David, 74, from West Sussex was a workaholic. It wasn’t until he retired from full-time work that he went on a journey of self-discovery and found out he was autistic. Seven years after his diagnosis, he combined his workplace knowledge and experience as a late-diagnosed autistic person to contribute to the Buckland Review for Autism and Employment and was featured as an interviewer in the Our World 2030 video. Here’s his story.

I’ve always thrown myself into tasks. Whether that was studying as a child or focusing on my career. I didn't really have any time around the edges to do any reflection. I thought I was the person that others saw on the outside. I didn't realise that there was an awful lot more inside. It never occurred to me to look.

My career was very important to me. I was a workaholic. I spent way too much time working. I enjoyed it. But, looking back, I did go a bit over the top. As an experienced business consultant, I spent hours preparing for meetings, planning every possible question a client might ask, as I didn’t want to freeze on the spot if I was asked something unexpected.

Retirement and my autism diagnosis story

I'm incredibly pleased to have been assessed as autistic as it explained so much about my life and gave me a lot of focus for my retirement

I retired from my full-time career in 2010. I found leaving my job hugely more challenging than I anticipated (although I still run a small mentoring business part-time). It was as if there were lots of rocks on the beach under the surface of the sea as the tide of my career was in. When I retired, the tide went out and for the first time, I could see the rocks. I wondered, “What are these rocks? What do I really know about myself?” It turned out, not much.

I’m a Christian, so I went to a Christian counsellor and he was fantastic. He helped me to unpack my life. After many months of working together, he said “I'm not an expert, but I suspect you might have Asperger Syndrome” as it was called then. That put me on the path to an assessment. In those days, the NHS waiting list where I live in Sussex was only six months, whereas now it's about three years. When I received my autism diagnosis I was completely blown away. My life was turned upside down for about six months as I tried to determine what it all meant. I spent a lot of time reading everything I could about autism and reflecting on my life.

I'm incredibly pleased to have been assessed as autistic as it explained so much about my life and gave me a lot of focus for my retirement. I became interested in research into autism.

Roundtable discussions for The Buckland Review

Historically, so little has been done to get the message across about what autism and other neurodivergent conditions are and how they manifest. There is a general ignorance in business and society at large. It's a huge gap that needs filling.

When I heard about the Buckland Review, I knew I wanted to get involved. I was very keen to encourage more autistic folk into employment with organisations that understand what is needed to employ, support them and get the best contributions from them.

I attended roundtable discussions, with Government department officials, Dr James Cusack, the Autistica CEO, and other people with lived experience. My contribution was to share my lived experience. As I was diagnosed so late in life, I wanted to share my experiences about living a life not knowing that I was autistic. I spoke about how we are all unique as human beings, whether we're neurodivergent or not, and what that means in the workplace. There are considerations that need to be given to every employee, whether employed in a large organisation or a small one.

Taking part in the roundtable discussions was great. I just loved the fact that this project was happening and was being led by Sir Robert Buckland, a fairly senior, influential and well-known person in Government. Whatever limited input I gave, I was so pleased to have that opportunity. Historically, so little has been done to get the message across about what autism and other neurodivergent conditions are and how they manifest. There is a general ignorance in business and society at large. It's a huge gap that needs filling.

Don’t put us in boxes, and focus on our strengths too

Sometimes I feel that certain organisations don't give enough thought to the kind of folk they recruit and the roles they're trying to establish. By box-ticking, you're trying to normalise everything to some common model which doesn't always work. If you do that, you don't get the innovation and creativity that neurodivergent folk can bring.

In the last few years of my career, I noticed much more “box ticking” in recruitment, both in producing job descriptions and also in assessing individuals before anybody gets close to an interview. Some parts of person specifications are almost repeatedly cut and pasted into every job description. Things like “must be a team player”. You don’t need to be a team player for every job. And there are some jobs for which you don't want a team player.

It's important employers notice not just an individual’s limitations, but their particular strengths and skills, whether or not they're neurodivergent. Sometimes I feel that certain organisations don't give enough thought to the kind of folk they recruit and the roles they're trying to establish. By box-ticking, you're trying to normalise everything to some common model which doesn't always work. If you do that, you don't get the innovation and creativity that neurodivergent folk can bring. And you don't necessarily want people to fit in neat boxes.

My 2030 vision

For me, by 2030 I’d love to see more awareness at an organisational level, and particularly at the senior levels, about neurodivergence. I think the Our World 2030 video illustrates pretty well in a relatively short piece what life might be like if we lived in a much more open and understanding world. It would be better not just for autistic individuals, but for everyone. Because so-called neurotypical folk are all unique as well.

Everybody needs to find ways and make adjustments to get on with the folk that they're working with, whoever they are. I believe that the human race is designed to be a connecting species'. We're not designed to be isolated and alone, although some sadly some are.

Whatever the nature of the relationship is, whether it's a working relationship, romantic relationship or a friendship - if we're going to connect then it's important we know about each other. For the workplace, indeed for society to work, there must be mutual respect and understanding.

Thank you, David, for sharing your story. Learn more about the Buckland Review for Autism and Employment.