I have had some on and off periods of sickness since September last year with anxiety, which led to hypomania (triggered by SSRI's), a diagnosis of HFA/GAD/Tinnitus/Hyperacusis/Recurring Sinitus/IBS. I went sick after my diagnois due to sinitus with severe headaches and hyperacusis in March this year. In the meantime Class produced a work statement, I was treated for sinitus, referred to audiology (waiting to get hearing aids fitted) and re-housed (sorted my hyperacuis now have a quiet flat of my own and a sound ball.
I had a meeting with my employer's to discuss my GP medical report and the work statement. They were not suportive, just wanted to confirm the contents of my work statement, criticised my GP, delayed giving answer's to my questions. Sent me to Occupational health. The doctor recommended I was fit to return, on a staged return and with an informal visit first. They did not contact me about this, when I rang after a week, they said that the occupational health doctor did not answer all their questions. I spoke to my occupational health doctor and she sent another report. I work as a support worker for adults with learning disability and have done so for 3 years at the same department. It seem's they wanted more information as to why the doctor considered me disabled according to DDA. Wanted to know if I was able to work alone with service user's, that I could to do all the criteria of my job discription and in the second letter they asked about re-deploying me to a residential care home.
I am very annoyed as they seem to be delaying things, looking for a way out of having me back and providing adjustments. I do not want to be moved, I think it is better for me to stick to the clients I know, the staff who know me, the routine I know. I feel that them moving me is an attempt to put me into an hostile enviroment and also to watch me all the time. I be so bored in the other home, the clients are not as able, don't get out much, there is more challenging behaviour and its a big group home too much noise. My occupational health doctor's is advising they do not move me and states I can do my my job as I have done it before my diagnosis without any complaints about my job performance. What happen's next. I will not be moved, if they do, I plan to go off sick, will they lay me off? What the process for getting legally recognised as disabled under DDA, as my occupational health doctor says I am in her opinion according to DDA but the final decision is a legal one.
I figure people with ASD as adults are represented in all jobs and come in all shapes and sizes, I do my job well and I love it, I am very bored and it's sad that I feel so seperated from my clients and my team. It's almost as if I cannot be trusted to work with vulnerable adults because I am autistic.
I have been declared fit to return by my GP for 2 month's and feel like I an unesseccarily going to the doctor's every week to sign off sick when I am not sick, just pissed off, all I have now is some minor ailment's that are being treated such as hayfever, IBS (diet and meds), my ear's are clear my sinisus's are a lot better (have sterio nasal inhaler).
That sucks. You are probably more able to work with vulnerable adults than your colleages. Do you think they are not being forward about their concerns about how AS might affect your job performance because they fear being sued by a discriminatory board? They seem to lack perspective that you could give them - an explanation of how why your approach is valuable to your clients. Is there any way you could talk to them on an 'off the record' basis. . . like inviting your manager for a meal or something to discuss matters?
Sometimes it's good to have people intervening, but sometimes they just make people defensive and the truth gets lost.
My manager is supportive of me and know's everything, we have worked out ways to get round some of my issues, she will support me. The problem is big management, they do not like me because I speak up and have in the past organised a group grievance and brought the union in, they hate outsider's. It would not be possible to do it like that, but my advocate suggested that future meeting have less people and the occupational health doctor recommended an informal visit to discuss out-standing issues and to do a stress indictator tool.
I think they just want rid of me and are looking for a way to do it without getting sued for discrimination, they have their retained legal service go over everything.
The adjustment's that have been recommended are a routine to my rota (which is monthly with no routine) as a temporary thing to see how I get on, written instructions, a mentor, extra time to complete paper work when needed, that I am prewarned if the fire alarm's be tested, that my colleagues try to avoid sarcasm and understand my literal thinking. Most of it is based around people have a basic understanding of ASD (I piped up that they could send the team on a training course, adding that we do have a classic autistic service user, they refused to send us on a training course I also bluntly added that had they sent us on that training course myself and my colleagues would have realised my traits....before I had a breakdown). Also recommended that they send me on a BSL course to help me with my communication with a deaf lady (they should do this anyway). They had some concern about my co-ordination so my doctor explained that it does not affect my current role and caseload. They are looking for a health and safety reason to get rid of me or something in my job description (such as needed excellent communication skills!).
That sucks. You are probably more able to work with vulnerable adults than your colleages. Do you think they are not being forward about their concerns about how AS might affect your job performance because they fear being sued by a discriminatory board? They seem to lack perspective that you could give them - an explanation of how why your approach is valuable to your clients. Is there any way you could talk to them on an 'off the record' basis. . . like inviting your manager for a meal or something to discuss matters?
Sometimes it's good to have people intervening, but sometimes they just make people defensive and the truth gets lost.
Then it's political...
..and you must play politics to survive all the back stabbing.
Does the ultimate boss know what's going on?
If he doesn't I'd suggest you carefully think about how you relate to vulnerable adults and the area's in which you suceed but your colleages don't. I'm guessing there is a certain amount of jealously here too. If you could draw up a document underlying how autistic adults can help others then you could send it for consideration to the ultimate boss (with your managers backing) - and maybe wind up in policy making with some time given to your old caseload.
It sounds like you deserve a promotion for raising difficult issues. Rule No.1 of good management - promote the rebels and dissenters and challenge them to change things.
Just put in for a promotion mate!
It's not going well, they have decided to move me to a different staff team, with a whole new set of service user's with higher needs I can't handle that. I freaked out had a melt down. I am now working with my advocate and seeing my union rep when he return's off of holiday. I could give a tun off reason's why this major change is not going to be good for me. I am now looking into volunteering and college courses, screw them. So look's like I am going to become another stastic, an ASD adult without employment yea! Not if I can help it. If anyone has any similiar experiences with work in this field and sickness feel free to PM me I don't like talking too much in public.
Fruitcake, I wish you all the luck you need.
I figure people with ASD as adults are represented in all jobs and come in all shapes and sizes,
I disagree, at least with the idea of comparable representation. We ARE going to be underrepresented in occupations that place a premium on fine-tuned social graces, intuition, and being on the same intuitive wavelength, such as
1. Management
2. Sales
3. Therapist
4. Mediator
5. Diplomat
6. Counseling, social work, ministry, teaching
And we would probably not be there at all, as we would be no match for an extroverted NT.
It does not mean that we serve no function to our existence. Heck not!
On the plus side we (usually at least) have a highly developed sense of systemizing, finding similarities, being able to do rugged mathematical, scientific, engineering, or computer work.
Wired magazine reported in The Geek Disease that Asperger is usually found on the same genes that govern math, science, computer skills.
It certainly is on my dad's side of the family. Dad was no egghead scientist number cruncher himself (but was well at home writing and editing Social Security Bulletin articles), but his younger brothers were a math teacher and chemist, respectively. My younger brother and I are computer professionals, of which my brother has twice the experience and income I have, but that is because he went to college, dropped out, and exercised his computer skills right away for hire, whereas I did the Master's in sociology first before the state of Maryland placed me in its first experimental voc rehab curriculum in computer programming.
The down side?
Aside from Dad being married and his next-oldest brother getting married 10 years ago, the remaining three of us are never married, and not getting married very quickly.
The uncles' nickname for what I think is Asperger, Marsh curse, was quite well worn by the time the first uncle was first married.
Actually, kylo said somewhere else that there is a need for aspie counselors for aspies. I totally agree. The last thing an aspy wants from the counselor is a hug, extended handshake, or deep look into the eyes.
p.s. the extended handshake totally creeps me out. You know, when they just keep holding on to your hand and talking for a while. ewww. A friend of mine at college was really surprised when I told him this. He said it made him feel warm, respected, and appreciated. He had excellent social skills. But I digress.
The handshake doesn't bother me so much but when they give advice that I can't possibly follow due to the impairments in certain areas and then get snarky because I don't do it, I quickly become alienated.
Fruitcake, I am very sorry to see that these people are giving you so much grief. I was in a somewhat similar situation but not as bad about 3-4 years ago.
Much of it was politically motivated as I spoke out against a number of things that I thought were wrong with how some managers were acting eg. making discriminatory statements, not considering individual circumstances when allocating work.
There seemed to have been consistent attempts to give people such as myself with qualifications the more boring jobs and not to give us higher duties either as we had to be "kept in our place". I never bragged about having a degree and was very timid. It has only been in recent years that I became a bit less so.
Having repetitive duties didn't bother me but in more recent years being constantly shifted around did.
Unfortunately, people who go to the union are often seen as troublemakers but what else are you supposed to do if you are being treated badly and have done all you can to talk to your bosses?
After nearly 8 years, I took my first ever
injury leave.
Wednesday morning, I tripped and fell in the parking lot at home getting into my car to go to work. I hurt my right ankle. Obviously I was kind of dedicated dense or both, because I waited until my regularly scheduled weight loss consultation visit on Thursday to report this. I was ordered to get an X ray (nothing broken) and prescribed two drugs (pain and swelling). I didn't even take off my sock until Thursday morning. What a sight. Black and blue. But I needed to withdraw my prescription meds from my office desk before going home. So, I did return to the office and finished up one project (changing database table info that drove the conferences and conference workshop choices for Faith Based and Community Initiatives conferences at
http://www.dtiassociates.com/fbci).
But I got Friday off, as needed, to stay confined to bed, with Cat keeping me company, so my ligaments would have a chance to heal.
Saturday night, I did cautiously (still hurts) walk downstairs to withdraw my mail from my mailbox.
I am hoping I can resume business as usual next week on Monday. It was anguish being confined to bed with only Cat for company. If I had my friends' work numbers I could have called them there.
---------------------------------------------
I am seldom if ever
sick. Usually only rotavirus (cruise ship disease) makes me stay home. With routine flu and pneumonia shots, I seldom have a sick day. (Although healthy adults are usually advised to let the old and sick get the shots first, I have type II diabetes and for two years I have been in a risk category).
I usually try and soldier on unless fairly ill, but won't go to work if I have a gastric complaint or am extremely stressed out. It usually takes a period of months for the stress levels to get bad enough to need some time off.
I don't get flu shots because of not being in a high risk category.
It did not go well, they are insisting on a change that will be negative for me and useless, can't see any reason for them doing this other than because I am autistic obviously they will not admit it. Urgg so annoyed, run down and fed up. Going to get me head into a good book and watch they comedy channel later.