Autism and work

Okay, I don’t know if I should comment on this, but I’ve got thoughts.

One thing you’ve got to keep in mind is that there are some that need low support, but there are many Autistics that need more support. Many employers don’t want to hire Autistics that are going to require a great deal of support because then they will be working at a net negative.

Example, if I were working at a school as a custodian but I cannot clean restrooms, that means another worker is going to have to do extra restrooms to make up for me doing less work. Or they’ll have to hire another worker to make up for me not being able to do all the work.

What I’m talking about is different than accommodations. An accommodation shouldn’t mean that you can’t do essential duties in the job. An accommodation is something that should help you do the essential duties of a job.

Another example: I just had a client lose a job because he cannot write legibly. That was a huge part of the job: Writing on price tags. That was at least 2/3s if not more of the work that he was assigned to. If they kept him, they’d have to hire another worker to do price tags, and he’d be doing 1/3 or less of what a normal worker could do. An accommodation would have been to let him type up prices on a labeler, but they were ultimately unable to allow that in their situation. Don’t worry, I’m going to find this poor guy a new job where they do not require him to handwrite.

Okay, I don’t know if I should comment on this, but I’ve got thoughts.

One thing you’ve got to keep in mind is that there are some that need low support, but there are many Autistics that need more support. Many employers don’t want to hire Autistics that are going to require a great deal of support because then they will be working at a net negative.

Example, if I were working at a school as a custodian but I cannot clean restrooms, that means another worker is going to have to do extra restrooms to make up for me doing less work. Or they’ll have to hire another worker to make up for me not being able to do all the work.

What I’m talking about is different than accommodations. An accommodation shouldn’t mean that you can’t do essential duties in the job. An accommodation is something that should help you do the essential duties of a job.

Another example: I just had a client lose a job because he cannot write legibly. That was a huge part of the job: Writing on price tags. That was at least 2/3s if not more of the work that he was assigned to. If they kept him, they’d have to hire another worker to do price tags, and he’d be doing 1/3 or less of what a normal worker could do. An accommodation would have been to let him type up prices on a labeler, but they were ultimately unable to allow that in their situation. Don’t worry, I’m going to find this poor guy a new job where they do not require him to handwrite.