Reasonable Adjustments for ADHD and Autism: What to Ask Your Employer For

If you’re autistic or have ADHD, your employer has a legal duty to consider reasonable adjustments that remove or reduce the disadvantages you face at work, and you don’t need a formal diagnosis to ask. Useful adjustments range from noise-cancelling headphones and written instructions to flexible start times and advance warning of change. The harder part is often not the asking, it’s working out what you actually need.

Many of the people I coach have spent years adapting themselves to their workplace, without anyone adapting the workplace to them. By the time they’re thinking about adjustments, they’re often tired in a way that a weekend doesn’t fix. If that sounds familiar, this is for you.

What Counts as a Reasonable Adjustment?

A reasonable adjustment is a change to how, when or where you work that helps level the playing field. It can be a piece of equipment, a change to a process, a different way of communicating, or flexibility in your hours.

Under the Equality Act 2010, being neurodivergent will often count as a disability, even if you don’t think of yourself as disabled. Acas guidance is clear that you don’t need a diagnosis, and that an employer should offer support whether or not you have one. You’re also not legally required to hand over proof.

“Reasonable” depends on things like cost, practicality and the size of the organisation. Most useful adjustments for ADHD and autism are cheap or free, which makes them hard to refuse.

Start With What Gets in the Way, Not With a List

It’s tempting to find a list of adjustments online and ask for all of them. I’d gently suggest starting somewhere else.

Two people with the same diagnosis can need completely different things. An autistic colleague might thrive in a quiet corner while another finds the isolation harder than the noise. An ADHD colleague might love an open-plan buzz in the morning and be unable to think in it by 3pm. Acas makes the same point: an adjustment that suits one person may not help someone else with the same condition.

So before you ask, spend a week or two noticing:

• When do you do your best work? Time of day, setting, type of task.
• What drains you disproportionately? Noise, lighting, unexpected calls, back-to-back meetings, vague instructions.
• What do you already do to cope? Arriving early to get quiet time, rewriting emails five times, working late to catch up. These coping strategies often point straight to the adjustment you need.
• What does it cost you afterwards? Exhaustion, irritability, needing the whole evening to recover.

If you’ve been masking for a long time, this can be surprisingly hard to see. That’s normal. You’ve been very good at not noticing, because noticing didn’t feel safe.

Examples of Adjustments Worth Asking For

These are grouped by the kind of challenge they help with, drawing on Acas’s own examples and on what I see working for clients. Use them as prompts, not a checklist.

Focus and concentration

• Noise-cancelling headphones, or permission to wear them
• A quieter desk, a regular quiet room, or more home working
• Protected focus blocks with no meetings
• A standing desk, or freedom to move around and take short breaks

Communication

• Instructions and feedback in writing after a conversation
• Agendas sent before meetings, and questions in advance where possible
• Clear, direct language rather than hints or implied expectations
• The option to reply by message or email instead of on the spot
• Software that reads text aloud or turns speech into text

Organisation and time

• A short daily or weekly check-in to agree priorities
• Large pieces of work broken into smaller steps with interim deadlines
• Visual planners and extra reminders for deadlines
• Flexible start and finish times

Sensory and environment

• Changes to lighting, a desk away from high-traffic areas, or screen filters
• A space to step away to when things become overwhelming
• Flexibility on dress code or uniform materials

Change and uncertainty

• Advance notice of changes to plans, rotas, desks or teams
• Time to process big announcements before being asked to respond
• A named person to ask when something is unclear

Recruitment and reviews

• Interview questions in advance, or a practical task instead of a panel interview
• Performance reviews that focus on outcomes, not on how “engaged” you look in meetings

How Do You Actually Ask?

There’s no special form you have to use, but putting the request in writing helps. Acas has a free reasonable adjustment request letter template you can adapt.

A few things tend to make the conversation go better:

• Lead with the outcome. “I do my best work when I can focus without interruption. Can we try protected focus time on Tuesday and Thursday mornings?” is easier to say yes to than a general request.
• Share as much as feels right, and no more. You don’t have to explain your whole history. Some people name their diagnosis, some describe the challenge, some do both.
• Suggest a trial. “Can we try this for six weeks and review it?” lowers the stakes for everyone.
• Ask about occupational health. If your employer has it, a referral can help identify adjustments neither of you thought of.
• Get it confirmed. Ask for what’s agreed to be written down, so it doesn’t vanish when your manager changes.

What If the Adjustments Go Beyond What Your Employer Can Provide?

That’s where Access to Work can come in. It can fund support such as coaching, specialist software or a support worker that goes beyond what would be reasonable for an employer to provide. The two work together, so it’s worth exploring both.

What If Your Employer Says No?

Ask them to explain why in writing, and whether there’s an alternative they’d consider. Failing to make reasonable adjustments can be a form of disability discrimination, so if things stall, the Acas helpline is a good free place to get advice on your options.

It’s also worth checking in with yourself. Sometimes a “no” is the moment people realise a workplace was never going to fit, and that’s useful information too, even if it’s painful.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a diagnosis to ask for adjustments? No. Acas guidance says employers should offer support whether or not you have one. Many people are on long waiting lists, and that shouldn’t stop you asking.

Do I have to tell my employer I’m neurodivergent? No, but your employer can only consider adjustments for needs they know about. You can describe what you need without naming a condition.

Can adjustments change over time? Yes, and they should. Your role, team and life will change. A review every few months keeps adjustments useful rather than forgotten.

Are adjustments only for people who are struggling? Not at all. The best adjustments also help you use your strengths, like more time on deep problem-solving or creative work where you genuinely shine.

Final Thoughts

Asking for adjustments isn’t asking for special treatment. It’s asking for the conditions that let you do your work well without paying for it with your health. The most useful thing you can bring to that conversation is a clear, honest picture of what you need, and that picture is often the bit worth spending real time on.

If you’d like help working out what would genuinely make a difference, or preparing for the conversation with your employer, get in touch. It’s work I do regularly with neurodivergent clients in Bristol and online.