- More than one-fifth of individuals in the UK with neurodivergent conditions are not in paid employment
- Almost one-quarter of people with neurodivergent diagnoses have struggled to find full-time employment
Research* commissioned by restaurateur and chef Heston Blumenthal OBE, who has been diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar, finds more than one in ten (11%) people in the UK have been officially diagnosed as neurodivergent**, of which 21% are neither in full- nor part-time paid employment.
The survey of over 1,000 people finds that of those who are neurodiverse, more than half (56%) are in full-time employment and 23% work part-time. The remaining 21% have no paid work.
When asked if those who are neurodivergent work part-time because they have struggled to find full-time positions due to their diagnoses, 24% agree this was the case, 67% say no, while 9% prefer not to say.
This figure rises considerably for male respondents. Two-fifths (40%) of men say they are working part-time because they could not find full-time employment as a neurodivergent person. Eighteen per cent of neurodiverse women say the same.
The research reveals that the majority of respondents who are neurodivergent did not receive a diagnosis until they reached their late teens.
Almost (23%) were aged between five and 15 years old when they received a diagnosis. Meanwhile 17% were aged between 15 and 20 years old; 31% were between 20 and 40; 8% were 40 to 50 years old and 7% were over 50.
The survey also finds more than one in ten (13%) of respondents think they are neurodivergent but are yet to be diagnosed. Two-thirds (67%) say they do not think they have a condition while 21% are unsure. The percentage of undiagnosed individuals was much higher for women (16%) than men (8%).
Of those who are yet to be diagnosed but think they are neurodivergent, almost three-quarters (74%) work for an organisation, 9% work for themselves, while 18% are unemployed.
