Aspies For Freedom

There is absolutely no question that Aspies are discriminated against both in hiring and promotion. Bosses don't just look at job skills -- there are always plenty of people who can do the job. They look for people they think will "fit in" at the work place, and someone the boss feels socially comfortable with -- and they are usually comfortable with someone like themselves, which means not gay, not black, not Aspie, etc.

Yes, it's very common to see Aspies in a job that is way below their skill/ability level. (Also blacks, gays, women, etc.) And also very common to see white male straight NT's get hired and promoted to high levels even though they'e idiots.

I think that for what I actually do I get paid well. There is alot of people interaction but it is not a problem. I am paid more because I do 'anti-social' hours. Shifts also mean I don't work with the same people all the time which is good. The work is easy and I've been doing it along time.

However the work is, like all menial jobs, boring. My jobs boring and it makes me bored. This increases my anxiety because I often feel trapped. So I let my collegues take the majority of customers and I only work hard when I'm on the sales desk alone.

I don't expect to do much else into the future. I think that because I am uninterested in relationships that translates into an inability to see the value of work and status. I could be the Manager at my work, I would be ( maybe ), if I possessed the enjoyment of interpersonal skills which currently seems necessary to be a manager, not simply the ability to run a smooth operation.

I consider myself comfortable.  I'm in college, and I'm living with my parents (to make things easier financially) until I'm finished college.  After that, I'll move out and get a job.  I imagine it's going to be pretty easy for me to find work, being Aspie shouldn't make a tremendous amount of difference.

Hello,

I agree with RichardL. I feel comfortable about getting a job. Especially due to the facts that my ADD/Aspergers/"Clinically Depressed" father rose to senior vice president in a worldwide company, the fact that I'm already selling my photography and work for a non-profit organization (even though I am not in High School yet), and after hearing all the success stories about diagnosed ADDs and diagnosed Aspies. I have always been a good student in some subjects and a not-so-good student in others, and my abilities to plan ahead and sufficiently organize on my own are limited, but I am receiving tutoring from a wonderful teacher so all that is changing. Yes, I have inherited the genes for a variety of mental conditions, but in the end I don't think it will matter.

For all others diagnosed with Aspergers I wish you luck on finding a better job, or at least one that you love and enjoy.

Will

Three jobs in a year. All in the service industry (food service, retail, etc...) aparently my bosses are pleased with my work motivation, but I can't really do the teamwork type of thing. Especially when they wine and complain about their job.

My temporary employment job is working pretty good for me now, while I juggle school and work. Maybe because it's not repetitive.

Also, like RichardL, I too live with my parents. SO things are a bit easier on me financialy.

There is no job menial...thats my opinion..now I used to think that way, that what I did was bebeath my knowledge and creativity..but have come to the conclusion that what I do may not reap glory or attention, but it does have its purpose..otherwsie why would it need to be done? Yes, I would like a job where I use my creative aspie forces..but I get paid decent..so I save my creativity for doing my own thing on my own time. I paint, write..etc etc..I do sometimes get volunteered to do a painting or create something for work..I once was asked to write a few programs for the folks we represent, however they want something done in a few minutes that I think takes longer to create.  I tend to become so involved in the project that I forget the term simiplicity..and get intense and complicated..in my writing..with graphs..and such..so on. So I keep it simple..do my simple yet significant tasks..amd save the good stuff for myself..lol

I agree with Max.

There are two other issues that have kept me from promotion. One is a social/communication issue.  I prefer to be invisible as much as possible.  I do good work but I don't like beating my own drum like the others do. That fills me with distaste. Also I just plain find it hard to communicate with them. I don't know why. I don't want to return emails.  I do research but then feel unable to take the next step to publish it.   I enjoy being a good silent servant. Alas, that is the opposite of how one plays the promotion game.

The other issue is fear of change.  A promotion would mean my routine would change a lot and I might even have to move to a shift where there is a lot of people.  Moving to another company to get higher pay would also be a big change. So, I've turned down promotions.

In my case, my autistic traits (or rather people's bigotry against my autistic traits) have pretty well impaired me from finding paid work of any kind at all.

Sadly, that is an all too common story as there is still so much ignorance about autism and its positive traits which would make us an asset to employ.

I consider myself extremely lucky as being in my second career 8 years.  

Never mind the first career didn't work.  I like either career, and career B (computer programming) is better paid than career A (social research) and I'm not taking a pay cut today, no sir.

I managed to kill off the student loans and because I rent and never had a loan for my car (gift from Mom, before she died), and never run a balance, interest rates do not hurt me.

Interest rates help me in my retirement savings.

I am too close to the office but to walk.  If I am intelligent about it I could drive one short trip Saturday (dry cleaners) and a string of errands Sunday (church, shopping).  

I have a folding bike but 12 inch wheels are a bitch.  Perhaps with enough gym visits, recumbent bike, I will have the leg strength to last a 10 minute ride, or I could get a 26 inch light enough to carry up stairs.  Problem is that the apartment complex has very little bicycle parking.  We are too damned close to the airport (Reagan) and everything else.

Read Divorce Your Car by Katie Alvord.
Or at least get a mistress.

Depends on what kind of well paid work and the tolerance of the people doing the hiring.

If tolerance were greater, we could handle some types of systemizing jobs: social research, for example.  I was doing fine at the University and I was even paid for a while.

Other systemizing jobs, computer programming (related fields Web design, database design), physical sciences, math, engineering, being a professor.... that is more the stereotype too many NTs have of us.

Usually it helps to indulge them in their stereotypes.  

Hmmmm, maybe if we added a protectionist surcharge for H2 and H visas, and cracked down hard on illegal immigration, we would be forced to hire the untouchables in our midst.  Cutting welfare might help our side choose employment (last time I dated, I could understand why she wouldn't argue with a check).

Sort of like if middle class people had much fewer kids we would be forced to educate kids from less well endowed families, no excuse to ignore "other people's" kids.

Jobs are hard to find for me because lack of employment in general.

Strangly enough I like working in CP, my complaint is that I'm not working enough. My superviorse and higher ups know of my AS and I'm not afriad to explain. My fear is that I will get to frustrated and either have a panic attack or accidently hurt some on in impulse.

Money is hard to because I'm incredibly impulsive.

Critique:

1.  Yes, do what you love.

2.  Hopefully it is in a job looker's career (anti-competitive).  The State of Maryland asked me to disregard, at least for the foreseeable future, my graduate degree related to applied research, and trained me in computer programming instead.  Both careers use the same parts of my brain pretty much, but the applied research field is competitive because grad school attracts research types, but computer programming and Web design in 1999 were booming.

3.  This is to say that sometimes higher education fails us.  

4.  After the Master's I went straight to food stamps (I was living on my own for the first time and I was only making $600 or so a month), but that didn't last and I went back home.  It was the last month of my Dad's life.

Early the next year I had cancer and I was working a succession of temporary placements, no insurance.  Medicaid was able to avoid most of the liability, some was forgiven out of hardship, and I extinguished the rest in 2.5 years (a fire that burned from Mar. 97 to Aug. 99).

Mom was still alive.  If Dad had had his way I would have been employed and long gone, but he neglected to consider that that would have left Mum all by herself, the last years of her life with breast cancer.  

I think God forced me to stick around by not giving me the choice to leave.

I did try Federal employment in 1998, but that did not work.  Because six interviews failed to replace that job, I was coming back home to see Mom.

Days after returning, the State of Maryland invited me to take examinations at a vocational rehabilitation facility in Baltimore (before the Fed job I also had VR in West Virginia but nothing like Maryland sending me to a residential facility to take 22 hours of community college credits with six other high-functioning men for six months)

Why should a M.A. be on food stamps, Medicaid, VR, the Earned Income Tax Credit, prescription medicine assistance (antidepressants), and briefly, unemployment?  If it wasn't for living with Mom I'd would have been homeless.

It was interesting relating to the MSW on the Community Living Skills Training floor: they were busy teaching me cooking, cleaning, public transit, shopping, ironing (the ironing was the only thing I didn't do successfully all by myself the previous year in Greenbelt).  

MSW, can you say, "there but for the grace of God?"

It has been almost eight years working in Arlington.  After about a year of general computer support duties, mostly Access (the first thing they taught), I was accepted into the Web design group.

http://www.onestoptoolkit.org/resourceoftheweek.cfm.  Somebody takes Word documents emailed from the University of Iowa and turns them into Section 508 accessible Web pages.

That guy is me and I've been doing that since 2001.

I also get to add parts of some Web sites

http://www.edcountability.net

And make most or all of other Web sites

That's nice.

BUT... since we spend so much of our days working, it's also nice to have a job that provides a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. A living wage is also nice.

When I help my students with career exploration, this is what I tell them:

1. Know what your personal strengths are

2. Choose a job/career that allows you to use those strengths

So what are your strengths?  

Signature Strengths, Self-Rating Scale
(Adapted by Jonathan Haidt, from M.E.P. Seligman, 2002: Authentic Happiness)

     Everyone has a characteristic set of strengths and virtues, that is, things that they are “good” or “strong” on. Research in Positive Psychology suggests that there are (at least) 24 strengths and virtues that are recognized in most cultures.

     Please read the descriptions of the 24 strengths and virtues below. As you read them, write a “+” in the margin next to the ones that you think describe you well.

Write a “-“ in the margin next to the ones that you think do not describe you well.

Leave the rest unmarked.

Then look through the ones with a “+” next to them and try to rank order your top 5. That is, place a “1" in the left-hand column for the one that you think best describes you, then a “2" in the next best one, etc.

Finally, look through the ones with a “-“ in the margin and try to rank the five that are LEAST true or applicable to you. That is, put a “24" next to the one that is least like you, then a “23", etc., out to 20. These might be considered your “weaknesses.” But bear in mind that everyone has strengths AND weaknesses, and being honest about both will help you plan out a life that takes maximum advantages of your strengths.

Strength & Description

1.Curiosity
Rank______
You are curious about the world and you strongly desire experience of it. You are flexible about matters that don’t fit your preconceptions. Curious people do not simply tolerate ambiguity but they like it and are intrigued by it. You seek out novelty, and you are rarely bored.

2.Love of learning
Rank______
You love learning new things, whether you are in a class or on your own. You always loved school, reading, museums - anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn. There are domains of knowledge in which you are the expert, and others value your expertise. You love learning about these domains, even in the absence of any external incentives to do so.

3.Judgment
Rank______
You think things through and examine them from all sides. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind. You are very good at sifting information objectively and rationally, in the service of the good for yourself and others.  You do NOT just think in ways that favor and confirm what you already believe.

4.Ingenuity
Rank______
When you are faced with something you want, you are outstanding at finding novel yet appropriate behavior to reach that goal.  You are rarely content with doing something the conventional way. This strength is also called "practical intelligence" or more bluntly common sense or street smarts.

5.Emotional intelligence
Rank______
You are aware of the motives and feelings of others, and of yourself, and you can respond skillfully. You notice differences among others, especially with respect to their moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions, and then you act upon these distinctions. You also have finely tuned access to your own feelings and the ability to use that knowledge to understand and guide your behavior.

6.Perspective
Rank______
You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and yourself. Others seek you out to draw on your experience, and you are often able to help them solve problems and gain perspective. You have a good sense of what is really important in life.

7.Valor
Rank_______
You do not shrink from threat, challenge, pain, or difficulty. Valor is more than bravery during physical threat. It refers as well to intellectual or emotional stances that are unpopular, difficult, or dangerous. The brave person is able to uncouple the emotional and behavioral components of fear, resisting the urge to flee and facing the fearful situation. Fearlessness, boldness, and rashness are not valor; it is facing danger, despite fear, that marks valor.

8.Perseverance
Rank______
You finish what you start. You take on difficult projects and finish them, usually with good cheer and minimal complaint. You do what you say will do and sometimes more, never less. Perseverance does not mean dogged or obsessive pursuit of unattainable goals. Rather you remain flexible, realistic, and not perfectionistic.

9.Integrity
Rank______
You are an honest person, not only always speaking the truth but also living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense.  You representing your intentions and commitments to others and to yourself in sincere fashion, whether by word or deed.

10.Kindness
Rank______
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well. Your actions are very often guided by other people’s best interests, even when these override your own immediate wishes and needs.

11.Loving
Rank______
You value close and intimate relations with others. You have deep and sustained feelings for others, who feel the same way about you. This strength is more than the Western notion of romance; it is about very deep ties to several or many people.

12.Citizenship
Rank______
You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate, You always do your share, and you work hard for the success of the group. You value the group goals and purposes even when they differ from your own. You respect those who are rightfully in positions of authority, like teachers or coaches, and you identify with the group.

13.Fairness
Rank______
You do not let your personal feelings bias your decisions about other people. You give everyone a chance. You guided in your day-to-day actions by larger principles of morality. You take the welfare of others, even those you do not know personally, as seriously as your own, and you can easily set aside personal prejudices.

14.Leadership
Rank______
You do a good job organizing activities and seeing to it that they happen. You are a humane and effective leader, attending to getting the group's work at the same time as maintaining good relations among group members. You are additionally humane when you handle intergroup relations  "with malice toward none and charity toward all."

15.Self- control
Rank______
You can easily hold your desires, needs, and impulses in check when it is appropriate. It is not enough to know what is correct; you must also be able to put this knowledge into action. When something bad happens, you can regulate your own emotions. You can repair and neutralize your negative feelings, and generate positive emotions on your own.

16.Prudence
Rank______
You are a careful person. You do not say or do things you might later regret. You wait until all the votes are in before embarking on a course of action. You are far-sighted and deliberative. You are good at resisting impulses about short term goals for the sake of longer term success.

17.Humility
Rank_____
You do not seek the spotlight, preferring to let your accomplishments speak for themselves. You do not regard yourself as special, and others recognize and value your modesty. You are unpretentious. You see your own aspirations, victories and defeats as pretty unimportant in the larger scheme of things.

18.Appreciation
Rank______
You stop and smell the roses. You appreciate beauty, excellence, and skill in all domains: nature, the arts, science, and the wide range of abilities that other people possess. You often see or hear things cause you to feel profound feelings of awe and wonder.

19.Gratitude
Rank______
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. You always take the time to express your thanks. Gratitude is an appreciation of someone else's excellence in moral character. We are grateful when people do well by us, but we can also be more generally grateful for good acts and good people. Gratitude can also be directed toward impersonal and nonhuman sources--God, nature, life – but it cannot be directed toward the self.

20.Hope
Rank______
You expect the best in the future, and you plan and work in order to achieve it. Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness are a family of strengths that represent a positive stance toward the future. Expecting that good events will occur, feeling that these will ensue if you try hard, and planning for the future sustain good cheer in the here-and-now and galvanize a goal-directed life.

21.Spirituality
Rank______
You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you. You have an articulated philosophy of life, religious or secular, that locates your being in the larger universe. Life has meaning for you by virtue of attachment to something larger than yourself.

22.Forgiveness
Rank______
You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge. Forgiveness represents a set of prosocial changes that occur within an individual who has been offended or hurt by someone else. When people forgive, their motivations and actions regarding the transgressor become more positive (e.g., benevolent, kind, generous) and less negative (e.g., vengeful, avoidant).

23.Humor
Rank______
You like to laugh and bring smiles to other people. You can easily see the light side of life. You are playful and funny.

24.Zest
Rank______
You are a spirited person. You throw yourself body and soul into the activities you undertake. You wake up in the morning looking forward to the day. The passion that you bring to activities is infectious.


A much longer and more accurate version of this test can be taken at:
http://www.authentichappiness.org

For more information about strengths, happiness, virtue, and flourishing, see
http://www.happinesshypothesis.com

this seemed worth posting:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=475&a=4508
Background
It is estimated that there are about 332,600 people of working age in the UK with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), and of this number an estimated 259,506 are thought to be of average or above average intelligence. NAS research by Barnard et al (2001) has shown only 6% of all people with an ASD have full-time paid employment, and only 12% of those with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome had full-time jobs.1 This proportion is much lower than the general figures for the employment status of the 7 million people of working age with disabilities, where 49% were in employment in 2003, compared with 81% of people who are not disabled.2

The estimated lifetime cost to the Exchequer of a person with higher functioning autism or Asperger syndrome is £750,000.3


Barriers to employment
People with ASD have difficulties with communication, social interaction and social imagination. Consequently, both finding out about job opportunities and retaining a job can present problems for many people with ASD. The problems arise from the lack of available information, advice and practical support that is ASD specific. In many instances ASD is a hidden disability; other people not aware of the nature of the person's disability may easily misunderstand them.


Overcoming barriers to recruitment

For a person with an ASD the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) in a local Jobcentre Plus office is often the key person to contact about training and job opportunities. They know the law about disability and some of the difficulties that all people with a disability face in looking for a job. The Department of Work and Pensions has an Access to Work programme, which aims to meet the additional employment costs resulting from disability, for example the costs of making reasonable adjustments in the workplace. Employees and employers may apply through the local Access to Work Business Centre or the DEA.

Employers may find that changes could easily be made to their current practice in recruitment. Job adverts often contain confusing jargon, or stipulate unnecessary qualifications or exceptional communication skills which are not needed for the job. Clearly worded adverts listing only the skills/qualifications that are absolutely essential would be better.

Most employers use an interview for selection. This relies on communication and social interaction skills, areas of difficulty for a person with ASD. A work trial instead of a formal interview might be a fairer alternative. Where interviews take place, it is possible to adapt the format of the questions to make them easier to understand. Basing questions on past experience rather than hypothetical situations would draw out what the person already knows, rather than asking him or her to imagine how they would deal with a situation not yet met. Some people with ASD have problems in processing information and would benefit from extra time in selection tests.


Adjustments in the workplace
From 1 October 2004 the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 will be extended to include employers of any size (except the armed forces) and all employers will have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities. However, managers may not realise how readily and economically reasonable adjustments can be made which would accommodate a person with ASD among their workforce.

People with ASD may process information more easily if written down rather than spoken, so learning the job can be made easier by supplying written guidelines rather than verbal ones. Clear guidance on what is expected of the employee is essential. Many people with ASD prefer a timetable indicating what to do when, and a plan of the order in which tasks should be done.

Some other examples of effective adjustments that might meet the needs of particular individuals with ASD are structuring the job by breaking it down into parts, providing clear and structured training, and being flexible with work times. A plan of who sits where in the office could be helpful. Giving regular feedback that includes the positive experiences, as well as advising on how to do things differently is important.

Provision of a mentor to discuss problems or a job coach for support in the workplace can help. The Government's Access to Work scheme could make job coach help available. A mentor or manager could give guidance on the social or unwritten issues/rules in the workplace, as these could cause much confusion to someone who does not pick these up intuitively. In some people ASD can be a hidden disability, and the difficulties in communication and social interaction they have could result in others misunderstanding them, so training in disability awareness for colleagues is a good idea.


Benefits to the employer

Employers can benefit from the skills and qualities a person with ASD might bring to a job in their company. People with ASD are reliable, hard working and motivated. Their attention to detail is very good; they can maintain a high level of accuracy, and consistently good performance on repetitive tasks. Their approach is straightforward and honest. They may have technical skills of a high order and a good knowledge of facts and figures.

A sound business case can be made for employing more people with ASD. The firm gains reliable and effective employees, progresses towards meeting its commitment to diversity and raises awareness of diversity among its staff. Managers who have gained an understanding of the communication difficulties people with ASD experience have commented that they have learned to communicate with their whole team more effectively. By becoming a socially responsible employer good internal and external PR is also achieved.


ASD-specific employment services
Employment services for people with ASD have proved very successful. For example, statistics from the Prospects Employment Consultancy show that 67% of their clients between 1995 and 2003 found work, 56% on permanent contracts, with a job retention rate of 68%. Other Prospects clients have gone on to higher education or further training courses. 98% of Prospects clients placed in employment were satisfied with their jobs.

The total saving to the exchequer for all those clients who were employed during the period 1 April 2000 to 31 January 2003 was £494,686.4

81% of employers had no understanding of autism before Prospects became involved, an indication of the awareness raising needed. 47% of employers using Prospects were large private companies, 32% public sector, 11% small/medium sized companies and 10% charities.

Jobs held by Prospects clients are in different fields: administrative, IT, professional, technical, warehouse and sales support are the main areas. Other jobs individual clients have taken are scientist, journalist, artist, writer, postman, proof reader, seamstress, librarian, customer services clerk and statistician.


References

1 Barnard J. et al (2001). Ignored or ineligible?: the reality for adults with autism spectrum disorders. London: The National Autistic Society.

2 Office for National Statistics (2004). Social trends no.34. London: Stationery Office.

3 Knapp M. and Jarbrink, K. (2000). The cost of autistic spectrum disorder. London: Mental Health Foundation.

4 Alcock, J. & Howlin, P. (2003). An evaluation of Prospects supported employment service for individuals with Asperger syndrome. Report for the Department of Work and Pensions.