Arctic Shores Reasonable Adjustments: A Guide for Neurodivergent Candidates

If you are autistic, have ADHD or dyslexia, or have another condition or disability, an invitation to fast, game-like tasks can be worrying. Some tasks are reported to run against a clock, and candidates describe one that asks you to read emotions from faces.

Arctic Shores says it offers reasonable adjustments, with one rule that is easy to miss: you have to ask for them before you start. This guide explains how the process works, what to tell the employer, and what other candidates report.

The short answer

Arctic Shores says it offers a range of reasonable adjustments, through two routes: contact the employer via the support email in your invitation, or tick the adjustments you need from a list during onboarding. If no option fits, or you are unsure, contact the employer. Once you have chosen to start, adjustments cannot be applied retrospectively. If you tick the "I do not need an adjustment" box, you cannot add one later either.

What Arctic Shores says

Arctic Shores says it is committed to equal opportunity and recognises that assessments can be challenging, particularly for candidates who are neurodivergent or have disabilities. According to its help centre:

1. The invitation goes to the email address you applied with, so check your spam folder. It includes reasonable-adjustment information and a support email address.
2. Onboarding comes before the tasks: a practice task, adjustment information and advice. Adjustments must be declared at this stage.
3. The tasks. Once you begin, adjustments cannot be added.

The two routes

Route 1: contact the employer

Email the support address in your invitation before starting. Arctic Shores says the employer reviews the request, applies the adjustment and confirms it, and that this happens before you can proceed.

Because someone has to review your request, do not leave it until the night before your deadline. Arctic Shores support cannot extend a deadline without the employer's permission, so if time is short, ask the employer about the deadline in the same email.

Route 2: self-declare from the list

During onboarding, you can tick the adjustments you need from a list, and Arctic Shores says they are then applied automatically. The help centre does not publish what is on the list, so read the options in your own onboarding carefully. If nothing fits, or you want to explain your situation in your own words, use route 1.

The "I do not need an adjustment" box

Ticking this confirms you are comfortable without an adjustment, and Arctic Shores says adjustments cannot be added afterwards. If you are unsure, do not tick it just to get past the screen. Contact the employer first.

What to tell the employer

Arctic Shores' help centre does not publish the adjustments on its onboarding list, so do not assume a particular one is available. Describe the barrier you face and the change that would help, and let the employer tell you what it can offer.

Examples of what you might describe (prompts for your email, not a list of what is available):

• Timed or fast-paced tasks: for example, that your condition affects how quickly you can respond under time pressure. You could ask whether extra time or another change is possible.
• The reported face-reading task: for example, that reading emotions from facial expressions is difficult for you.
• Anything else about the format that would stop you showing how you normally work.

Do you need to name a diagnosis?

The help centre describes ticking the adjustments you need or contacting the employer. It does not say whether you must name a condition. In an email you can start by describing the barrier and the change that would help. The employer may ask for more information, and whether to share a diagnosis is your decision.

A template email you can adapt

Subject: Reasonable adjustment request: Arctic Shores assessment for [role name]

Hello [name or recruitment team],

I have been invited to complete the Arctic Shores assessment for the [role name] role [reference, if you have one]. Before I start, I would like to request a reasonable adjustment.

[The barrier, in one or two sentences. For example: I have a condition that affects how quickly I can respond in timed or fast-paced tasks. / I find it difficult to read emotions from facial expressions.]

It would help if [the change you would like, or: you could tell me what options are available].

I have not started yet, as I understand adjustments must be in place before I begin. My deadline is [date]. If the adjustment cannot be confirmed by then, could you let me know whether the deadline can be moved?

Thank you, [Your name]

The legal context

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants as well as employees. Acas has guidance on reasonable adjustments. This is general information, not legal advice.

What neurodivergent candidates report

These are individual Reddit posts, not official information, but they show which parts people find hardest.

• The face task. Posters describe the faces as subtle, and some think they look AI-generated. Several autistic and neurodivergent posters worry the task disadvantages them, including in a long January 2025 thread on r/TheCivilService and in r/degreeapprenticeships threads from 2024 and 2025. One poster advised taking your time because the task is not about speed; that is unverified.
• The numerical timer. An autistic candidate on r/UKJobs in 2023 found the timer on the numerical task stressful. They said their report arrived straight away, with many results in the middle of the scales.
• Feeling screened out. One December 2024 poster felt these tests act as "neurodivergent filters" and asked whether to practise or try to game them. That is one person's view, not evidence about how the tasks are scored. Arctic Shores advises completing the tasks naturally.

One post needs a clear warning. In December 2025, a poster on r/degreeapprenticeships said they knew the founder and relayed a conversation: the face task is included because research links it to teamwork; internal data on about 200 candidates showed similar performance for neurodivergent and neurotypical candidates; and many neurodivergent candidates skip disclosure, which the poster said unlocks support in the assessment. This is second-hand hearsay, and we could not verify any of it. Arctic Shores' help centre does not mention a teamwork link or internal data on neurodivergent candidates. It does say that adjustments declared before you start are applied: automatically if you tick them from the onboarding list, or by the employer after it reviews your request.

Arctic Shores also acknowledges assessments can be harder for neurodivergent and disabled candidates, and offers adjustments for that reason. If a task format worries you, raise it before you start.

Which tasks are reported to be timed

Arctic Shores publishes no task list, and each employer chooses its tasks. The timings below come from candidate reports and prep sites, so treat them as approximate. You may face only a few: candidates on one graduate programme in 2025 reported three tasks.

Reported as timed or fast-paced:

• Direction: about 2 to 3 minutes, roughly 80 rounds, with the pace speeding up.
• Tickets: about 2 to 3 minutes for a reported 80 tickets. Several posters called it fast, confusing and the hardest task.
• Predict: about 3 seconds per prediction, over about 10 minutes.
• Balance: about 60 seconds per puzzle.
• Patterns: about 20 series on a 17-minute clock, according to prep sites. Not every employer includes it.
• Analysis: about 18 numerical questions in 18 minutes. Not every employer includes it.

Reports conflict: Expressions is about 3 minutes according to one source, and untimed according to another.

Reported as untimed: Balloon, Token Search and Security, where candidates report no overall time limit and stop when they open the safe or choose to exit. Security still involves stopping a moving dial on a number: Arctic Shores has said the dial speed adapts to the candidate and that the task measures processing speed and perseverance.

The Arctic Shores assessment guide describes each reported task.

On the day

• Environment: a quiet, distraction-free space with a stable connection, at the time of day you feel most alert.
• Notifications: turn off all alerts. Arctic Shores says distractions and push notifications can slightly skew results.
• Device: charge it, close other tabs, disable browser extensions and auto-translate, turn off any VPN, and check a wireless mouse or keyboard is connected.
• One sitting: Arctic Shores advises completing the tasks in one sitting if possible.
• Instructions: Arctic Shores says you can re-read the task instructions as many times as you wish. Take that time.
• Practice and demo tasks: the practice task in onboarding does not count towards your score and lets you check your device works. The public demo task can be tried before you decide whether to ask for an adjustment.

Getting familiar with the formats

Arctic Shores says no practice is needed, but that getting familiar with the format is fine. It also warns that help guides found online outside its own help centre and website may be misleading or false, and says it has found that using them "will result in poor or invalid measures", meaning you are less likely to progress. Its advice is to forget any guides and complete the tasks naturally. That warning covers this page and Candidate Falcon's simulations too, so check anything here against your invitation and onboarding.

If you want to see what the reported formats might feel like, Candidate Falcon has 15 Arctic Shores-style simulations. They are independent recreations built from candidate reports, not the real tasks, and practice results are not Arctic Shores scores. Because of that, their timing and controls may differ from the real tasks, so do not use them to decide whether you need an adjustment; if a format might be a barrier, ask the employer before you start. Use them to get used to the reported formats, not to change your results. Playing them needs the HireVue Games Prep plan or Full Access (see pricing); the task guides are free to read. The evidence-checked preparation guide covers what practice can and cannot change.

If your process also includes HireVue, see the HireVue accommodations guide.

If something goes wrong

• A technical problem: use the Candidate Support Form described in Arctic Shores' technical issue article. Arctic Shores says it will investigate so that you get a fair opportunity, and that most issues come from the device or a poor connection. Tell the employer too.
• You started without an adjustment you needed: Arctic Shores says adjustments cannot be applied retrospectively. Contact the employer through the support email in your invitation, explain what happened and ask whether it can do anything. Any next step is the employer's decision.
• You are running out of time: Arctic Shores support cannot extend a deadline without the employer's permission. Email the employer's support address.

If the employer shares feedback, your report arrives by email. The guide to reading your Arctic Shores results explains it.

FAQs

Can I ask for an adjustment after starting the Arctic Shores assessment?

No. Arctic Shores says that once you have chosen to start, adjustments cannot be applied retrospectively. If you started without one you needed, contact the employer and explain.

What adjustments does Arctic Shores offer?

Arctic Shores says it offers a range of adjustments, but the help centre does not list them. You see the options during onboarding. If none fits, contact the employer.

Do I have to disclose my diagnosis?

The help centre does not say you must name a condition. You can describe the barrier and the change that would help. Whether to share a diagnosis is your choice.

Is the Arctic Shores face task unfair to autistic candidates?

Several autistic and neurodivergent candidates have raised this worry online. Arctic Shores publishes no task list, and its help centre says it "can't spill all our secrets" about what each task measures, so it does not explain the face task candidates describe. A second-hand claim about internal data is unverified. If the task is a barrier for you, tell the employer before you start.

I ticked "I do not need an adjustment" by mistake. What now?

Arctic Shores says adjustments cannot be added after that. Contact the employer through the support email in your invitation and explain.

Can I get extra time on Arctic Shores?

The help centre does not publish the list of adjustments, so it does not say whether extra time is one of them. If timed tasks are a barrier for you, check the options in your onboarding, or ask the employer before you start whether extra time or another change is possible.

Sources

• Arctic Shores candidate guidance: preparation and technical guidance.
• What is a reasonable adjustment and how do they work? and How do I request a reasonable adjustment?: the two routes and timing.
• What does the assessment involve?: invitation and onboarding.
• Do I need to practice?: practice task, instructions, unofficial guides.
• Task-Based Assessment overview and devices and browsers: setup advice.
• I disagree with my results!: distractions and push notifications can skew results.
• Technical issue and missed deadline.
• Arctic Shores demo task and Arctic Shores insight on the adaptive dial.
• Acas: reasonable adjustments.
• Task timings: candidate reports and prep sites. Candidate concerns: public threads in r/TheCivilService, r/degreeapprenticeships, r/UKJobs and r/Airbus (2023–2026). These are individual reports, not official policy.

Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with Arctic Shores.