Are longer periods of unemployment significant for people on the spectrum?

Hi Erika,

I started work when I was 16, so have been in the job market for 42 years.  In that time, I've had periods of unemployment (following 2 redundancies or periods of leaving work through sickness) ranging from 6 months to 4 years.  The longer periods have generally been for sickness.  On two occasions I left jobs through ill-health - one because of workplace bullying, one because the shift work messed me up too much and I had a suicidal breakdown.  That latter job was the exception in that all of my other jobs, throughout life, have generally been fixed around the 'office hours' structure, with no or very little overtime.  So, roughly 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.  That's the structure that suits me. 

I've had many jobs.  I've worked on farms, in shops and offices.  I've been a driver, a book-keeper, a civil servant.  I've stacked shelves in supermarkets and manned the pumps in a petrol station.  My first job was at a Devon cider works, where I helped to harvest the apples, make the cider, bottle it, deliver it, sell it.  I've lost count of the number of jobs I've had, but it's probably around 30.  Length of tenure has ranged from 2 weeks to (the longest) 6 years.  The 6-year job was in a large independent wholefood shop.  I stayed so long because I loved the place: full of hippies, drop-outs, radicals, anarchists, musicians, artists, hunt saboteurs... people on my wavelength!  I was made redundant from there and my next job was in the civil service, as a Family law administrative officer, handling mainly divorce.  It was interesting work in many ways, but in a stiflingly dull office with ultra-conventional people - the complete opposite of my previous experience.  The civil service, though, is a good place for people like us.  I liked the relatively good pay, the flexi-time, the routines, the good leave entitlement, the extra grace-and-favour days off.  It was the best off I've ever been financially in the work place - but in the end the dullness of the environment got to me.  I was shunned by my co-workers, which has been a common experience (my diagnosis helped me to discover why!).  I left that for a job in care, working with people with learning disabilities.  For the last 12 years, that's mainly what I've done - in four different establishments.  Again, I've generally been lucky to take on roles in day services, so office hours again.  I wouldn't want to do residential work.  That's when you get the horrible shifts and the overtime.  I currently work with autistic adults in a day centre.  I do 4 days a week, so have nice long weekends off.  I can just about manage on it money-wise, though it's tight at times.  But I live cheaply and simply, which helps.  I have a strong need for simplicity in my life.  I can't handle too many priorities.

So, I guess my answer to your question is: yes.  In my case, too, lots of changes.  The older I get, the harder it can be to change.  Having said that, though, this is my 5th job in the last 4 years (and I've had offers of two others in the last 2 months!)  I've been in this current role since September, and feel reasonably settled.  I can't say I'll stay until I retire in 8 years' time - but who knows!

I also did voluntary work once - as a computer trainer in a local library.  Mainly basic stuff - showing novices how to use Windows, surf the internet, set up emails.  That can be a good experience if you're that way inclined.  It's something to put on your CV.  Depends how you feel about working with people.  Learning disabilities, in many ways, is my ideal role.  I identify naturally with vulnerable people.  I tend to get on better with the service users than the staff, too.  I feel more on their wavelength.  It's challenging and exhausting work, and badly-paid, but very rewarding.

PS  I suppose I should add that my credo has generally been that I work to live - not live to work.  It's always been a means to an end.  My main passions in life are what come after work - writing, reading, other creative work.  For those, I need time - which is why long shifts and overtime are things I've always tried to avoid.  Likewise, big financial commitments, like a mortgage.  After-work time is my time and no one else's.  I get home, close my door, and I'm in my world!  I've never had any inclination to be a manager in work - again, because of the extra commitments, and the fact that I prefer to let other people make the decisions - even if the risk is there that I won't agree with them!  It's good, though, to try to combine that need for income with something that can be stimulating and interesting.  Even my most boring jobs have had elements that I enjoy and can get absorbed in.  The care work, though, is probably my most rewarding job so far.  And the fact that I'm working with autistic people adds a further element of special interest.

I love the way you write Tom. I’m currently watching old black and white movies, which are of course, wonderfully dramatic and theatrical and your writing is like a continuation of the film I’ve just watched. I love it. 

I’m the same as you. I’ve had quite a few jobs, all very different. As a social worker and mental health practitioner I always got on better with the clients than staff and being on the same wavelength as the clients meant that I could complete thorough assessments in a short space of time and arrange supppet for people that actually helped. I enjoyed that work and like you, found elements of enjoyment in all my jobs, but I could never sustain them for one reason or another. 

Like you, I need time and very few distractions, big commitments etc, to spend time on what I really love which is writing, poetry, cooking, fresh air, exercise and travelling to new places. 

Now I have the reason for my employment history so I’m creating an income that I can sustain, which meets  my needs and gives me the time I need for my interests. I’m a metaphysician and by noting how I help myself over the next few months or the next year, how ever long it takes, I will then translate that to helping others in my situation. It could take a while but it doesn’t matter because at least I have more of an idea of moving forward now. 

You're a great writer. 

That’s a really good tip Tom, thank you, I’ll follow that. 

Fictionalise it, maybe, to give yourself a little 'distance'.  For me, first person is the most natural voice.  I just changed the name.  Books that inspired me were 'The Catcher in the Rye', Knut Hamsun's 'Hunger' and the autobiographical novels of Charles Bukowski.  Some writers avoid writing about their life.  But there's more than enough material in the average life to fill many volumes!  Bukowski made a good career out of it. I never run out of finding things to say!

My diagnosis in 2015 put my life into perspective, so it became an integral part of the narrative in writing this book.  My Asperger's shaped my life in a way that landed me at exactly the right place and at the right time to take over mum's care.  I had no other commitments to family, no partner, no children, no social life to give up... and my employers at the time gave me their blessing to take the time off on the understanding that I could return when I was ready.  I honestly think that if I'd been differently-wired, it would never have turned out that way. 

That sounds like a good idea. You’ve just given me a good way to start. My support worker has been encouraging me to journal everyday and I often do, but not in the sense of sitting down every day and writing, but I’m going to change that, I’m going to sit down at a set time every day and write. Brilliant, thanks Tom, this will help in my quest to establish a daily routine, following my breakdown. 

I agree, honesty is crucial, otherwise it’s like cheating the reader and it throws the whole story out. I did think I would print mine after my parents died but I’m not working on that book right now, I’m going to focus more on the autism experience I think, but either way, I’ve come to terms with the possibility of upsetting people. 

The thing that really got me going again, after years of nothing, was committing to NaNoWriMo in 2011 - on the night before it began!  I had no idea what I was going to write about.  I just decided to start doing a fictional journal (largely based on my own experiences) of a man recovering from a breakdown and learning to come to terms with life again.  I just wrote a 'journal entry' every day.  Pretty soon, a narrative began to emerge.  Terrified that I'd never reach the 50k word target in 30 days, I eventually ended up doing 75k!  That became the basis of my first novel.  It was like a damburst of emotions, thoughts, experiences.  It also helped me to recover from the breakdown it was based upon.

NaNo is a great exercise.  You don't get time to fuss around with grammar, spelling, editing, etc.  You simply have to get the words down.  As Hemingway said: Get it writ.  Then get it right!

Honesty is necessary.  I remember reading, a few years ago, an interview with Hanif Kureishi when he was teaching creative writing at university.  His students would often come to him, worrying that a relative would recognise themselves in a piece of writing and become upset.  He was adamant about it.  It's the risk you must take.  Otherwise, the falsity with be apparent.  Writing that book has been cathartic.  It's also been therapeutic - keeping mum alive in the words.  It's enabled me to come to terms with her loss much better than I expected.  And yes - my brother will be upset.  But only because of what I have to say about his wife and her family.  She's done such a lot of damage over the years - including to him, though he doesn't realise because he's her puppet.  The truth needs to be told about that. 

You’re right DongFeng5, it doesn’t matter if nobody buys the book but the truth is, people like to read the stories of ‘ordinary’ people because as Mark Twain said, Truth is stranger than fiction. And yes, it would be a cathartic experience. There are many ways to start and because we’re all different, we will all do it in a different way. Some people can write a book very quickly and some take years. It doesn’t matter how it’s done. One way to do it is to simply start writing or talking (into a voice recorder) as if you were talking to a friend and just start talking. Books often have loads of edits and re-edits so really, it doesn’t matter where you start and there is lots of help out there to help put it together and several ways to get it published etc. It’s harder than I thought it would be but that’s mostly because I was stuck on, how do I start. And the truth is, you start by writing. I’ve got lots of bits of writing, all over the place, which I will bring together but first, I have to get a few things sorted. Whenever I feel inspired, I write, sometimes it doesn’t amount to much and some times I can write for a few hours. A good way to start is put a timer on for 30 minutes and just write, maybe start writing about what you want to write about, for example, I would start by saying I am writing about my experience of being autistic and go from there. It’s surprising what happens when you sit down with pen and paper (or computer) and put the timer on. You’ll probably find you don’t want to stop after 30 minutes. 

You’re right DongFeng5, it doesn’t matter if nobody buys the book but the truth is, people like to read the stories of ‘ordinary’ people because as Mark Twain said, Truth is stranger than fiction. And yes, it would be a cathartic experience. There are many ways to start and because we’re all different, we will all do it in a different way. Some people can write a book very quickly and some take years. It doesn’t matter how it’s done. One way to do it is to simply start writing or talking (into a voice recorder) as if you were talking to a friend and just start talking. Books often have loads of edits and re-edits so really, it doesn’t matter where you start and there is lots of help out there to help put it together and several ways to get it published etc. It’s harder than I thought it would be but that’s mostly because I was stuck on, how do I start. And the truth is, you start by writing. I’ve got lots of bits of writing, all over the place, which I will bring together but first, I have to get a few things sorted. Whenever I feel inspired, I write, sometimes it doesn’t amount to much and some times I can write for a few hours. A good way to start is put a timer on for 30 minutes and just write, maybe start writing about what you want to write about, for example, I would start by saying I am writing about my experience of being autistic and go from there. It’s surprising what happens when you sit down with pen and paper (or computer) and put the timer on. You’ll probably find you don’t want to stop after 30 minutes. 

That’s a really good tip Tom, thank you, I’ll follow that. 

Fictionalise it, maybe, to give yourself a little 'distance'.  For me, first person is the most natural voice.  I just changed the name.  Books that inspired me were 'The Catcher in the Rye', Knut Hamsun's 'Hunger' and the autobiographical novels of Charles Bukowski.  Some writers avoid writing about their life.  But there's more than enough material in the average life to fill many volumes!  Bukowski made a good career out of it. I never run out of finding things to say!

That sounds like a good idea. You’ve just given me a good way to start. My support worker has been encouraging me to journal everyday and I often do, but not in the sense of sitting down every day and writing, but I’m going to change that, I’m going to sit down at a set time every day and write. Brilliant, thanks Tom, this will help in my quest to establish a daily routine, following my breakdown. 

The thing that really got me going again, after years of nothing, was committing to NaNoWriMo in 2011 - on the night before it began!  I had no idea what I was going to write about.  I just decided to start doing a fictional journal (largely based on my own experiences) of a man recovering from a breakdown and learning to come to terms with life again.  I just wrote a 'journal entry' every day.  Pretty soon, a narrative began to emerge.  Terrified that I'd never reach the 50k word target in 30 days, I eventually ended up doing 75k!  That became the basis of my first novel.  It was like a damburst of emotions, thoughts, experiences.  It also helped me to recover from the breakdown it was based upon.

NaNo is a great exercise.  You don't get time to fuss around with grammar, spelling, editing, etc.  You simply have to get the words down.  As Hemingway said: Get it writ.  Then get it right!