycle engine, with no prior knowledge, such that it performed like new; beating graduate computer programmers when they’d never programmed before, or learning German and Italian to high standard, entirely self-taught. Where are they now? Nowhere! Doing work fit for school dropouts because others don’t feel comfortable in their presence, and vice-versa. No real understanding of how others make friends and enjoy hanging out together, or over the way human emotions such fear, anxiety and depression do sometimes prevent others from behaving logically and acting in their own best interests. A course, however, would very likely have transformed everything, both for themselves and those around them; very much for the better.

Only six years ago, as a private tutor, I met someone classified as autistic and having been on such a course; they were absolutely charming and would fit in anywhere! About a couple of months ago, I met another such person, and exactly the same applied! A course to educate such people is almost as important as the the diagnosis itself, in my opinion.

I won’t comment on whether autistic people are disabled as that is not my place, but this comment implies that disability and being disabled are bad things. Disability is not inherently bad and there is nothing wrong with being disabled. Many disabled people are proud of their identity.