Dorothy's Story
Dorothy has spent most of her life unaware of her autism and ADHD, conditions which affected her personal relationships, school and even employment prospects.
After years of deteriorating mental health & long-term unemployment, Dorothy was referred to First Step Trust for a Communications & Marketing work placement.
2026 – Dorothy’s Case Study
Early Experience
After dropping out of two universities and spending years feeling like she was falling behind in life, Dorothy couldn’t see a clear path forward. Her mental health had deteriorated to the point where she withdrew from friends, neglecting her needs and questioning what the future might hold.
While reading a post about signs of neurodivergence in 2024, Dorothy began recognising herself in experiences she had dismissed her entire life. For the first time, many of the struggles she had carried since childhood started to make sense.
Like many autistic people, Dorothy’s experiences went unrecognised throughout childhood because they didn’t fit people’s expectations of what autism looked like.
"As a child, I took school rules literally; I'd question why my deskmate sat somewhere else despite the seat assignment, which seemed reasonable to the 7-year-old I was at the time, only to be told that it's not a big deal as it's just for breaktime, which was followed up with judgement and alienation. And that's just one of many instances that eventually pushed me out of the circle."
Dorothy always had a strong interest in computers and art, but without understanding why she always seemed to say the wrong thing and ended up at odds with her peers & teachers, she became increasingly quiet and reluctant to put herself forward, which had negatively affected both her education and personal relationships. The move from her home country to UK during school had also added another challenge to her plate – a language barrier.
"One time, I was placed in a school bereavement group. When I explained that I was not grieving, I learnt that my silence at school has been misunderstood while my special needs remained unnoticed."
"I struggled to express myself on a daily basis, with my poor handle on English - something school bullies would use against me, which lowered my self-esteem further. But overall, I was seen as an average pupil in the eyes of my school, even if I didn’t feel that way."
Support
In 2024, while waiting for her Autism and ADHD diagnosis, Dorothy had been going through support services and applying for dozens of jobs a week for months, at the time avoiding people-facing jobs due to anxiety.
She felt she was still not making any progress towards getting a job, which changed after receiving her diagnosis and a referral to Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB), and UnityWorks in 2024, where she received specialised support.
UnityWorks supports people with a learning disability to gain skills, achieve qualifications, and secure jobs, so they can reach their full potential. Dorothy was pushed out of her comfort zone to pursue creative jobs, an industry she did not consider herself experienced enough for. She attended group sessions with other service users and together, they gave each other feedback while preparing CVs and interview answers, with support from her employment advisor.
In 2025, Dorothy was placed in First Step Trust to do Communications & Marketing as a part of the Trailblazer Programme.
This is a government scheme assisting economically inactive adults with overcoming barriers into employment, working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
At first, Dorothy arrived at First Step Trust with significant doubts. Having little professional experience and anxiety around interacting with people, she questioned whether she could succeed in the role. Those fears soon began to fade.
They were also happy to accommodate my needs, some of them being sensory breaks, flexible working hours, task break-downs and extra guidance in areas I struggled with.
Before I knew it, every weekend I was eagerly awaiting the next Monday."
Dorothy came to FST with a self-taught eye for design.
Years of making posters for fun, tinkering with a personal website, and photography from her college days – now contribute to her professionally.
Photography by Dorothy
At First Step Trust, Dorothy’s hobbies became her real workplace skills – social media, website management, photoshoots, marketing flyers and content creation.
She had a real eye for photography, design and social media, and I loved seeing her confidence grow as she started to believe in her own abilities. She was always willing to have a go, learn something new and push herself, even when something was outside her comfort zone."
Transformation
Since joining FST, Dorothy was involved in leading a consistent social media presence across platforms, managing Google pages for FST’s enterprises, maintaining the website, and developing branding, as well as marketing assets, which has transformed how the charity tells its story to stakeholders.
Dorothy has also helped to more than double the follower count of First Step Trust’s social media handles since her employment.
From doubting her own abilities to securing a permanent role with First Steps Trust, she has shown remarkable growth, resilience, and determination. Her future is full of promise, and I am proud to have been part of her journey."
Although managing ADHD symptoms remains an ongoing process for Dorothy, she has grown to understand and accept herself with compassion, and has re-integrated into society, with the support from all her co-workers and supervisors at First Step Trust.
Towards the end of her 6-month work placement as the Comms & Marketing Assistant, Dorothy was offered a permanent position, advancing her to Comms & Marketing Officer, from where she continues to develop her creative skills and FST’s branding.
Having discovered that more people are finding out they’re neurodivergent the same way I did, I hope that they don’t treat themselves or their loved ones too harshly. The news of my condition has inspired not only my own growth, but also the growth of my loved ones."
Looking ahead, Dorothy plans to study multidisciplinary marketing by working towards a recognized certification.
Outside of work, she continues to support charitable causes and recently put this into practice by photographing charity marathon runners and donating photos to the organisers. This has allowed runners to relive and share their achievement on social media, helping them attract more attention and donations for the causes they’re supporting.
She hopes her story encourages others discovering they are neurodivergent later in life to seek support and recognise their own strengths.
Over the last year, I've seen such a difference in Dorothy's confidence - from speaking with strangers at events to building strong working relationships and friendships with colleagues, as well as planning and organizing her work. It's been a pleasure to see her flourish. Dorothy had the skills all along, she just needed the right support and opportunities to be able to shine."
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