Craig

I did get into the Ambulance Service when I first left school, it was my first job. On the application form, it does state whether you have any disabilities. So on the application form for the job I did say, ‘No.’ I was working well in my position for the Ambulance Service as a call taker, which I absolutely love the job and it was a very big part of my life really and it’s a job that I was very passionate about. However, I did actually want to progress further in the ambulance service in the future into becoming a front line paramedic and during a meeting with one of the ambulance service training officers, I did disclose that I had Asperger’s syndrome. So, later on that evening after I finished work I received a phone call from my human resources department saying that I’d been suspended for an internal investigation and not to return to work. After a disciplinary meeting, I was dismissed for failing to disclose important and private information to my employer.

In my new position now, I now work for another NHS Ambulance Service, this time I did disclose on both the application form and also the occupational health form that I have Asperger’s syndrome. I was successful in the interview and assessment procedure for that job and I now work in a similar position. I still want to become a front line paramedic one day and I have mentioned that to them in my quarterly appraisals. They said that should a vacancy come up for an internal course for that, then I would be considered for that as with any other candidate who wished to apply for that, and the Asperger’s syndrome would not hold me back at all.