Embracing neurodiversity for a more inclusive workforce

Created by VERCIDA for DCMS

Nathan talks about how a late diagnosis of autism has had a positive impact on his career at DCMS.

I grew up in Northern Ireland in a community that wasn’t very diverse, so when I went to university, I studied Middle East politics to broaden my horizons and learn about other cultures. It was fascinating and took me out of my comfort zone, but when I graduated in 2018, I didn’t really do much with my degree. It was difficult to get into a diplomatic career because I wasn’t in a good place with my mental health, so I worked in retail until March this year.

In retail, I always preferred night shifts, because I was mostly working by myself, but five years after university, I decided it was time for a change. There are a lot of civil servants in my family, so I knew it was something I wanted to do.

After applying for a lot of different civil service jobs, I was offered a role in HR with DCMS – it wasn’t a role I applied for, as I was looking for more policy-focused roles, but I thought I may as well give it a go and get my foot in the door. I’d never pictured myself doing recruitment and it was a steep learning curve, but I love it.

When I was 22, I was diagnosed with late-onset autism, and then a lot of things started to make sense. I didn’t know how to deal with emotions or understand why I was feeling them, so I became good at hiding the way I felt. When I was at university, various experiences led me to develop depression, anxiety and PTSD. I was undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy and my therapist diagnosed me as the most clear-cut case of late-onset autism that he had ever encountered.

At first, I was a bit ashamed, because I didn’t see it as a good thing, plus there are stereotypes about autism where you’re either viewed as a prodigal son or as someone who cannot function. But it’s more complex than that and one of the first issues I had to deal with learning to love and accept myself.

This is where starting work with DCMS has been such a positive experience. I have received so much support from my colleagues and have been made to feel so welcome. They have been so understanding and have never treated me as if I am a problem. My job as a recruitment coordinator involves looking after the anonymised sifting of candidates, making sure they get the right information, such as interview packs, setting up interviews, and onboarding new starters.

When I joined, I was given the time I needed to become better at engaging with people, which is so important in recruitment. At first, I wouldn’t always turn on the camera for video calls, as making eye contact would make me uncomfortable and even cause panic attacks, but now I am so much more confident. I have become more comfortable with uncomfortable things. 

As an autistic person, I was able to see that some of the processes, such as really open-ended questions on applications, were not great for autistic people, and I was able to help change that. Questions that will still challenge candidates, but ask for more specific things, make so much more sense and I am proud that I have been able to speak up and make that change. It’s really important to encourage diversity, and the new ideas and perspectives that diversity brings, through better recruitment. There’s no hierarchy in our team, so everyone is able to share ideas.

A big part of my autism is setting myself really high – sometimes unrealistically high – standards, I have a strong drive to always be the best. Continuous improvement is really important to me. One of the great things about DCMS is the many learning and development opportunities.

We’ve just started doing lunch-and-learn sessions again. This week, it’s about challenging with confidence, being able to speak up diplomatically, especially when talking to your managers. As someone who will always ask questions and doesn’t see things in black and white, this sort of training is really useful. And next month, I will be doing a course in project management, which is another great opportunity for me.

After just six months in DCMS, I’ve already been promoted, which is fantastic. I will be staying with DCMS, but moving to the National Lotteries Community Fund part of the department. It’s more of a policy role and I hope that my autism will continue to be an asset, so I can still bring new ideas and new ways of working into my new team.

My new role will have a strong focus on improving customer interaction, so I’ll be meeting new people every day. The support I’ve received at DCMS has really helped me overcome workplace anxiety, which is so different from the minimal training and support I received when I worked in retail. I now have the confidence to believe in myself and my actions.

I’ve already grown so much since starting with DCMS and become a better person who is better at their job. I hope to keep setting these high standards for myself – I haven’t set myself any limits with what I want to achieve in my career.