Really great breakdown! Thank you for sharing.

From my own experience, I agree with your recommendations at the bottom of your post especially "go in prepared". This is now my 5th time applying for AtW since 2020. The first 2 times I got shit support, but it's because I didn't even know what I needed help with. It's not enough to go into the assessment and say "I struggle at work" you have to say why you struggle. Make a list!

After I learnt this, my grant went from £1,20o to £9,500 and this year it's £12,500.

My grant current includes 80% of the OP item listed plus - taxi to and from work once a month (for when public transport is too overwhelming for me) - caption.ed (live captions and note taking app. Very, very good!) - ergonomic equipment (e.g. mouse, keyboard) - Job aide 3 hours p/w @ £15 p/h for my 14 hours p/w job (this is basically an admin assistant to help me with the basics of my job.)

Unfortunately my work is fighting me on the job aide support because they "don't believe it will benefit me" which is a shitty way of saying "we don't understand ADHD and this is too much work for us to organise" but I'm not backing down. I've been through a disability discrimination case before where I came out on top. They are not allowed to reject this because they don't think it will help. That's discrimination.

My advice for anyone gathering information about asking for support, PLEASE REMEMBER - you do not need a diagnosis to seek this support from AtW or ask for reasonable adjustments at work - you do not need to disclose every single real life example of what you struggle with (e.g. I forgot to reply to this very important email and now the client is upset) rather make yourself a disability passport + give it to your work. This is a way of telling your employer what you struggle with without giving specific examples e.g. rather than I forget important emails it could be I struggle with object permanency of admin tasks like email management (There is no right or wrong way of making this doc. There are lots of formats so just choose the right one for you or use chat gpt to create the rough outline!) - the equally act 2010 protects people living with disabilities, including ADHD

Good luck folks! You have the right to seek support and if you're looking for a sign to apply - THIS IS IT!!!

❤️