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Support to find 19 year old work

Asdmum_666

Good afternoon.

I’m new to this and hoping someone can help me because I’m at a loss. My son is 19 and has autism. He can interact with others and has developed good coping mechanisms. I’ve spent most of his life handling everything myself and not really accepting support. Now I’m at an impasse as we try to get him into work, but nowhere seems willing to take him on. He passed his GCSEs and a Level 2 course at college. He clearly needs extra support and doesn’t always understand things the first time, but companies these days don’t seem to want to bother. I need him to be able to live independently. I’m feeling so overwhelmed and upset with myself that I can’t make it happen for him like others his age. I feel like I’m failing him.

Getting a job is literally the last step we need to take.

Any advice or any links to places you know may be able to help us would be brilliant. 

If you have read this far thank you 

  • I was in a different situation,  because I come from a poor and dysfunctional family, so I was obviously forced to start working at the age 15 and nobody cared how much stress I had. I always do the low salary jobs,  retail wasn't a nightmare,  but it became one, when my boss started expecting me to change the tone of my voice (apparently monotonous) and got angry that I don't get cues. So I lost that job. Then i was a cashier and it was a sensory hell I really felt like dying after each shift of 8 hours sitting there and my head was spinning from seeing so many people and strong lights and the noise from scanners. Tgere was also McDonald's,  maybe not the worst one as a whole, but due to sensory issues i ended up in psych. Hospital. I worked on a call center and it was tge worst. Of course again monotonous tone of my voice and not catching cues. But at least git prised fir good analytical skills,  attention to details and catching frauds. Now I finally have a job that suits me and does not damage me mentally. It's in a warehouse of a hardware store. My manager is understanding and other colleagues too, again my attention to details,  strong focus, catching transportation damages immediately etc are my strengths.  I graduated bachelor degree in logistics and Spedition,  my former colleagues do good careers, but I can't. I can't even drive a car. I'm not sure, what would your son like to do, but maybe it would be good to convince him to start with something smaller and then try something more ambitious. Maybe tgere are some organisations that help autistic people find job? There are companies who are more oriented on hiring people with various conditions.  Mine is like that, I'm not the only one there, there are more people with both mental and physical conditions. 

  • in reply to Becky73

    What a lovely and reassuring reply Becky73! Sounds like you (and your mum) are doing great! Thank you for sharing.

  • Hi, I'm 18 and have autism. When I started at sixth form I wanted to get a job because all my friends had 'grown up money' and I usually only had about £20 from my mum. I tried on Indeed for ages with no luck even though everyone was saying thats where they got their jobs. What I noticed was a lot of the 'questionnaires' companies put on indeed were always very similar to the autism assessment and I do not think that is a coincidence. It very much depends what kind of work he is looking for but when I eventually got my first job it was at my local pub and I got it by going in and asking if they were hiring. Even though places do post jobs online it seems that independant companies prefer someone to 'show willing', not sure how that works with chain stores though.

    When I started my job I found that my manager was very understanding and always happy to repeat information. Bar work is also quite repetetive and predictable, which I enjoy. Obviously I understand that he may want a job in the field that he studied at college but maybe starting with a part time job could help build some confidence, as well as starting a small savings fund. 

    Also, I just want to say judging by the fact your worrying this much about him, you're probably doing a good job as a parent. My mum always worries that she's failed me because sometimes she gets it wrong but always remember, you're human and as long as you love him and you do your best, he'll be fine. Sometimes, autistic people have a slightly different path than others as it can take us longer to achieve things that others can do easily. It can be frustrating but he's not alone and there will be someone willing to give him the support he needs, it just might take some time to find them.

    I hope this was helpful or reassuring in some way

    :)

  • Please don’t take it personally (you or your son). Getting a job is hard and demoralising for many people so any additional barriers will potentially make it harder and take longer. There are some good employers out there who are becoming more aware about reasonable adjustments and autistic strengths but  you might need to be quite selective when looking at companies. Our local council offer employment services for young people not in employment, education or training, including additional support if needed for autistic individuals so there might be something similar in your area. Autistica.org.uk also do a lot of work in this field, working with employers and individuals so you might find something helpful on their website. Good luck