• Replies 26 replies
  • Subscribers 83 subscribers
  • Views 7504 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Autism, aspiration, enterprise.

Perdu

Does it even exist?

Whats the stat? 16% in employment?  What % of that is 'meaningful' in a meaningful sense, as in fulfilling, engaging and utilising core strengths?

Pretty sure we have dreams and aspirations, i know we have skills, often a strong skillset is honed over time, why isnt this tapped into?

Do we have any folks on here who run businesses? If so, how did that happen? Is it in your 'interest' area?

I've been laughed out of the local business enterprise place 3 times, as soon as they hear aspergers you are 'othered', but you still recieve the spam talking about big initiatives for people who sound like you, but you are 'other'.

I believe The National Autistic Society should create a fund of £1 million to directly fund autistic entrepreneurs to achieve self sustainability, administration of which should be absorbed by NAS infrastructure.

In conjunction with this fund The National Autistic Society should create a positive discrimination policy for those with ASC in regards to employement, supply chain, and service procurement.

A focus on reducing the hideous 54:suicide stat should be made PRIORITY.

If you create the correct 'ecosystem', the solutions will unlock themselves, the problems we face are not 'whenre will NTs get their mortgage payments from'

But then again, i am 'other' what do i know?

  • in reply to Former Member

    Windscale,

    Like yourself, I too have some interesting ideas around the social enterprise model but have no idea about how to get it going.  Fortunately, these ideas are focused around my areas of interest, so that's something at least.

    I have tried straight self-employment in the past but really suffered when trying to land new business etc.  Once I got the business, I never had anyone leave to go elsewhere etc, but getting that new business...  Well...

    I know that not all ASD's - diagnosed or otherwise - have issues with social interaction etc, so I find myself asking, what would be the possibilities of like-minded people getting together and sorting this sort of thing out for themselves?  Even possibly creating an umbrella-type organisation with individual social enterprise efforts based around the individual's area(s) of interest underneath with everyone having an equal say and an supporting each other....

    Still, just an idea...

  • in reply to Former Member

    You sum up the negatives of working in an NT dominated environment so well! I am amusing myself thinking how much NTs would struggle if the situation were to be reversed! 

    Because I've got relatively few career years ahead of me now what I do with  them seems even more important. 

    It's just as you describe - I could make great efforts to adapt and fit in or I could use my time and energy to move in a different direction. 

    Everything in me already knows what the better option is! 

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    I've been thinking about this on and off for ish a year I guess.  I've come to the conclusion I'm not very good at working for norms in a norm environment.  They can't understand how I think and the fact that it's always me that has to do the adjusting is, shall we say, sub-optimal health-wise.  Also, they way they seem to want to structure their environments - e.g. no written down agreements, make everything up randomly as you go along, open plan offices etc. etc. etc. really don't work for me and I suspect that's the same for most ASD peoples.

    I've pretty much come to the conclusion that if I want to have a happy work-life where I feel I'm contributing something as a valuable human being then I really need to be doing something for myself and with a group of people of similar mind where we:

    * all have buy-in to what we're trying to achieve,

    * actually work together to achieve things rather than everybody doing their own thing and either:

    - try and do as little work as possible, or

    - just end-up competing and nobody helping anybody because there's no incentive to do anything other than let other people fail since you want to make sure to look better than them.

    I have an idea for something I'd like to do, it's really just the getting going bit.  I was thinking some sort of social enterprise model since I think that would work best for the idea I had in mind.

  • Your post has prompted me to reflect about the view I have about the future of Autistic Adults. Simply, change will be driven by the growing voice of autistic adults who often suffer too much but have so much to give. To make change happen, we must be prepared to ask difficult questions and challenge the way the world is. 

  • This is a brilliant idea! Totally agree with what you say about creating the right conditions and ecosystem for autistic people to flourish. Many years ago I dabbled in self employment - art work - doing personal commissions, craft fairs and things like that. Had a lucky break when a tea towel company contacted me. Did a few designs for them but got bored. Preferred the randomness of being asked to draw Freddie Mercury one day and Wembley Stadium the next! 

    I've got the vague beginnings of an enterprise idea that would bring together several of my passions. Probably wouldn't cover my living costs but I might be able to combine it with a part-time job. So sorry to hear you got such a poor response from your local business enterprise place. I'm only just beginning to understand the sort of prejudice and stigma I am going to face once I get my diagnosis and begin to share it. I should say 'if' I get my diagnosis but I am thoroughly convinced I am autistic, so thinking positive! 

    I have been involved in business and enterprise funding applications in the past - the Community Interest Company model interests me. There's lots of complicated paperwork to do, but that's the sort of thing I enjoy! I get a bit annoyed when I see employment support and enterprise initiatives that are NT led. There are plenty of autistic people capable of doing this for themselves, they just need the resources and the opportunity. Better stop now, I am getting into campaigning mode! 

    I'd love to hear about your enterprise aspirations but realise you might not want to share these on an open forum. You are welcome to PM me anytime. I can't find where to change my PM settings, so I'm hoping the default setting is 'anyone can PM me'! 

  • Be the change you want to see in the world.