Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Medical Practitioner
Neurodiversity is technically considered a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995/2005) and the Equality Act (2010), which defines the criteria for disability as "an impact on normal day to day activities including ..... memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand". Many neurodivergent individuals do not consider themselves to be disabled, and it can be very depersonalising to apply the label, and the potential concomitant medical model of disability (ie "this is a problem that needs fixing") in these cases. Advice from advocacy groups and professional support organisations suggests that the best way to support neurodivergent individuals is to speak with them about how they prefer to refer to their condition. This does not however, abrogate the responsibility of the employer to make reasonable adjustments even if the individual does not prefer to use the term disabled.
The GMC specifically mentions autistic spectrum conditions, ADHD, dyslexia and other specific learning conditions as disabilities in their document on supporting disabled learners. However they are also clear in this document that they do not provide guidance on whether specific health conditions should be declared as no specific health condition is considered a barrier to registration or practice. They offer this online tool for decision making about whether to disclose conditions during registration, which may be of use to those unsure whether or not to declare a neurodiversity diagnosis. The decision to declare a condition, either to an employer, the School, or the GMC is a very personal one and it is not within the remit of this website to offer general advice. Speaking to a local mentor, or to one of our neurodiversity champions, may be of benefit for personalised advice.
The GMC's Good Medical Practice Guidelines apply to anyone with registration to practice, including neurodivergent individuals. Reasonable adjustments are an important tool to allow neurodivergent individuals to practice medicine, and it is the responsibility of the employer to consider all requests fairly and to grant them where possible. It remains the responsibility of an individual to ensure that they are safe and professional in their practice of medicine.