Was I discriminated against?

I had a cleaning job at a veterinary office. Well I sweep over and over because I want it to be clean and besides, there was nothing else to do. So the vet and his wife kept telling me I have a demon possession (I'm an atheist so I don't believe in that stuff). And I kept saying no, no, I have Autism and OCD, so that's why I do it. I said if they want to fire me fine, but it's not any demon. They kept arguing with me about it saying evil spirits were on me. His wife said that my behavior is very abnormal compared to other people she hires. I act different because I have Autism though. Different than NT people that might work there. I got upset and started crying. Then they said they were going to rid me of the spirits so I left right away and called my friend to get me away from that place.

They also asked me to name my medications on the job application. I do not think this is legal is it? My friend and I sent a complaint to the civil rights place but what else can I do since it's wrong?

Also when they were questioning me they asked if I act this way because I'm on drugs, and I said NO, do a drug test. But they kept asking me.

You could call a lawyer, many will offer a free consultation, but it sounds like something is wrong with saying you have a demon in you.

Their behaviour is totally inhumane and unacceptable. First of all, in an office where everyone has day to day roles to fulfil and tasks to complete, how someone can find time to observe a person, who is actually doing a job. If I were the boss, I would question the observer, how did he find time to observe you and then see the demon... It means that these people making comments and observations have plenty of free time... That's one aspect of the situation.
As for their rude comments, I think it will be very difficult to prove that they really said that and they will disown their words straight away. If you want to proceed against them, in my opinion, you should try to get videos of any surveillance cameras (if these captured your conversations with them) or else invest in those spy camera pens to capture something as evidence. This will help you build a proper case against them and it will be a valuable lesson to them and the likes of them.

Wow--I'm sorry that happened to you. They had no business doing that to you.

They sound well screwed up. Weirdos.
Not vets I would use.

I think calling it a demon is their way of understanding it though. In spiritual terms, things like autism, epilepsy, even deafness and dumbness are considered demons. But, as you say, you are an atheist so this doesn't really mean much to you.

It is how people who don't really understand a phenomenon rationalize it for themselves. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but they allowed it to influence their decision making in terms of their business. Those are typically not the sort of people to be employed by in any field, so if I were you, maybe cut your losses and seek employment elsewhere I think.

It's kind of ironic that you speak of "observers" because that is what the basic role of a demon is - to be a "watcher". If he is sitting around watching people all the time, hiding away while doing it, he is the one possessed.

Those people you work for are wierdos, no more than you are. (No offense, I am an aspergian too.) I think the best thing for you to do, if you need a job, is to go somewhere else for employment. But if you have the time and resources available, your situation would be a good test case on a few issues: religious, disabilties, and fair employment practices. Sad to say, but the probability of progressing on a legal case depends on where you live (what judges might be favorably inclined, what attorneys might take your case.) In any case it is up to you and you alone whether you decide to fight or just let it go and move on to another employer. I wish you the best, and I hope you will keep us updated.

YES, I personally believe they went against the law in a number of ways. What medications is none of their business, and they had no right to ask. You have a right to believe in, or not believe in, if you wish. They sound very strange to me, but I have heard of other "doctors" doing unethical things like everyone else might. I think it's good you got away from such jerks. Someone else out there may love to employ you.

It sucks the way all this works in life. It sucks that personal issues always have to stand in the way of you living your life.

I have the same thing. I am a brilliant scientist (I'm told, not my own opinion) and I strive to be such. I eat, sleep, breathe my talents/gifts. I am not normal, never will be.

I wish it could be that not being normal did not matter so much to normal people. Does my exceptional skill or talent not count for anything? Why is my personal life and problems such an issue? Just because I'm not social, I'm not good enough.

I feel you are going through the same things in your life probably. Your issues are issues to other people, but it does not stop you from being brilliant at what you do.

I think all autism sufferers face this dilemma out there. Your condition being thrown up in your face the whole time while there is nobody else like you who can do what you do, and as well as you. Yet, people choose to ignore that and keep grinding you on your condition and your shortcomings.

I grew up mainly in my teen years of my parents - well... one of my parents... believing that i was the devil and all other sorts of names that came out from the parent. ....
That is totally messed up...
It's not right for them to treat you that way.. I tolerated it to the best of my ability because they were my family. but these people aren't even that, are they?

People think I'm bad or evil just because they don't understand me but I don't do anything bad to anyone. They are okay with being around people who are mean but because I'm different I must be evil?

That makes no sense at all to me

It would not surprise me at all if you were being discriminated against, because we live in a world full of ignorant people. Society is just so very sad. Nobody cares about helping their fellow men (and women) any more.

I have noticed that in smaller, seaside type towns, the folk greet you. They are nice to you and seem friendly, well-mannered people. It can come as a surprise. But in busy cities such as Edinburgh where I live, you are just another face in the crowd. If you were to just extend your hand to a person to offer a friendly greetings, that person would think you were a nut. Edinburgh has everything you could want. Everything, but friends.

The poorer get poorer and the rich get richer. It is a shame, but it is true. People are just out for what they can get nowadays and to hell with others. But I believe people like that will eventually get their comeuppance. If they have that much money, why not choke on it? Such scum.

All my support workers are indeed quite dippy. One guy was with me months ago, around Easter time. This was during a support shift. He recommended I go buy A4 paper to make a petition for other service users to sign it after I come up with that idea, to try to get my former support workers back that I got banned from working with. So we were later in this place called Number 6 that service users go to. There was an Easter party at the time and I just tore off a large bit of paper from something to get people to write their names on it, after explaining what it was about. Well, I could swear blind I later caught the support guy blabbing to a member of staff about it, because I walked into the small kitchen just off the computer room and he had a right grin on his face. Then someone pulled me up about it immediately after that, saying it was not fair to involve other people since they would not be aware of why I was doing it. So I reckon he snitched on me. That is all they do. There is no way a service user would have been able to grass me up in that small amount of time. It was him. There is no doubt in my mind that they are so untrustworthy. This is partially why I ended my support. After all, it was this very snitching that compounded my entire charade. And I even ended up in prison over it.

Sure, they will have shifts with you if you go ahead with them and the staff will listen to all your crap, as long as it is on their watch and they are not going a minute over their allocated time. But once your back is turned, it all gets jotted down somewhere and I just know that, because I know them, basically. Oh, I have seen them checking their watch at the door if I have kicked off and they need to leave, since they do not get paid after the shift is over. That is kind of rude.

You are pretty much confessing things to the 'police of the autism world', so please, do remember to be careful what you say to your caregivers, or likewise. What people do not know will not hurt them. Also, try to remember that even the nicest of the nice can be another wolf in sheep's clothing. This is all solid advice, that I know I need to take myself.

Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

I feel your pain. What these people did was unacceptable and extremely closed minded and biased. They should be punished for this. I know how hard this stuff is. This has been very difficult for me as well. It has been hard for doctors to even diagnose me with AS. I have profound amounts of knowledge and experience with emotions. So I understand them at a certain level. But part of me doesn't. It's strange. I step in and out of my disorder. It's hard for me to get hired.

Wow, Peter A, thanks for sharing that. It's so sad nowadays. There literally seems to be no-one you can trust out there anymore. As soon as the person has a little advantage or power over you in some way, they exploit it for their own agenda. That's why I have such a tough time trusting anyone anymore.

If you think that's bad, none of the staff members at Autism Initiatives are even coming to court on Friday to have my best interests at heart and I have a solitary support shift today just to return items to my flat. However, I have to wait up the road. If you Google search The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, I live near there.

God knows if I can even go back to living there anyway. It is up to what the judge decides and if he is concerned there will be further problems, he has the authority to prevent me staying there. That means my stuff would have to be cleared out and I would have to reside with my family. But their house is cluttered and clammy, plus it is not my home.

The support staff have been mucking me about something awful and I feel my life has been ruined by all the lying and police drama this year. Even when 2015 swings around, I will still be brooding and feeling like crap. My sister also has her own share of problems as well.

Autism Initiatives. Ha! The only thing they even remotely 'initiated' for me was pain.

do you have a way to explain how it will be different, and how it can be prevented of further problems? if the judge asks.
are there any advocates around where you, that isnt within this one company?

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Well, I contacted AdvoCard. I got told to ring them back in the new year, but I don't think autism is one of their practices. And I would rather not start off 2015 by dwelling on this stuff even more, but I know it will probably be haunting me for good now. And I know I have a right to be angry, because I have to dispute whether this bull crap was ever necessary. Nobody appreciates being lied to and betrayed.

I had a shift with this guy today and he said the reason the senior I had asked to come to court is not going on Friday is because I wanted her to be there to assign blame to the agency.

OK. Fair enough. But it seems they have just gone and ditched me during what is a crucial point in time. They do not want to take any accountability for their actions, so it is much better for them to leave me flat and see what happens on the big day without directly being involved in the outcome. Gee, thanks.

I know I should not have broken a bottle, sarcastically touched a woman on the chest (I did this smarmy act after being semi-accused of hitting on women) and going to people's houses, even if my intent was just to offer an apology. But I tried telling the higher-ups long ago that had the two aforementioned support people come back to my team, they could have saw progress happen in a positive way.

Rather, they know I had feelings for them and in their view, that is bad for the boundaries, so they claim they had to pull them off of my team. When I told this guy today that it was becoming a pattern (me complimenting someone and others reporting that), he said not to tell anyone in the future, because it can come across you are overly interested in that person, especially if it is a female, but it may apply to a guy worker too. So that is something to keep in mind, for the future!

Meanwhile, maybe you can add your two cents to my thread instead of this one, as this particular thread is about somebody else.