Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi.
I'm Eleanor and I'm autistic. Asperger's Syndrome to be exact. I've known for a long time I am. And don't worry, I had the diagnosis when I was 6/7 years old. I'm 22 now and I pretty much know how autism me in particular, because as far as I'm aware, every person with autism is different. For me, it's getting overwhelmed crowded bus or London Underground, not being able to sleep until all lights in the house are off, hating the texture of velvet, the smell of baked beans, and getting all stuttery for talks/interviews on the phone that I'm not prepared for. etc.
So I only signed up on the website yesterday. I'm new with this and to be honest, I'm not sure what steps I should take next. See, I've finished university this year and am graduating next week. All the while I'm trying to look out for the work, so until I do get some ACTUAL work, it's more browsing on indeed.com and visits to the local job centre for me.
Aside from that, I'm not sure how to navigate the rest. You know? Friendships, relationships, lifestyle etc. I do have friends, but they are busy with work, travelling, other courses etc. Plus a couple of them HARDLY ever answer back calls or messages. Is it really that hard to reply to 'Hi so and so, you doing ok, haven't heard from you'. Plus, I hardly know ANYONE my age in my area, so yeah, some social life I lead.
I have a lot more to say, believe me. I'm just not going to put myself out there completely. There won't be a message every day, but I will update. In the meantime, I will just take it one day at a time.
Hi
It's Eleanor again. So good news is that I've now officially graduated from university and am currently looking for work. But I do have an interview at Café Nero later this week, it's not exactly my dream job, but hopefully I get it not just to earn some money, but to get something extra for my CV. See, I graduated with a music degree and my dream career is to be either a specialist music teacher for schools or a music therapist. Unfortunately though, I have little job experience and need to go on another course to get the right training and experience.
With that being said, I also aim to fit in music performance somewhere on the line. I play clarinet, piano and voice. I even did Music Performance for my big project in my final year at uni, and I got a mark of 78. Unfortunately, I'm quite rusty on clarinet and piano as I'm rubbish at practising on a regular basis, not to mention a leering habit of procrastination. I'm serious, I really need to up my game, and hopefully if I get that job maybe book a few lessons on the piano and save up for a new clarinet, as I've had my old one since I was 8, which was when I first started.
Again, I'm seriously hoping that I get this job, as for the past few months I've really had trouble finding employment. Almost every job I've applied for has turned me down simply because "you don't have enough experience". Seriously, I apply for these jobs to GET EXPERIENCE, how can they not understand that? Has anyone dealt with this problem? If so, any ideas on how to navigate the problem?
Don't worry, you'll hear more from me soon.
xxx
I am autistic and I have worked in education for 37 years. Have you considered looking on the National Autistic Website for jobs? They are very supportive of those of us who have a diagnosis and wish to work in different areas. For example, they run schools for autism where your musical training will be an asset. If you are uncomfortable about applying for a job why not look on the NAS website for the email of the person in HR at Head Office. You can email your qualifications and ask if there is any support you could have to aim for that dream job or whether she knows of any particular jobs in your area that would suit your qualifications. She will be able to look at providers and provide contact with them if you would rather discuss your position/qualifications/ability/needs. Remember also that if you are not confident about experience you can request working with a class as a volunteer. Being a volunteer in a school provides you with experience to decide whether this job is for you, as well as experience to apply for those dream jobs and get round the issue you describe about experience. As a retired Assistant Principal I am happy to support you in ways forward if you would wish this,but at the moment I would suggest the NAS. May you find happiness, fruitfulness and positive steps, and remember that to be the person we want to be we may have to jump over hurdles but that dream job is there for us if we remove the glass ceiling we think others are placing above us. There are ways forward but it is relevant to what you want to do and how you want to do it. I send you my kind regards.