Are all Autists unemployed?
Not all, some of us are able to work, although I think the unemployment figure for people with ASD is something like 80%. I think the sad truth is that being anti-autistic is still not understood as being just as bigoted as being anti-women, anti-black, anti-gay, etc. Most people see the issue as one of "autistic people need to change to become more like NTs" and not one of "what can we do to create environments in which autistic people can thrive."
I am lucky enough to be able to almost pass as NT, and I have strong enough technical skills that smart employers will see me as valuable. Even so, I face challenges because my behaviour is never going to be what NTs want it to be.
And when I say something, or write something, that doesn't meet NT expectations there is a strong bias towards thinking that I am wrong for hurting other people's feelings, and there is never any thought to the idea that maybe being professional should include accepting blunt criticism without getting all emotional about it.
It's weird when you think about it: it is worse to tell someone that their idea is stupid, than it is to be someone with stupid ideas who lets their emotions get in the way of their learning.
Similarly, workplaces think that one of the important things to provide for is people's desire to socialize. You rarely see a business thinking about the need of autistic people to be left alone.
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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"
- Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
What kind of choice should they be giving you? I mean, can't you just go and try to get jobs on your own? Or is the problem that you don't know how to do that, and no one is willing to teach you?
Dear_one
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If you have no rights, how are you still alive? If you want to see people with no rights, go work with migrant labour. If you want freedom, learn to use it.
Yeah, this one's weird. I can understand it if there are only two people in the company as that would mean that someone's needs would automatically have to be put above another's, but it's different in places with more people. In my opinion, we should be able to take it for granted that if someone wants to be left alone during a break at work, they will, but also that they won't complain about it when other people socialize during the break.
I think it is mostly to do with the way jobs/skills/ability is judged amongst NTs. They put them in groups and levels so if you cannot do one thing then it is assumed that you cannot do or will struggle to do anything at the same level and have no chance at anything of a higher level. My abilities are totally out of sink with these assumptions and I believe for others on the spectrum too and maybe even for some other people too.
An easy example of this is the way people group jobs such as waitressing, shop assistant, and bar staff together under the title menial, and assume if you can do one you can do the others, and if you can't do them you will be too stupid to do anything. Stephen Hawkins was clearly too stupid to do anything.
I was a very good bar staff, although it took me time to get the hang of it (longer than most), I am a very good shop assistant, but I could not waitress to save my life (four miserable and humiliating attempt). The big dif is the main/most appreciated by boss skills involved.
Bar staff = HONEST, reliable, able to deal with difficult customers, appear cheerful/friendly, maths/competent on till.
Sop assistant = Honest, reliable, helpful/cheerful, competent on till.
Waitressing = ABILITY TO MULTITASK, hard working, reliable.
For many jobs in order to get anywhere you have to be competent at several skills which I don't think is where our strength is. We tend to be better where we are able to focus on one thing.
For everyone, NT and autistic, we have to work out what our strengths and advantages are. You aren't being forced out into the workplace to do something horrible. That can be an advantage as it can give you time to prepare to do a job that suits you. Or it can be a disadvantage because it leaves you feeling useless and leaves you stagnating.
What skills do you have? what are the main things that makes others think you can't work? what are your interests? NT career advice is s**t for us, but there are lots of auties on WP with jobs so we should be able to point you in the right direction between us.
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If you have no rights, how are you still alive? If you want to see people with no rights, go work with migrant labour. If you want freedom, learn to use it.
At twenty I had freedoms and rights that I did not understand or know how to utilise, I remember it as a time of fear and humiliation.
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I think that the reason for this is that, for most people, it really does go like this. However, people on the autism spectrum are said to often have an uneven set of skills, making them excellent at one thing but completely messing up another. Sure, NTs are good at some stuff and bad at some others too, but since it's often mentioned when talking about aspergers, I think that us on the spectrum have it as more severe. Being able to do something challenging while being unable to do a task that most would consider simple isn't the norm among people in general, yet seems to be often the case with those on the spectrum.
I am temporarily unemployed (hopefully temporarily) due to the COVID-19 virus, but I was gainfully employed for nearly 18 years at my present place of employment. I am just a part time worker and don't have a really brilliant career, but it gave me some degree of independence.
My entire life is on hold right now, a life I worked hard to build over a period of seven years. I'd hate to see all my dreams disappear for good because of this virus.
Many families in Italy have seen their lives extinguished forever. This is very sad, as I am of part Italian ancestry.
Im i ungrateful if i reject money from the government ( disability benefits) because i dont want to be dependent in others and lose my freedom? I just dont want to work in a protected workplace and live in assisted living, or in german "betreutes wohnen" because i value freedom very much.
Dear_one
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You seem to be stuck in just black and white thinking. My counsellor suggested I give it up years ago, but I couldn't see how. It turned out that I was just not getting enough sleep. The neocortex cuts out first as we get sleepy, and if we get stuck trying to think with the rest, we can lose sleep and even more smarts.
Aspies engineers can find work doing stuff that other people avoid, such as improving already deadly killing machines for defense companies.
So its actually easier to be a gay Autist? Because im gay.
I do believe it's easier to be a homosexual Autistic man than a heterosexual autistic man, being that men are usually more accepting of social difficulties and being weird/different compared to women. The thing is that women usually ether ignore autistic men, and refuse to even a conversation with us or treat us like sh*t,and accuse us of lacking empathy,being weird,acting childish,etc.However men may be accepting or not accepting of us of depend on personality,their situation etc,but rejection is still often the case.Being gay,you have a better shot of finding love/romantic partners than a straight autistic man,however in ether case,don't expect things to be easy when it comes to dating.
Moderator here. Please do not make generalised attacks on groups of people. I do appreciate that you have tried to use some nuanced language but it is not helpful to speak so broadly about half the human race. Remember that many of the users on this forum are women.
(It also goes completely against my personal experience - I find it much easier to make friends and get dates with women)
Kraftie has lots of jobs.
My job is very social so I can do 16 hours a week. When I was younger I did 25-35hours but it was a huge struggle and all of my time off was spent on recovering. I've grown kinder to myself as I've aged.
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