Again referring to the news item on the website about the Queen's Speech, and the issue of getting more people on the spectrum into full time work - could we have a discussion in here (whether or not NAS is reading what we say), about the nature of the barriers.
I think a big issue is the lack of collective social knowledge - people on the spectrum are isolated from the social exchanges that usually enable people to interpret and apply management requests, job tasks, work politics etc.
If you don't socially interact effectively you miss out on a lot of conversation about what a task really entails, or how a job should be interpreted for collective harmony, or what are the work political/social implications implications of doing a job a certain way. You also miss out on collective insight about personalities, how to handle certain managers, who not to cross.
Someone on the spectrum usually has to decide how to interpret things for themselves, which invariably places them in the position of being different from their fellow workers, and very probably at odds or in conflict, or misunderstood, or resented, or mistrusted.
I keep hearing that people with autism can be given written instructions, or an app, or some other facility that will overcome the difficulties.
I personally doubt if it is that simple. I don't see much real understanding of work-place situations.
I know I harp on and on about these things, but having worked a lifetime, I've seen difficulties that these simple solutions cannot possibly alleviate.
Anyone else have any insights as to how we get more people with autism into full time work (given the Conservatives have pledged to halve the employment gap for disability)
