[kittycat97]

Some people say that some jobs are not suitable for people with Autism. What are your views everyone? I believe Autistic people should have an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams like others.

[Callista]

I think autistic people are too diverse to ever make the statement that any particular job is unsuitable for all autistic people.

A particular autistic person might not be suited for a particular job, but that's true of non-autistics, too. Personally, I'm pretty sure I couldn't make it as a stockbroker or a police officer, but I could probably be a medical laboratory technician or an actuary. It all depends on training and on whether I can get the accommodations I need to be able to do the job effectively. Right now I hope to get the training necessary to become a rehab engineer.

The important thing is that you find a job that you can do and that takes advantage of whatever you're good at. Just the fact that a person's autistic can't give you enough information about what particular jobs they might be. Got to take it on a case by case basis.

[kittycat97]

I hope so too. People will never truly understand how we feel until they really have it, just like how we can truly understand others if we don't have Autism, vice versa. Ever since I have discovered that I have Autism, I feel hopeless about my future. I may even have to give up my dreams. It is so saddening to have your world and dreams shattered.

Don't let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. It's up to you to figure it out. You can work around your challenges to realize your dreams. Many people do.

Try not to focus on the label. I know, it's hard not too.

[-jimi-]

Guy here was diagnosed AS and fired from his beloved job as a train engineer. Tees me off to no end, since he was good at his job and never had a single incident at anything and working for many years.

But of course it would also be cruel to force someone to work at something they find very hard, here if you want welfare payment, you need to apply for all jobs, not only the ones fitting you. So that extreme is not good either.

[kittycat97]

We'll just have to take one step at a time... The world is such a confusing place

Originally Posted by jimrat

Guy here was diagnosed AS and fired from his beloved job as a train engineer. Tees me off to no end, since he was good at his job and never had a single incident at anything and working for many years.

But of course it would also be cruel to force someone to work at something they find very hard, here if you want welfare payment, you need to apply for all jobs, not only the ones fitting you. So that extreme is not good either.

Yikes, maybe I should start my own business.

[Callista]

I've been fired for having AS. But, to look back on it, I really think I could not have successfully kept that job for much longer anyway, because of how socially demanding it was and how little the manager was willing to accommodate for my disability. Without the social demands, and with some minor accommodations, I would probably have been a very good employee. It's just hard to get people to realize that disabilities don't have to be visible to exist.

Yep, prejudice is alive and well, folks. I hope that fellow jimrat mentioned found another train engineer job. If an autistic person gets a job in an area they're fascinated with, their performance tends to go off the charts, near-perfect. I'd hire him.

[bamapsych]

Originally Posted by Callista

If an autistic person gets a job in an area they're fascinated with, their performance tends to go off the charts, near-perfect. I'd hire him.

Amen to this Most Aspie's work well where little social interation is required. Working with numbers or an area that requires perfectionism and extreme focus are good fields. Examples are computer programming, engineering, accounting, etc.

[bamapsych]

http://www.autism-world.com/index.ph...aracteristics/

Work Characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome:
Difficulty with “teamwork”
Deliberate withholding of peak performance due to belief that one’s best efforts may remain unrecognized, unrewarded, or appropriated by others
Intense pride in expertise or performance, often perceived by others as “flouting behavior”
Sarcasm, negativism, criticism
Difficulty in accepting compliments, often responding with quizzical or self-deprecatory language
Tendency to “lose it” during sensory overload, multitask demands, or when contradictory and confusing priorities have been set
Difficult in starting project
Discomfort with competition, out of scale reactions to losing
Low motivation to perform tasks of no immediate personal interest
Oversight or forgetting of tasks without formal reminders such as lists or schedules
Great concern about order and appearance of personal work area
Slow performance
Perfectionism
Difficult with unstructured time
Reluctance to ask for help or seek comfort
Excessive questions
Low sensitivity to risks in the environment to self and/or others
Difficulty with writing and reports
Reliance on internal speech process to “talk” oneself through a task or procedure
Stress, frustration and anger reaction to interruptions
Difficulty in negotiating either in conflict situations or as a self-advocate
Ver low level of assertiveness
Reluctance to accept positions of authority or supervision
Strong desire to coach or mentor newcomers
Difficulty in handling relationships with authority figures
Often viewed as vulnerable or less able to resist harassment and badgering by others
Punctual and conscientious
Avoids socializing, “hanging out,” or small talk on and off the job

[bamapsych]

http://help4aspergers.com/pb/wp_4464..._44644162.html

[Sila]

A lot of people wouldn't think an Aspie to be a good fit as a therapist of any sort either. But that's sure not stopping me any! I'm working on my anxiety and working to understand social things better, so that when I finally get to my career goal as an Occupational therapist, the aspie problems won't be so disastrous. If you can get someone to hyperfocus on their job that they love, performance will be great. Who cares about the social aspect if they dont care either? I don't want to talk to people in a meeting about which flavor of smoothie they should make nest...I'd rather just make the dumb smoothie and do my job y'know?

[kittycat97]

I want to be the same as you too, but it is difficult when i have severe depression and negative thoughts rule my head.

[kittycat97]

Haha i want to be a doctor, lol. But i think they won't let me cos they think aspies lack of emphaty, cannot communicate and work in a team. Is it helpful for us to declare our condition or keep it away from them. I have mixed feelings about declaring, especially when medical school is so competitive.

[Sila]

Originally Posted by kittycat97

I want to be the same as you too, but it is difficult when i have severe depression and negative thoughts rule my head.

Trust me i understand...its tough. But that's why I have my therapist now. To help me see through the depression, the negative thoughts, the anxiety. To see my potential and to work toward it. *hugs*

[bamapsych]

Originally Posted by Sila

A lot of people wouldn't think an Aspie to be a good fit as a therapist of any sort either. But that's sure not stopping me any! I'm working on my anxiety and working to understand social things better, so that when I finally get to my career goal as an Occupational therapist, the aspie problems won't be so disastrous. If you can get someone to hyperfocus on their job that they love, performance will be great. Who cares about the social aspect if they dont care either? I don't want to talk to people in a meeting about which flavor of smoothie they should make nest...I'd rather just make the dumb smoothie and do my job y'know?

I'm not formally diagnosed with Asperger's, but I have alot of symptoms/traits that are being treated right now in therapy. I'm a senior in college getting my bachelor's degree. Getting prepared to move on to graduate school to get my master's degree in counseling so that I can be a Licensed Professional Counselor. So, I totally agree with you Thanks

[-jimi-]

I only work once a week but I'll see how I match up to that one.

Our workplace is dysfunctional with a mad boss, so I don't know how my team work would look without that.

I like to shine, when I can. There aren't many opportunities but in the small, I try.

I try not to talk too much about things I know, unless I'm asked.

I'm very critical how my workplace is run. I rarely complain unless I think I have some positive input. I know there is no use complaining even if it is a mess, it will stay a mess with that boss.

Compliments makes me feel less of a freak.

I totally dislike doing too much. I can take things my own pace luckily. When someone tells me to do this then this then this I'm lost and I tell them so. I might go back for more instruction. I work with my hands, and I'm theory minded, so it's a bit of a challenge.

I do what I'm asked to do. Or what I'm supposed to do. I don't have to think much for my own on this place.

Some at work are constantly bragging, that is the competition we have. I refuse to participate in such silly behavior.

I like doing my tasks whether they are seen as repetitive and boring, or my favorite tasks.

Next one I've already answered.

I have no personal work space.

I work slow. Like I say, I work in an area where I don't excel, so I'd rather take it slow than doing a bad job.

And once again, yea, I want to make it as good as I can.

We have in all too much unstructured time, and people hide and pretend they are doing something. I usually just hang with them, or I dust which is always needed.

I ask for extra instructions quite often. I don't want to mess up. I never ask for mental support.

I ask as many questions as I need to plus a few more to know what is going on at the place as a whole. Sometimes that is looked upon with surprise, so I assume I should just not have a grip on the workplace as a whole.

I'm not sensitive to the risks my work includes.

If I had to write reports I would be good at it. Now we don't.

I do think I sometimes talk myself though things, but that is more at home, work is easier, more structured.

I do fine with interruptions.

I'm thankful I haven't had to really stand up for myself yet to the boss. I have to my coworker, and it wasn't hard, not that she listens, but she gets the idea I disagree. I will stand up to my boss when needed, because she walks over people and if she does it with me I will say what I think about that.

I do not pursuit what I want to do at work, and what I was promised to do. I hope my boss will some day change her mind back again and ask me do it.

I do not respect authority, I respect humankind. I can be told to perform a task. I do not agree to be seen as something less because I'm the lowest on the scale at my work place.

I love to teach! Oops. That makes me feel worthy.

Oddly me and boss go well together, despite her being mad. I don't feel the same hatred towards her that the other workers do. Although she has been worse lately, and said a mean thing to me, so I don't know anymore. She used to respect me and sort of know I won't be messed with. Because I speak my mind, at least about certain things.

Not seen as vulnerable, but sometimes seen as less able.

Punctual. Responsible. Yea of course!!!!!!

Socializing is cool, I have certain favorites but I can talk to anyone.

[kittycat97]

Is it better to be diagnose early or later in life when everything is more settled in your life? (Jobs, education, relationship etc)

[Sila]

Well being diagnosed earlier in life allows you more time for therapy and such to be effective. If you've made it this far and have a stable life, home, relationship if wanted, etc, then a diagnosis will just be there as confirmation but chances are the symptoms aren't severe enough to be impacting you that much. if they are though, then there's always room to learn and ways to help. It just depends on you really.

Originally Posted by kittycat97

Is it better to be diagnose early or later in life when everything is more settled in your life? (Jobs, education, relationship etc)

I have spent my entire life wondering why I felt different and had "odd" behaviors (I tried so hard to eradicate them). Not knowing this, has left an indelible mark in my mind. I thought I was too sensitive, lazy, weird and weak to cope with the world.

More settled? I don't think so, even at 34. I have no partner, children, marriage and a job. University is all I do (at a reduced course load). I am a loner.

Why did it take over 30 years to discover this?

When I was a child AS wasn't widely known. My issues at home and school were attributed to my sensitive nature. My delays in development concerned mother but she found other explanations for them, such as the birth of my younger brother.

The AS was almost caught when I was a teenager in the mid 1990s. I was asked about it on occasion, but it never went anywhere. After a nasty psychiatric experience, I stayed away for 14 years. I looked after my own problems and kept my contact with healthcare providers to a minimum.

People saw the AS traits in me over the years, including my family.

I asked my mother, "Would this have been caught, if I was born in the 1990s?" She replied, "Yes." I don't doubt this, because my developmental history is filled with all the signs.

Yes, I find this disabling. My GAF hovers around 50 - 60, although I am fairly stable. My issues with executive function and obsessiveness affect me that much.

[kittycat97]

I was born in the 1990s but I think little was still known. My mother thoughts Autism was ADHD -_-. I only stumbled onto Autism this year and now I finally know the root of my problems. it seems like everything that I was puzzled before has finally been answered - Autism is the answer. I am not really sure if I really want to go for the Autism assessment... anyways there is no backing out now has my doctor has already arranged one for me. I think I will only experience the full impact and stigma of the diagnosis when I am diagnosed. What to expect for the assessment?