Aspies For Freedom

I have been in full time employment since I was 18. I have done very well in work because I have retained my jobs. I have read many accounts of people with AS struggling within work or to find work.

The reason I conclude this happens is because people, like me, who have AS are seen to have a 'problem'. This is true, I do have a problem. I have a problem with other people thinking they know what is best for me! They are frequently wrong. When I am left alone to get on with a job I get on very well. It is only when managers and collegues 'create' problems that things get difficult and I get ill.

From various articles and personal experience I conclude that people with AS make great employee's if we are simply allowed to get on with our work.

Here are six of many qualities I have in work,

1) Alert.
2) astute.
3) intelligent.
4) incisive.
5) aware.
6) approachable.

There are many more such as reliable, dependable, trustworthy, flexible, etc. etc.

What I can't do is interact with people or socialise with people or be a 'team player' or be motivated by gimmick's.

Please add your thought and comments.

We are very valuable people. Employer's need to learn that.

Michael indeed we need to educate people about aspies... Also we need to work with aspies on improving their socialization skills.. Hopefully at a young age so they can build on what they learn.  I have been working with friends who have aspies children and they are greatly improving on their social skills , especially on the job.  It behooves us to learn to do team work.. we can learn because we are brilliant

Most have not have had training... with CBT and some theatre training... many can learn to work with NTs... and help with their chances of employment and promotions... and over all career.

But Yetti, did you not say that you had a very successful career without any intervention?

I believe Michael is right - employers should look to AS strengths, not try to mould AS into NT ways of working.

yes I did.. everything I learned.. I learned on my own or sought things like theatre training 10yrs of it..which helped me with team work and people skills... Many psychologists are using theatre techniques to help young aspies work smoothly in social situations..

Theatre teaches inter and intra personal skills... I basically perform when I am with social groups.. when starting young it becomes learned second nature not first like with NTs.  I also took voice.. .and athletics and dance which helped me with body movement.  
As I stated before , my psychiatrist said all my life , I shot from the hip and did all the right things to make my life work in an aspie world. I sure would love to help other aspies.

In all honesty I can fool many psychologists who think I am NT.. My husband gets angry when they have a hard time with it.. I then let my performance down adn become myself and then the Aspie comes out... My husband knows when I slip and my aspie comes out in social scenes.  

I met my husband in college in the theatre dept.  So he knows when I am performing... I do it almost second nature now...

So I taught myself.. my psychiatrist is impressed.  I have met young aspies who have had the benefit of CBT based on theatre training and they are just like me... they were fortunate to have counselors who were educated in working with aspies... They instantly saw how they were so much like me... and they smiled and said.. "It works doesn't it" I nodded "YES" and smile.

I had no intervention... I shot from the hip as my doc said and sought out things since childhood which helped me.  Now docs are doing training for aspie kids which I taught myself.  I am the exception , not the rule for aspies.

My talent is that I learn everything I can. If I have a challenge , as my husband said, I want to resolve it ,no matter what it takes...and I conquer challenges...  I am a huge reader... and will learn everything I need to learn.  

I am also hypo manic and love it.. I will not take medication for it.. Hypo mania is Bi polar without the downs. we just have the ups.. Lots of benefits to it.  My doc said fine.. My hypo mania gives me the energy to conquer challenges which my asperger's face.  Hypomanics are basically type A personalities..

Studies have shown that AMerican has more hypomanics than any other country in the world andthey believe this is because the immigrants who came here had the personality type to make things happen.. so our culture is based on hypomanic genes..

Agreed. What Michael is doing is the core of Positive Psychology -- learning and utilizing your strengths rather than lettings someone crap all over you with "with CBT and some theatre training... many can learn to work with NTs" -- how warped and condescending.

Check out your strengths:

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/

    1. Wisdom and Knowledge:

        * curiosity
        * interest
        * love of learning
        * judgment
        * critical thinking
        * open-mindedness
        * perspective

    2. Courage:

        * valor
        * industry
        * perseverance
        * integrity
        * honesty
        * authenticity
        * zest
        * enthusiasm

    3. Love and Humility

        * intimacy
        * reciprocal attachment
        * kindness
        * generosity
        * nurturance
        * social intelligence
        * personal intelligence
        * emotional intelligence

    4. Justice

        * citizenship
        * duty
        * loyalty
        * teamwork
        * equity
        * fairness
        * leadership

    5. Temperance

        * forgiveness
        * mercy
        * modesty
        * humility
        * prudence
        * caution
        * self-control
        * self-regulation

    6. Spirituality and Transcendence

        * awe
        * wonder
        * appreciation of beauty and excellence
        * gratitude
        * hope
        * optimism
        * future-mindedness
        * playfulness
        * humor
        * spirituality
        * sense of purpose
        * faith
        * religiousness


My partner's top five were, I believe, very common virtues among Aspies:
* fairness
* duty
* love of learning
* judgment
* critical thinking

NT MAX , why do I feel you will not rise the latter of the educational world   The more skills ANY person has NT or Aspie, the more knowledge they have and it increases their chances of success and promotions..

BTW why isn't your partner on this board?  Since you claim he is an aspie? We would rather hear this aged partner of yours who is an aspie than your constant criticisms and lack of knowledge of aspies... YOU are an NT .. you have no idea what helps successful aspies...

You don't walk the talk both by not being an aspie and you are not successful.

People who write "rise the latter" should not talk about education.

I love how your appalling inability to write simple sentences acts as an indicator of your degree of decompensation.

Is he required to appear for your inspection? He's not a big fan of discussion boards, although sometimes we read the amusing threads together.

My aged partner? Damn, if Erich is aged, you're fossilized. He's 37. Do you ever have any idea what you're talking about?

I wondered about that myself. I saw a picture of Erich and he looked to be in his 30's. Yetti must have thought he was about 70.

Yetti, yet again your comments condescend to us mere mortals who obviously don't have the same privileged background as you. Having a string of fancy letters behind your name doesn't guarantee you a job.

I agree that we need to recognise where NTs are coming from in social interactions but not to the extent where we squash our own identities. Doing the latter almost guarantees much happiness and even a nervous breakdown.

Maybe you should drop the act a bit more instead of acting so superior. We aren't all as perfect as you are and nor should we be.

I also agree with Michael's comments that we have much to offer employers in terms of reliability and attention to detail.

Lovely post, Tenaciouscj!

Max, I believe that when Yetti read your thread about your first partner being older she assumed your second was, too. She seems to speed-read and misses a huge amount of important detail in the process.

Then she goes off at a tangent which makes no sense to anyone except her, because she is responding to what she believes she read, not what was actually written.

And of course, the same problem that causes her to speed-read leads to her speed-writing. She thinks that she is making coherent, sensible suggestions but all we get to see is gobbledegook.

I'm sure that Yetti really believes that she is being logical. Her untreated hypomania makes her feel like a god, which is why she is reluctant to treat it.

Unfortunately, uncontrolled hypomania seems on the evidence of her more recent posts to be turning into hypermania - and although this is a real nuisance here, it could be extremely dangerous in real life.

So - I call upon anyone who might know Yetti irl to see about getting her some help, urgently.

Thanks kindly Tigger. I think Yetti has little self-insight and should be seeing her doctor or therapist pronto. The danger is she will either do something very stupid that will risk life and limb or suddenly fall into a deep dark depression.

It's also possible she has semantic-pragmatic disorder and finds it difficult to understand what some words and phrases mean.

Good suggestion. She certainly doesn't realise what they can mean to other people!

AspieRabotchnik :p

*has gone all soviet chic atm, such a fashionable regime*

Then you have to learn to fight them.

I would like to say "rules are for fools" but one rule I have learnt is to know what can and can't be done to you. Most bullying is covert but whether it is subtle or not it is illegal.

That's why it's imperative that people know what their rights are and be prepared to stand up and be counted.