u/heddaptomos

New councillors get offered ‘onboarding’ training and briefing, their own party should organise their own briefings on the responsibilities, duties and procedures of local government part politics. There will be Code, Declarations, Expenses etc guidance and Procedures on the internal section of the Council website and Council Officers, the Local Government Association and a host of voluntary and commercial organisations can offer training.

Only if you have no interest in the job and make no effort to find out will you be able to claim such ignorance, in which case you should not have stood!
Standing without intending to serve is an insult to the voters, an attack on democracy and tantamount to fraud. Reminds you of anyone else?

As I went through school my grades in most subjects got higher, effortlessly. I was top or joint top in my year and passed more O Level (GCSE now) exams than anyone else. I revised for my History on the way to the exam and got A*

But my parents never praised me or supported me (they even went on holidays during the exams, so I had to stay with neighbours). Before I got my results, my father came within a gnats arse of punching my lights out because I refused to leave school and get a menial or manual job.

I'd grown up in a cold and damp house, going short on decent food at times and my health was poor. Despite being a growing teenager, he'd get mad with mother if he didn't have more on his plate than everyone else, me in particular. When it came to my next set of exams, I was ill with my tonsilitis and serious chest infection and sat my History A level in a fevered delerium, in bed with a teacher invigilating!

I only scraped into the University of my choice because I'd already visited there and apparently made a good impression. I always felt that despite the difficulties, I'd achieve something and I did.

I could have achieved more if I'd had organisation, drive and focus. Because of the way my parents never praised me (they couldn't be arsed to come see me graduate, so I didn't go) I totally lacked belief in myself. Sadly, I let others exploit my creative genius - but I got to do all kinds of interesting work and achieved many things not just personally, but for my country.

No one remembers that though, as I always took the instigator/consiglieri / advisor rôle and did it brilliantly. In fact, all through my life my ability to conjure up new and vital innovations, entertaining and engaging solutions, creative communications just made my immediate bosses jealous and wary.

I literally caught them saying that I was "too clever, too conscientious, too 'principled' .." and got made redundant because of this and because they knew I wouldn't make a fuss.

Such was life for high performing ASD and ADHD people I fear; I just wish I'd understood that at the time and at least once I'd have had their guts for garters on account of blatant discrimination.

However, I spent (and enjoyed) at least half my working life as a 'freelance', using my skills to step into at least five different areas of expertise. That's the upside of being other than NT* and I'd recommend it to all 'square pegs', as I was called by my father.

*(PS Why did I just get threatened with a ban for attempting to carefully and advisedly use the appropriate generic category term for ASD/Dyspraxia/ADHD?!)

Found a 'bone conduction' (it isn't/doesn't - just ignore that hype) Bluetooth music /ambient noise player that you put under your pillow (it's re-chargeable). Got it cheap on T##u. It's fiddly to get it started (one press of middle button for on, then a double press to engage Bluetooth connecting - once connected, a rapid but even three presses to engage auto switch off after 45 mins (or a period like that). If you don't follow that procedure you find a series of 'relaxing' sound loops (that I hate) - music box, waves, rain, white noise, etc. I couple it to my collection of soft and gentle music (music streamers offer themed collections as well) and I now drift off as soon as I've made myself comfy. The player (which is put as close to your ear if you sleep on your side) looks like a sort of flattened pair of spectacles - reverbrates with the mattress and no one else can hear it.