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Work Issues and Autism

Polaris302

Hello.

This is my first post here and I wanted to ask about the issues people on the spectrum can have in the world of work.  I haven't been lucky when it comes to finding long term employment; I graduated with a Masters in Engineering in 2011, but I've only been in a long term job for the last 5 years and, putting it mildly, it's a dead-end.  There's no career progression, I hate my employer more and more each day and in my interview, when I was trying to explain my Autism and the issues it can cause, I was cut off and asked "Are you an angry person?"  If it wasn't for difficulties at home, and the recession making it harder to find work I would have quit years ago.  

- Why do people on the spectrum have difficulties with finding or keeping a job? 

- Does anyone have any advice on explaining what Autism is and how it can affect your work to an employer?   

Parents

  • Hello. This is my first post now too. I bet I've had more interviews than anyone ever has. In the last 4-5 years I've kept getting short temporary jobs every year lasting 3-4 months but then it's always took 3-4 times longer (almost a year everytime) to get a job again - even when i've been getting interviews almost every week over that time! Because a job interview is almost all the most difficult things my Aspergers' causes - ie. going to a new place, to talk to a stranger about a difficult subject, not knowing exactly what to expect... So frustrating because I always have the right answers in my head, I'm just not always giving long enough to get it all out in the right wording. I'm nearly always getting told in my feedback now - they're always mega pleased with how I come across + everything I did tell them, they just aren't getting quite enough information in some areas. If I was giving an extra minute or 2 to answer them a lot of the time, I could easily tell them more.

Reply

  • Hello. This is my first post now too. I bet I've had more interviews than anyone ever has. In the last 4-5 years I've kept getting short temporary jobs every year lasting 3-4 months but then it's always took 3-4 times longer (almost a year everytime) to get a job again - even when i've been getting interviews almost every week over that time! Because a job interview is almost all the most difficult things my Aspergers' causes - ie. going to a new place, to talk to a stranger about a difficult subject, not knowing exactly what to expect... So frustrating because I always have the right answers in my head, I'm just not always giving long enough to get it all out in the right wording. I'm nearly always getting told in my feedback now - they're always mega pleased with how I come across + everything I did tell them, they just aren't getting quite enough information in some areas. If I was giving an extra minute or 2 to answer them a lot of the time, I could easily tell them more.

Children
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