Aspies For Freedom

Interesting list of occupations. I am currently studying for a job dealing with computers. I haven't yet decided if I want to be a programmer, design web sites, or do something with building computers. (computer jobs were listed in both Tables 2 & 3)

While in college, I am working at a fast food restaurant. This is the best place for me now because of the flexible schedule (works well with my class schedule).

Working in fast food was listed in Table 4. While this has proven to be a satisfactory option, there are still some challenges. Ex. I worked there an entire year before any one decided that I was capable of learning how to do other things than just clean tables - and this was after I complained about them training other new people and not me.  :roll:  

My first week was a complete blur. The only person that worked there that I could recognize was the one who gave me my job interview. There was so much going on(customers, beeping noises) that it took me a long time to understand the environment.  (maybe that was why I was stuck cleaning tables for so long)

However, I was appreciated for being very honest and hard-working. When I complained about not being trained, they listened and finally taught me how to make food (aka work on line) -- which was what I preffered to do since it involved less dealings with customers.

While it took me a while(longer than most others) to learn line, I am now the second fastest person there. After learning line, my knowledge of how the place was run increased dramatically. I was promoted to be one of the hourly managers, this presented more challenges. My first few months of management were rocky. I was expected to know certain things that no one had told me. It took me a while to learn these things... after many times of getting long lists of things that I forgot to do.  

Now, I am a pretty good manager.. not the best but still pretty good. I still have problems with going into my own little world and not noticing some things... and thus employees are getting away with certain things like not wearing their hat...  I have learned what needs to be accomplished on each shift, and how to get those things done. I have a tendency, however, to do everything myself & never ask for help until I finally remember that I am supposed to and that getting everything done myself is practically impossible. (errr... annoying teamwork jobs)  

I still have some problems running drive thru. While I am capable of this, the need to do several things at once (make drinks, repeat orders, take money from customer at the window) makes running drive a big challenge. I am definitely not the best at drive thru. After being on drive for just a couple of hours, I get exhausted and have trouble repeating peoples orders back(the words just won't come out and I end up repeating orders with long pauses or with stuttering).

My biggest challenge at the time is the drive thru timer. It beeps when a customer has been at the window too long. They recently turned it up because for some reason hearing a loud annoying sound is supposed to make us faster.  :roll:  This is my biggest stressor at work. When a customer has a problem with a card, refuses to order at the menu and pulls up to the window and orders, or asks too many questions they sit at the window long enough for the timer to really stress me out. For others the loud noise is annoying... for me it is beyond that. Sometimes I start snapping at everyone, other times I just get really quiet and don't talk to others, and other times I get shaky and can't think straight & forget what I'm suppose to do(thus making the order I am making take longer to get to the window). Once, someone with a problem with their card(who refused to admit their card was defective) sat at the window for six minutes. Even after the timer stopped beeping, I could not concentrate... all the noises were too loud. I had to go into the walk-in refrigerator(which is almost sound proof) and stay there until I calmed down a little. After that, when I thought I felt pretty good, one of our employees came to pick up her check. She commented that I looked really bad like something was really wrong.

Does any one have any ideas on how I can convince my general manager to turn down the timer???

Defintely, some people work for one day, then quit. Today, we kept a radio by the line during the lunch shift. As I tend to so completely focus on music, that helped me to tune out the loud timer better... I'm going to try the same thing during the night shift to see if it works again.

I have had some problems with short-term memory, but in a different way than people with Alzheimer's do. In Alzheimer's, the short-term memory loss many times starts out mild and unnoticable and then progresses.

I would say that my problems with short-term memory are usually not noticable because I find ways to compensate.  However, when I am stressed out or completely lost in thought, then they are very noticeable(though not nearly as bad as people with advanced Alzheimers). Thus, instead of progressing with time, the problems merely change with each situation.

I used to have problems doing mental math because I could not hold all of the numbers in my head at one time while doing all of the steps(carrying the one, crossing out numbers ect). I could do very complex mathematical problems on paper, faster and more accurately than others, but had trouble adding and subtracting in my head.

I no longer have these problems with mental math because I discovered a short-cut for addition and subtraction. Now I can do mental math so fast that there is no hesitation from the moment I hear the math problem until the moment I give the answer. When people ask me how I do this, I explain it to them but they usually don't understand or say that they will just leave all the math to me.   :smile:

Great site! There were a few tips there I have already figured out on my own, and some that I will have fun learning.

I understand how you feel stressed out by the timer but the 'problem with the card'. refusing to order at the menu and 'asking too many questions' sounds to be me just like my autistic response to automated purchase systems! Perhaps your problem is too many aspie customers....

I think Temple Grandin explained this very well in the original article when she made an analogy between the NT is like a computer with 10Gb of ROM  linked by a pentium proceessor and the Aspie who had 1000 Gb of ROM but only a 286. I agree with Trix that my short term memory is worse when I'm stressed (I think thats true for NTs too but worse for us).

you need to say to the general manager " i would like to arrange a time to speak to you when you are free." or something similar in your style of talking. it makes it seem more professional when you ask to arrange a time to speak rather than just saying your problem there and then because it gives him/her time to prepare mentally so s/he will consider your problem instead of instantly dismissing it because s/he hasen't been able to think about it fully, it is less distracted for the manager (s/he might be really busy even if they don't appear to be) and you will be taken more seriously because s/he will know its something that has been on your mind and is important to you.
then when you are talking to the manager later explain to him/her that you have a sensory problem and find loud noises very distracting and stressful and that it been making it harder for you to work efficiently. ask him/her if it would be possible if the timer can be turned down a bit.

there should be no reason why they can't make it a bit quieter to accommodate all their workers.
if you are diagnosed then you could explain autism to them, i am unsure of the laws where you work but where i live it is against the law to deliberately harass disabled people so you could use that against them if the manager refuses.

There's a minimum wage in the US as well, and if you're single it's just enough to live off. The problem is if you're married and have a kid. You can't support a family off of minimum wage, or even 1.5 times minimum wage.

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Hope's short term memory is really bad and her long-term fantastic.

My impression of Temple's list was it was skewed towards low performing Aspies, frankly. Very few academic jobs or jobs that involve the intellect in a major way, for example. It seems if it involves contact with the public, she omitted it....Personally I think Hope would make a good statistician since it interests her, but her math skills are fairly poor.

Re pressure tenaciouscj is right- you have to factor in the stress factor of any job. Your ability to handle stress decreases with age, especially after age 40 or 45. I am a perfect example- formerly emotionally very, very strong and now that I am in my fifties I actually have problems with anxiety, pressure in my chest, etc.- a first for me but just the aging process at work unfortunately....

Yet she included taxi driver... I'd probably go nuts having to cope with the uncertainty of who my next customer is going to be, 50 times a day, plus all the chatting that some customers might want to do; the whining about why it's taking so long, etc. And then there's all the city driving with the unpredictability of all the other drivers. Truck driver seems a lot easier... same wrt to single tasking with clearly defined goals, but a lot less city traffic and a lot fewer people to deal with. I'm curious why she didn't include that.

My husband says that he'd considered becoming a taxi driver when he was younger, but that they wouldn't hire people under 25 because of insurance reasons. He's done a lot of pizza delivery, which sounds a lot more appealing to me. For some reason the thought of becoming a truck driver had never crossed his mind though until I brought it up. My brother wouldn't be able to do any of these jobs though: he freaks out by other road users unpredictable actions way too often while bicycling to work.

Speaking of which... I'm going to orientation at Werner this coming Monday! With the list of what to pack it almost sounds like going to summer camp or something. [grin] Who knows, it might be kinda fun. Truck driving school was the most fun I'd ever had going to school. So, it looks like I've got a job, my first real job ever.

In order to complete a 4-year statistics degree she'll have to have somewhat decent math skills, but there are other jobs that use statistics that don't require all that much math. Of course, I'm not sure how her math skills are poor... you don't have to be good at adding stuff in your head, for example. She's like, 15yo, right? You could try to find her an introductory level college stat book (some used book store might have a 5-10yo version for under $10, or try the library)... the STAT 1342 class I was in required only very very basic algebra... stuff she should already know.

Same exact thing here...  and I am quite frankly not able to do much in school, because of it.  There's no amount of "hard work" that will get good grades, my neurology has limitations and I won't accept being thrown around a support service room for 4 hours a day just to get by.

Low performing Aspies?  You mean the kind of Aspies that they're making the prenatal test for, to prevent the "net loss" to society?  Yes, I see...

Hmm. Getting good academic results is not the only predictor of success on the job. It is no use pushing somebody to do a job that they might be academically qualified for but where they do not have the necessary emotional and temperamental characteristics required. In the end, it should be a job that makes the person happy, even if is not really high paid or prestigious.

In order to complete a 4-year statistics degree she'll have to have somewhat decent math skills, but there are other jobs that use statistics that don't require all that much math. Of course, I'm not sure how her math skills are poor... you don't have to be good at adding stuff in your head, for example. She's like, 15yo, right? You could try to find her an introductory level college stat book (some used book store might have a 5-10yo version for under $10, or try the library)... the STAT 1342 class I was in required only very very basic algebra... stuff she should already know.
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maybe-- I am going to mention it as a career when the time comes. She is fascinated by stats, generalizations, trends, etc. so it would be ideal for her. I used to do market research myself so understand census numbers,stats- I could teach her a lot, plus I do GIS (mapping software) work and that is one of the fastest growing job sectors now.


congrats on the truck driving job! Those jobs are well paying in the US! Perfect for an Aspie I would think! Good luck sweetie!

Ellen

I don't know about poor short-term memory...

I used to think this, but then I realised that what I actually have is a better visual memory than auditory memory.

If someone gives me instructions verbally, they can go in one ear and out of the other, whereas if I've read or seen something, I can remember it better because I can visualise it.  

I can't visualise an aural memory, it just dissipates in the air and is gone.

Now I try to write things down myself.  Or I ask others to send me an email with instructions or to confirm/remind me about something they've told me verbally.