I've lost my position at work because I'm autistic

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It's not that she told them, she was working at a place where there they were already hiring lot's of people with disabilities. Also, I think that they needed to know in order to deal with situations like she described in that other thread where she nearly had a meltdown.

I understand.

Indeed, and a claimant has fewer legal advantages if the claimant quits the workplace before being dismissed. Contractual employment is still obligated to observe all applicable state and federal laws. The federal law that best applies in your case is the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA require employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled workers. Your employer's demand that you "deal with" your autism and "get some drugs to deal" with the stress of your employment appears to me to violate the ADA provisions of reasonable accommodations.

Most cities in the United States have diability-law offices. In fact, most offices of state attorneys general have workplace lawyers to help referee cases such as yours. While AGs don't usually take cases to courts on behalf of every citizen (too frequent and costly), they are usally happy to send opinion letters to employers noting apparent violations of state and federal laws, and advising remedial action by the employer. Private disability-law offices, however, act a lot like local ACLU offices by providing private legal representation to clients who can't afford their own lawyers.

Now, the caveat: Most employers will crumble in the face of an employment complaint, and agree immediately to stop the violative behavior, but for how long? Usually until the complaint goes away; and then, they dismiss the employee for being late to work three days in a row.

So, I agree with kraftiekortie (again) that you should do what you can to keep your job. But, also keep notes and prepare to meet a lawyer to discuss your options. A good lawyer can get everyone involved back to normal. In case that doesn't happen with you, you will at least have a Plan B option to proceed with a lawsuit for illegal termination of employment based on disability discrimination. Look into your options now.

Good luck.

Do you think it was because of the meltdown or near-meltdown that they decided to lower your position?
Or that in combo with autism disclosure, like they now see you as someone who because of autism can't control behaviors and will have more meltdowns in future even if you rarely or never had them at work before?
I think this reinforces how dangerous it is to disclose autism to employers, even at a place that hires a lot of people with disabilities.

I'm thinking this morning after an entire sleepless night of thinking that this is the case. The part where they said that I was unreliable in an emergency was said in the vein of: "What if there's a fire alarm and you have a meltdown?" I've been involved in countless fire drills, evacuations and lockdowns in my years there and at no time have I ever melted down during an emergency.
I am obviously autistic but this is the first year I've confirmed that I'm on the spectrum. I think once I did that they put me under the microscope, so to speak. Stupid of me. You are right. I should never have disclosed. I thought considering the area I work in they would be more understanding of disabilities but I was dead wrong.

There are constructive ways you can respond to this.

1) Acknowledge in the meeting that you had a meltdown. Be the one who brings this up, rather than waiting for them to. Say that you regret that happened, though now you learned from it and have a strategy if it ever does happen again (ie withdraw to a safe place; go to a designated support person; take time out, use an early warning signal etc)

2) Regarding the fire alarm: Unlikely though possible that this is - concede "yes, that could happen, however..." again, setting up a buddy system would overcome this objection. Presumably you have no history of having ignored a fire alarm in the past, so you can't be judged by what you haven't done. Point out emergencies you have dealt with well in your past (if any). Point out that if concerns like this exist and are held sincerely, then the answer is to jointly work out a strategy. Say: "What is the workable compromise for this situation, that meets both our needs?"

Basically, what your manager has been doing so far is trying to put you in a no-win position where you have no room to move: the "I'm OK you are not OK" mindf..k. You have to shift this to "you have needs I have needs, how can we get these needs best met" (you're ok and so am I). Approach this not as defeat but as a learning curve. You may really surprise yourself! And don't think "but what if I fail?" Think "but what if I succeed". You only have things to gain after yesterday's position. Plan and carry out the best strategy you can. Don't collapse into hopelessness. Go for it.

Ive been fired from many jobs for asperger/autism symptoms but no-one knew the exact thing that was wrong with me. I just didnt socialize.

OK, so obviously this situation sucks! With that out of the way... in your own opinion, have they made valid points? Obviously, telling you to take drugs to "deal with your autism" was completely inappropriate. But have they mentioned specific examples of situations where you were unreliable or a poor role model? I mean, actual instances of it, not hypothetical ones. If so, do you agree with their assessment of it? Also, what's your relationship like with your bosses in general?

I think this is important, because if they have made valid points then you need to figure out whether you can address them (improve somehow) or not. On the other hand, if what they said is basically rubbish then you need to decide whether it's worth fighting this on the grounds of unfair discrimination or not. Easier said than done, I know, but try to assess objectively whether the potential payoff is worth it. It depends on the laws and the culture where you are, of course, and I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is it would be very difficult. If you're on a contract they have the right to not renew it, like you said. They don't need a reason to not renew it, which is the whole reason to use contractors, from the company's point of view.

About employers backing down if litigation pops up about alleged ADA violations.

Don't count on it.

We played that card with my husband's employer, and they basically said, "See you in court", and they won. It's a multinational company.

What my husband's company did is state that since all their business is catering to clients and their needs (BS), all jobs also had a customer service aspect to them. Make sure your doctor does not write "no customer service" as a restriction. Because of that f*****g phrase, the company argued that they had no job to shift my husband to (more BS). All employees are representatives of this business and need some customer service skills, whether they are the janitor, code monkeys or the CEO. All are required to cross train, and "pitch in" as required. So a job with a strict job discription and minimal human contact did not exist in their company. Liars...

They were also smart to never mention is Aspergers. The lawyers pulled out complaints filed by his coworkers about his psychological decline and how they were afraid of him. And suggested "he needed to work on his issues". The king size meltdown at work didn't help either.

The judge agreed, and since he was in a union, the company pays him to stay away. That is the stellar agreement, if he collects this disability check, he can't work anywhere else. It's not anywhere his full pay, but he is so emotionally beat up over this my husband couldn't work anyway.

He was also denied SSDI.

I have yet to see the ADA work for anyone in my area of the country. It would be interesting if your company has written documentation on your supposed infractions. My husband's company had a file that looked like a small phone book. They just kept stock piling the infractions, until he had a meltdown at work that required the paramedics to be called. They waited until they had a big enough paper trail to sink him.

I hope your company is just sloppy pinheads, and you can get your job back.

Hi, thanks for your replies and for caring. There've been further developments at work and I've realised I can't fight this.
I now know why having ASD sucks so much. It's the only disability you're not allowed to have. Well, you can have it but you can't show it if you want to live in the NT world. They're only interested in the traits that are to their advantage. The minute the undesirable traits begin to outweigh the desirable ones you're out the door.
I've cleaned out my desk. May as well get used to it now since I won't have it next year. I'm saying hello and smiling and chatting and trying to act 'normal' because that's what they want and I need a job. I've already had comments on how much better I'm looking. Doesn't matter how crap I feel inside. I will be the biggest fake I can be.
Sorry to be so negative but that's how I'm feeling.

So sorry to hear the news - sounds just plain wrong. Hopefully you can find an advocate that can speak for you - human rights complaint?

Autism is classified as a disbaility requiring accomodation.

Telling you to "deal with your autism" is like telling a one legged person to grow a second leg.

Like a very bad dose of the flu, you are suffering at the moment from and equally bad dose of invalidation. I do understand. Invalidation is awful - just bloody awful. But like the flu, it can be recovered from. Read all you can about it (there are some good websites so Google).
The long term: don't let this make you give your power away. We all have power, in our lives, whether we realise it or not. Invalidation can temporarily or permanently blind us to that. Google: giving your power away/reclaiming your power of agency and similar.

But right now, get the physical rest you need. Restore your body and mind after this battering. Treat yourself with honour and well. You are worth it. You are a person with integrity and proven talents. No-one can take those sterling qualities away for you. I will be thinking of you.

Nothing is set in stone. You still have till the end of the year there and in that time they could change their mind about you. I bet you're the best interpreter they have working there. Now they have to go through the hassle of finding a replacement for you, which will be a pain for them because they will probably end up with someone worse than you. Well, it's their loss, not yours.

Meanwhile, you have learned a valuable lesson. Organisations consists of multiple management levels which are often insulated from one another. So don't expect the same level of awareness that exists at the coal face where you work to permeate through to management.

Glad to read that you are generally chatting to people and acting cheery. This may sound fakery to you, but a few smiles here and there doesn't hurt other people. The key is to be yourself while not compromising your principles, while participating in a world you may not necessarily agree with.

It is horrible to get hit with s**t this way from your employer.
You are doing the right thing by dealing with it to keep your job for now.
If possible, I do recommend looking into other potential jobs.
For faking, I suggest that you do that only at a moderate level, not aiming too high on acting NT, as that could burn you out quickly.
You said you will be the biggest fake you can be, but I hope you don't mean it.
Don't carry it too far to add huge stress.
Be friendly to people at work and helpful on job tasks.

Update: I have decided to fight this thing with everything I have because it's discrimination, it's not right and I deserve better.
I've been knocked down but I'm not going to bow out quietly. It's just taken me a while to process all this. My brain's a bit Vista

Good for you. The task now is to focus and plan how you are going to approach this. I will be thinking of you and wishing you a much better outcome than seemed possible to you at first. Whatever the outcome (I hope for the best) -just knowing that you did all you could do to advocate for your situation will be an important gain. If you have the skills to do your job - and you do - you have the skills to do this too, though it may seem more scary right now. That may pass as you formulate a clearer idea of how you are going to implement your plan. Clarity on this is essential. Think through each stage carefully. Be absolutely clear on what outcome you want and what workable compromises you can agree too. Once you have sorted that all out, the process won't seem so intimidating. Hugs.