Daily experience of an autistic

My Universal Credit, work coach referred me  to learndirect for a week long customer care course.

Yesterday I had my interview.

A lot of form filling, name, address, phone no. Email, national insurance, next of kin phone, etc etc etc.

Q...  What is my ideal job?

What job I would refuse to do?

Any disabilities ???????

Around 10 Q about my style of learning. Multiple choice with 3 choices.

Formal face to face interview.

A Maths test. 

Place four numbers in order from lowest to highest?  

Someone spends £10 a week on travel.  How much will he spend on travel in four weeks?  Show all workings.

Etc

An English test.

Circle wrongly spelt words.

Add Capitals and full stops to a sentence.

Identify a verb in a sentence.  They even explained that a verb is an action or doing word.   

Week long course starts on Monday 29th Jan.

  • Sorry to hear that Trainspotter. Is there no.way you can find someone to advocate for you? 

  • Not much changed in the UK since the heady joys of Restart then.

    No, apart from things have got worse.

    The thing that is wrong with the Governments schemes is that it is all based on Joe Jobseeker to get work.  What Joe needs more than anything is help to get a job.  And when Joe (or Jane) Jobseeker is autistic, he really needs help, help and more help.

    When I was out of work for over twenty years however much I looked for work I had to go through many, many reasons why I wouldn't get the job in my mind. Continual rejection did that for me.   And when I did apply (I ought to have been in the Guiness book o records for the jobs I applied for and failed at the interview) I had great difficulty with completing the form, and then at the interview.  I invariably failed the process.

    I needed help.  And that should have been by someone acting for me in gaining the interest of an employer knowing my difficuties.  I was not diagnosed at the time, but then Autism wasn't recognised in any way..  I was just seen as someone who couldn't get a job.

    And I think perhaps although 'help' at a jobcentre for disabled people is supposedly available, including for those who are autistic, autism isn't really understood.  They see it as malingering and laziness. 

    There still isn't understanding at all.

  • Egads. Not much changed in the UK since the heady joys of Restart then. Glad I got out.

  • Of course it’s ok to feel upset, it’s only natural. However, it’s not wise to act when we feel upset. It’s better to wait until we have processed our feelings and they have left us. 

    Then you can request a discussion regarding the feedback. Make clear and precise notes, on the points you wish to discuss. Explain that it is important to you as feedback is a tool to use to help you progress in your search for paid employment and you would therefore appreciate and value the opportunity to discuss a number of points made in the feedback summary. 

    There are many possible outcomes that could come from such a meeting. Too many to consider. But the fact is, feedback is a tool that is used to aide and benefit us, so it has to be as accurate as it can be and in this situation, it requires a meeting all of its own to go through the feedback and see what positives can be gained from it so you can begin to formulate your next step in your mission to gain meaningful emoloyement. It may be that you need some training/support in any weak areas identified before you can move towards applying for jobs. Finding out what kind of employment a person is best suited to, can be pretty complex, and it can take time. I think having a meeting to discuss, as people on the same team, not enemies, the feedback will be a great step forward, and will help build relationships, which are crucial if they’re going to be of any help to you. 

  • I'm still upset at the completely inaccurate feedback I received from that group interview.

    I am considering reporting them for breaking the data protection act in their presentation by revealing addresses of vulnerable clients to people who haven't had references checked or had a DBRS check.   ( See my post a couple of weeks ago).

  • You clearly, have not only the skills to care for others but also the compassion and all the other skills that go with that. However, just because you’re good at something, it doesn’t mean you necessarily have to do it for a job. You have got many many skills that could be picked out and highlighted, just from the small bit of information you have given above, that could be used in a wide variety of jobs. You are a talented and clever man, not forgetting my favourite, your ability to observe and write about your experiences in a totally engaging manner. 

  • I'm replying to both DC and Blueray.

    I've been encouraged to apply for these kind of care jobs because I have many years of relevant experience in doing this kind of work.

    Also the reason I post experiences of my past.  Is that it is a form of stress release.

    As I have said many times before.  My past family life was total insanity.

    Many years ago I tried to live an independent life with a full time job but my parents problems just got worse and worse.

    At one time I was visiting them only on weekends, two or three weeks apart.  

    This is how I ended up in full time care work.

    I arrived on a Saturday morning and found my father watching the TV on almost the full volume blasting out.  It was so loud that the floor and walls were vibrating.  When I turned the volume down I heard my mother shouting weakly for help from upstairs.

    She was very ill and had been begging my father to call a doctor for two days.  She thought she was having a heart attack.

    A went to the nearest phone box and called the emergency doctor (this was before mobile phones and we didn't have a phone in the house, that's another story!).  As I was explaining to her that a doctor would arrive shortly, my father talked down to her in a very patronising voice, " You have to be ill to see a doctor " and he went out to the local club.   Ten minutes later a doctor arrived and immediately called an ambulance.

    The hospital diagnosis was pneumonia, possibly heart attack but difficult to say after two days.  She stayed in hospital for four weeks with antibiotics and nebulisers etc.

    When she came out I had to do everything, shopping, cleaning, gardening, chaperoning to doctors and hospital visits, calling taxis, translating.

    Things were staring to get better after a few years and then she slipped in the kitchen and broke her right wrist in several places.

    So I ended up in full time care work with a wide range of experiences of dealing with difficult people and situations.

    I had to develop tact to do everything but at the same time appear invisible and appear not to be doing anything.

  • Greetings, Mr.Math-Photographer...

    I would like to add something positive, yet Miss BlueRay is so very profound of late, that I cannot really say more than that which BlueRay has written...!

    In my own experiences, when an "assessor" sat behind myself, it was for no other reason but the reason that I could not see what they were doing, observing, writing down, giving cues to other assessors present... This is one of the tricks that are used in "observing" people. In turning around to confront them about this sort of thing, they deny it, yet it upsets their composure...

  • No, that’s not a mistake or anybody else’s. It is simply a matter of the assessor missing your part in the group exercise. Therefore, it is reasonable to challenge the feedback and say that you would like them to reconsider their comment in light of the fact that the assessor wasn’t able to witness the contributions you made etc. It’s not a mistake as such, we are human beings not robots, he wasn’t able to see the situation fully from where he was situated which lead him to make an inaccurate assessment. Nobody gets everything right all the time. The assessor missed your contributions and you would like them to be considered and have the feedback amended accordingly. You’re not trying to create any extra unnecessary work for them but it is important that the feedback accurately reflects your skills etc as this could potentially jeopardise potential employment opportunities. 

  • I only made one big mistake in that group exercise.

    We were in a group of 5 sitting at a table at the end of a long thin room. With the assessors observing from behind me.

    They never saw my face.  I was concentrating on the task and making a contribution and looking at other people in the group.  Unfortunately the observers only saw the back of my head.  And never saw my face and never realised that I was speaking.  My mistake.

  • Mmmmm I wouldn’t say this is back to square one minus one, as you now know that care work with that company is not the job for you, which is plus one, as you can rule this out and you’re now building up a profile of what is and isn’t suitable for you. Unless of course you feel that it is suitable for you, and in that case, you can ask for support that will actually get you into care work which could include training in a specific area, for example. If learndirect are charged with getting you a job then it is their responsibility to provide you with whatever you need to get you the type of work that you want. And you can challenge the feedback. For example, they said you didn’t make a big enough contribution. That is vague. What do they mean by ‘not big enough’. For example, they might say, you were too quite and passive, which could indicate that you might be most suitable for a position in which you take very clear and specific orders and you simply have to carry them out. You may not be ‘good’ in group situations where each member is required to contribute ideas etc but would be excellent for a role in which you carry out specific orders. 

    They said that you weren’t focussed enough. Again, this is vague and could indicate that you may need some support to help you to focus on specific tasks etc or you just need to find something that does grab your focus.

    Talking over people could be a challenge. I do this but I am able to minimise this if I am in a situation I want to be in and I can see the benefit of not talking over people. It might not mean that I can always stick to this but if this is something already highlighted, then I could maybe simply be reminded of what I’m doing, when I do it, so I can stop it. 

    You can use this feedback as a benefit. For example, maybe they can explore roles where you’re not required to engage in conversations, where your contribution isn’t required beyond following set tasks. It maybe that you are best suited to jobs that don’t require much focus or you may need to find something that you’re uniquely interested as that may gain your focus and attention. 

    You say you would like to work in a library. You can unpick this and look at what specific elements you like. For example, you like the quite and peaceful environment or you like organising and sorting books which is a skill you could maybe transfer to other types of jobs, organising other kinds of things.

    By creating a list of all the elements that your perfect job will include, you can begin to build a profile and look at areas you would maybe like to build on. For example, I’m a writer and recently I’ve been learning French and I’ve realised that my lack of confidence around things like nouns and verbs etc is hindering my learning of French. Which lead me to realise that my lack of confidence with this could also be hindering my progress with writing. So I have found several short residential courses at northern college all about nouns and punctuation etc so I am in the process of signing up for these classes. They’re all residential and they’re all free and will be beneficial to me in many ways and I’m so looking forward to them. I’ve always struggled with these things.

    You have such a great skill at story telling. I feel so happy when I see you’ve started a new thread or you’ve made a comment. I really look forward to your posts, especially when you are telling us about neighbours or your daily activities etc. I would love love love you to write a weekly blog/story, either in an online magazine or on your own blog or whatever. You could monetise the blog and make a very comfortable living, by creating passive income. That would bring joy to me and give you a nice income. 

    Also, a good place to start when thinking about employment, is to have three figures worked out. Your first figure is the amount of money you have calculated that you would need each week to live comfortably. The second figure is what could you take off that list to bring that figure down. For example, we need money for food, but maybe you could be a little less extravagant, or you could do away with the annual holiday. You chop it down until you’ve got a figure that gives you the bare minimum you would need to cover your basic weekly costs. And the third figure, you add in things like extra holidays, or eating out a couple of times a week. This figure is more or less what you need to be considered financially free. 

    It’s a good idea to have at least some of your income coming from a passive income stream. It’s also important that you have a real interest in what you do. This definitely helps, when, for example, your particular line of work might mean that you start out with just the basic income and you live frugally for a while, if, for example, you know that with hard work and time, you could build it up to meet the middle income and ultimately to become financially free. Maybe you don’t want to be financially free. It’s important you’re clear on these aspects, otherwise you can end up on an eternal merry go round. 

  • I've just got a phone call from learndirect that I've been turned down for the care roles we were being prepared for.

    I failed in the  group exercise I took part in on Tuesday.

    The feedback I received was very unfair.

    1. They claimed I didn't make a big enough contribution.
    2. They said I wasn't focused enough.
    3. I talked over people.

    So.  Back to square minus one. Disappointed

  • I guess you’ll have to make the most of it.

  • Greetings. At Half-past-Twelve, if another has replied before me, then I do not see that as I Post this here. I wrote a much longer Reply, yet decided against Posting it, in favour of this sort of summary instead...

    When put into a situation, and bad things happen to me which are not my own fault (e.g. - misinformation, traffic jams, opinionated women)... I make a note of all such impedences and then state them. When something happens that is not my own fault, then I say that that is not my own fault...

    ...If all of that is dismissed, then I keep precise records, and state them at the very next time I am put into such a situation. ..! Apart from that, I sort of Post in order to say that I am still trying to follow this Thread, and cannot say much else, as it brings up so many disparate topics. Do not blame yourself for what others inflict upon you - take note of such things and challenge them for a next time, I say...

  • An update and bad news, disastrous!

    Yesterday I signed on at the jobcentre.  Following advice from learndirect I asked my jobcentre work coach for a reference.  As I expected she refused saying it is against job centre policy to give references.

    While at the job centre I received a text from learndirect, changing today's start time from 9:30 to 9am and reminding me to dress smartly for today's selection interviews.  My work coach advised me to wear full suit and tie.

    Today, I tried to get there for 9am.  But with all the traffic and snowstorm I managed to arrive at 9:02am at learndirect. One of my autistic traits is punctuality.  I was panicking and considering returning home.  Anyway it turns out less than half the class were there on time. Nobody had a suit or tie.  They just wore regular clothes.The actual assessment was a surprise.  We had 20 Min to fill out

    1. A personal profile of ourselves
    2. Write about  how others see us
    3. Write what help or support we need from management and team members.
    4. Then a long group exercise about doing a risk assessment and care plan for a downs syndrome man  with a walking frame who wants to go shopping.  And has other personal problems managing his health etc.  

    The group was dominated by a very opinionated woman who really got on my nerves.

    1. To summarize I blew it Japanese ogre

  • I’ve saved that post so I can read about it later on or on a different day. I’m very interested but my mind isn’t quite taking it in just now. 

  • What it's about.  See my post above from kent.ac.uk 

    I did ok in the group.  The actual personal interview and lack of relevant experience let me down.  I asked for feedback.

  • It is :-) I have no idea what I said or how I acted during that group interview, I just remember it going on for hours, I remember the sinking ship scenario, I remember wondering what it was all about and I remember I didn’t get the job! lol! 

  • I did the lifeboat scenario, last year for a telephone customer support worker at the city council offices.  Didn't get the job either.

    It's a small world.