Aspies For Freedom

This is sort of a non-issue now, but it comes up in my mind often enough that I thought I would ask about it- maybe someone here will know.

I applied for and got a job with an agency that worked with disabled people. When I applied, it was advertised as not only accepting disabled applicants, but that they would be paid a higher wage. At the time, I didn't know I had Asperger's so I did not check the box for "yes, I am disabled" on the application and paperwork.

While working there, I was exposed to and worked with autistic people and quickly realized that we had a LOT in common, and that even the non-verbal low functioning auties made a heck of a lot more sense to me than the norrmal people. I found that I couldn't keep from stimming in their presence or mirroring them, and was verbally reprimanded for engaging in conversations that were interesting to us, but "inappropriate" to them (synesthesia, for example, was something they didn't want me to talk about with clients). I got diagnosed while working there, and informed the management -all of them- of my diagnosis. I asked whether it would affect anything, and they said no, that they couldn't fire me because I was disabled.

I probably should've asked if I now qualified for making half again as much money now that I was disabled (there was a large sign advertising this- it was some sort of government program) but I didn't. They never raised me, and they didn't mention it, either. Meanwhile, they couldn't fire me, but they made life pretty unpleasant for me. They ceased letting me work with other auties -the only ones that I could relate to or had much to offer- and put me with clients that I had specifically requested not to work with (we were allowed to do this, and it was supposed to be respected. I was afraid of some of the clients, but they made me work with them anyway.

For example, I had to go to a single man's apartment and sit there alone with him and try to engage him in a conversation while he stared at me and wouldn't respond...for over an hour. I didn't feel safe or comfortable about it at all, but they persisted in making me go there twice a week. There was an aspie girl there that noone could seem to get along with, and she liked me. I asked to work with her and they refused, even though they could not get anyone else to work with her for any length of time.

I finally gave in and quit, it was what they seemed to want, anyway, between cutting my hours back and making me work with a number of people I had asked not to have. Meanwhile, seeing the way they treated the other auties made my blood boil.....

Anyway, my question is, were they supposed to pay me more, or would I have to have been on social security to get the higher wage? I don't expect for a minute that there's anything I can do about it now.  :?  The whole thing still sort of irritates me.

I'm so sorry to hear about the way you've been treated at work. There's probably alot you can do about it. Charge them with a human rights complaint.  I've been through the process twice, once on my own behalf and once with my sister. In the first case my born again Christian boss called me a lesbian and had me removed from working in her office. I am not a lesbian (and god knows there have been times I wish I was) but I still had grounds for complaint. This happened years before I knew I was an aspie. At the time I charged my bosses with sexual harassment as sexual orientation discrimination. Anyway, my point is that the human rights complaint process is quite easy.  It's easy. Usually they'll settle before you get to court or a human rights tribunal (the judicial process varies depending where you live.) You can be financially compensated for lost wages as well as any stress caused by their discriminatory treatment.

Chamoisee, most such things have a statute of limitations, you would need to check on the rules for that in your local area.
As you informed them of your diagnosis, did that diagnosis technically also make you classed as disabled, as I know in the UK, if you are dx with aspergers it would not make you automatically classed as disabled.

If it is classed as a disability regardless, then they had a duty to pay you more.

Is it possible to get free legal advice, such as a half hour consultation, from some kind of compensation lawyer group?

I don't really want to sue them. Don't know why, maybe I'm just a wimp.

Asperger's was enough of a disability for other people to be receiving services there for it......

What should I have done or said, without risking a confrontation? I asked other workers about it and they said that they felt that I should be getting the extra wages "just like the other disabled workers". I don't know who  the others were, but apparently some of them were getting it....

I don't think you're a wimp. Some people choose to just put the discriminatory treatment behind them, go on with their lives, and deal with it that way.  I think that's a totally sensible approach and would probably be the prefered option in most cases.  I tried to do that in my own case but found that the effects of the discrimination cumulated overtime both in terms of my mental health and financial status to the point where I had to take action.

If your workplace was unionized the first step you could have taken is to go to a union rep.  Also, it's important write down all the incidences of  discrimination, the written documentation is the basis of the complaint.  

It's true that there is usually a time limit after which point you cannot make a human rights complaint. Here in Canada that time limit is six months.

That's interesting, because, and maybe this is cuz I'm higher-functioning, I don't appear disabled to most people. So if I checked off disability, they'd probaly say "what?!" and if I explained it to them, they'd do that ol' ignorant NT thing like saying "Yeah right, you're BSing us" Well they wouldn't use the term BS, but you know what I mean.

It's funny though, and I'm sorry if this may come off as racist to some people. They'll hire a uneducated, non-English speaking person, before they hire a Aspie/Autie. What's up with that?

Yes, seems very mystifying indeed....

Familiarity, maybe?  I live in an area with a lot of immigrants, and the population we have may have difficulties with the language, and some may not have formal schooling, but they are extremely hardworking.  Blows me away, actually.  So, if someone has had that type of experience, v. wondering what an employee with a condition they aren't entirely familiar with might be like, well, they will go for the relatively known quantity.  I'm not saying that is fair, but it may be the explanation you are looking for.

I dunno how it works where you are but here in Good Ol' England, its because if they don't hire the uneducated, non-English speaking person, it'll be 'RACISM'. ((Here, the mere mention of the word seems to be practially incontrovertible proof.))

But if they don't hire the Aspie/Autie, they don't get screams of 'AUTISTICPHOBE'.

In other words, if you have two dogs at you, one, say a pitbull sinking its teeth into your legs and another, say a daschhund, just tugging at your trouser cuff, at the end of the day, you're just not going to be that bothered about the dachsund.

Where I work, there are special scholarships for indigenous people and a lot is made of their achievements. This is very good but I notice one glaring omission - where are the stories and assistance for people with disabilities?

We have a weekly newsletter and there used to be some stories about people with disabilities who did very well at work and in life eg. a couple of men who were legally blind. One became a very good swimmer and another did something amazing with indoor cricket.

I don't see the stories about deaf officers or those with autism though and I know there are some of both in the organisation. Maybe none of them have "noteworthy achievements" (which I think is far from the truth) or nobody to speak up for them.

There's also a lot about women and there are various programmes such as SWIM (Senior Women In Management) - what about Junior Men in base grade positions?