why is it hard for some aspergers to have a job?

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kraftiekortie
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26 Jun 2014, 2:08 pm

You certainly do.

However, if you have obvious ability in specialized things (like programming, say), and show virtuosity, they would overlook your ability to gauze social nuances.



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26 Jun 2014, 3:01 pm

Who_Am_I wrote:
You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


Why? Why is reading them required to answer their questions?


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26 Jun 2014, 3:12 pm

League_Girl wrote:
Who_Am_I wrote:
You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


Why? Why is reading them required to answer their questions?


Being able to respond appropriately to their body language is necessary so you don't come across as awkward and someone who wouldn't fit into the workplace.


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26 Jun 2014, 3:41 pm

I have watched over the years my husband's experience at work. While he is not an Aspie, he works with MANY aspie types. I think as an industry, Environmental Science/engineering must be a haven for people on the spectrum. It seems like there are about half and half, meaning half potentially aspie people, half NT's. But even the NT's are a bit on the aspie spectrum, or are at the very least understanding of aspie skills and the benefit of having them as employees.

This is partially why we are trying to point our son on the spectrum in this direction. He may not choose it for himself, but if he takes classes in college such as Environmental Science, and enjoys them, we feel like it could be a real positive work experience for him.

I don't know what it is, but I just felt like my husband's social experiences at work have been so accepting of EVERYBODY. The emphasis is on what you know, and not how social you are. I've worked in the construction industry, and social skills were highly important there. I've seen the difference between the two industries, and these environmental people are truly nice.



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26 Jun 2014, 4:33 pm

Who_Am_I wrote:
League_Girl wrote:
Who_Am_I wrote:
You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


Why? Why is reading them required to answer their questions?


Being able to respond appropriately to their body language is necessary so you don't come across as awkward and someone who wouldn't fit into the workplace.


Yeah I don't understand that nor know what it means. I only know through reading that during an interview you are to sit still and not move your body and you are to look at the person. Moving your body and playing with anything in your hand or touching anything could indicate you are nervous and that might look bad for the interviewer. I believe this is what I did in my interview for working at a hotel here. I can remember forcing myself to look at the person's face and I didn't move my body. Either I lucked out or I passed.


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26 Jun 2014, 8:47 pm

Sweetleaf wrote:
Well in my case its not just social things I have trouble with, there are executive functioning difficulties...sensory issues can be problematic for me...I seem to process things slowly...so yes the autism causes its difficulties.

^This. I can get jobs, and I don't get fired, but I struggle to stay in them.



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27 Jun 2014, 5:55 am

Kurgan wrote:
Given that today's job interviews (particularly when it comes to jobs not requiring a college degree) are popularity contests, many aspies fail at these.


This.

And most jobs requiring a degree still boil down to a popularity contest. They just pick the most popular person with the credential they require.



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27 Jun 2014, 3:31 pm

I will put my theories in, first of all, in the interview, you may get questions like "what do people say about you?" Something like that can be hard to answer (what do neurotypical people say?)' If you come across awkward as we often are, they think "He can't handle the job" Or they may think that the other coworkers cannot handle you either.

Coworkers I have found hard to deal with. Sometimes I look worried or nervous or do a mannerism and get reported to the boss that they are "uncomfortable with me". Then I get yelled at, written up, threated with firing...

When you are on the clock the demands are CONSTANT AND UNRELENTING! There is no "downtime" at all. That is, you get constant demands, constant questions, have to be fully alert every minute, constant people talking, and if you say "stop" then see above where you get reported to the boss. For example, if I am moving something heavy, I might have to put something down for just a minute, then get yelled at "IT CANT BE HERE!" MOVE IT!"

I have found that coworkers will "stab you in the back" and "set you up" so that you get reported and eventually quit. Then they wonder "we can't get anyone to work" and just complain how little help there is.

Some industries such as food service are what I consider "dumb" industries in that most supervisors have never taken a psychology class and if you tell them you are on the autistic spectrum they won't know what it is or worse, think that you will scream in the supermarket and smear sh---t all over the walls. But even in the health field, you might come across someone who will not know. As soon as you say that, you will not be hired.

Oh, and people who own businesses and complain that people with ASD are on social security and should not be are part of the problem too. Why not give us a chance?



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27 Jun 2014, 6:36 pm

Ann2011 wrote:
I used to be able to get a job much more easily. Now I am older and not so cute and have a sketchy work history. I can't even get interviews anymore. The few that I have had in the past year have been terrible - I just don't have the energy to pass as NT anymore.
And actually working in the jobs I have had has been difficult. It's not just the social cues, but sensory processing as well. I get confused and am unable to think clearly.
Oh and I do have a degree, but so do the people I'm competing against.


Yes, I understand what you mean here. The sensory processing issue is so difficult. The last job I had, a manager slammed something down ... which made a very loud noise. I burst into tears and had to run away. I went into the restroom just to compose myself, but I couldn't stop shaking. It was awful.

Also, I was unable to deal with the in person training. My mind was overwhelmed. I read and memorized the manual parts, but the in-person training unwound me.


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27 Jun 2014, 6:39 pm

BobinPgh wrote:
I will put my theories in, first of all, in the interview, you may get questions like "what do people say about you?" Something like that can be hard to answer (what do neurotypical people say?)' If you come across awkward as we often are, they think "He can't handle the job" Or they may think that the other coworkers cannot handle you either.

Coworkers I have found hard to deal with. Sometimes I look worried or nervous or do a mannerism and get reported to the boss that they are "uncomfortable with me". Then I get yelled at, written up, threated with firing...

When you are on the clock the demands are CONSTANT AND UNRELENTING! There is no "downtime" at all. That is, you get constant demands, constant questions, have to be fully alert every minute, constant people talking, and if you say "stop" then see above where you get reported to the boss. For example, if I am moving something heavy, I might have to put something down for just a minute, then get yelled at "IT CANT BE HERE!" MOVE IT!"

I have found that coworkers will "stab you in the back" and "set you up" so that you get reported and eventually quit. Then they wonder "we can't get anyone to work" and just complain how little help there is.

Some industries such as food service are what I consider "dumb" industries in that most supervisors have never taken a psychology class and if you tell them you are on the autistic spectrum they won't know what it is or worse, think that you will scream in the supermarket and smear sh---t all over the walls. But even in the health field, you might come across someone who will not know. As soon as you say that, you will not be hired.

Oh, and people who own businesses and complain that people with ASD are on social security and should not be are part of the problem too. Why not give us a chance?


Yes! Well articulated!


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BobinPgh
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27 Jun 2014, 9:23 pm

LibrariesAndCoffee wrote:
Ann2011 wrote:
I used to be able to get a job much more easily. Now I am older and not so cute and have a sketchy work history. I can't even get interviews anymore. The few that I have had in the past year have been terrible - I just don't have the energy to pass as NT anymore.
And actually working in the jobs I have had has been difficult. It's not just the social cues, but sensory processing as well. I get confused and am unable to think clearly.
Oh and I do have a degree, but so do the people I'm competing against.


Yes, I understand what you mean here. The sensory processing issue is so difficult. The last job I had, a manager slammed something down ... which made a very loud noise. I burst into tears and had to run away. I went into the restroom just to compose myself, but I couldn't stop shaking. It was awful.

Also, I was unable to deal with the in person training. My mind was overwhelmed. I read and memorized the manual parts, but the in-person training unwound me.[/quote

Oh, and let me guess, one of the coworkers probably found you in the ladies room and probably told the manager you were weird or something like that and it became very difficult to work there.



LibrariesAndCoffee
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27 Jun 2014, 9:49 pm

BobinPgh wrote:


Oh, and let me guess, one of the coworkers probably found you in the ladies room and probably told the manager you were weird or something like that and it became very difficult to work there.


Yup. I even got pulled into the back room for a chat. :? And they'd already thought I was a bit weird because they wanted me to use the intercom (which was so loud!) and I would say, "No, I'll just run over and tell the person..." and they would say, "No.... use the intercom." 8O


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28 Jun 2014, 12:47 am

BobinPgh wrote:
I will put my theories in, first of all, in the interview, you may get questions like "what do people say about you?" Something like that can be hard to answer (what do neurotypical people say?)' If you come across awkward as we often are, they think "He can't handle the job" Or they may think that the other coworkers cannot handle you either.

Coworkers I have found hard to deal with. Sometimes I look worried or nervous or do a mannerism and get reported to the boss that they are "uncomfortable with me". Then I get yelled at, written up, threated with firing...

When you are on the clock the demands are CONSTANT AND UNRELENTING! There is no "downtime" at all. That is, you get constant demands, constant questions, have to be fully alert every minute, constant people talking, and if you say "stop" then see above where you get reported to the boss. For example, if I am moving something heavy, I might have to put something down for just a minute, then get yelled at "IT CANT BE HERE!" MOVE IT!"

I have found that coworkers will "stab you in the back" and "set you up" so that you get reported and eventually quit. Then they wonder "we can't get anyone to work" and just complain how little help there is.

Some industries such as food service are what I consider "dumb" industries in that most supervisors have never taken a psychology class and if you tell them you are on the autistic spectrum they won't know what it is or worse, think that you will scream in the supermarket and smear sh---t all over the walls. But even in the health field, you might come across someone who will not know. As soon as you say that, you will not be hired.

Oh, and people who own businesses and complain that people with ASD are on social security and should not be are part of the problem too. Why not give us a chance?


My reaction to the first 4 paragraphs: 8O I think that would drive me f*****g insane....I don't even want to know how I'd react to that.

And I agree with the last point.


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28 Jun 2014, 2:59 am

I f*****g suck at job interviews. I applied at a bunch of places recently, and didn't get a call back from a single one, just like the first time I looked for a job several months ago before I quit the one I eventually got.



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28 Jun 2014, 6:50 am

League_Girl wrote:
Who_Am_I wrote:
You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


Why? Why is reading them required to answer their questions?


Ever hear the line, "There are no wrong answers" when dealing with an assessment test?

That's a lie straight from the pit of Hell.

Yeah, for an accurate personality assessment, no answer is "wrong," but for THEIR purposes, the "wrong" answer(s) will ensure you do not get selected. Ergo...there are WRONG answers.

Interviews are the same.

"Be yourself."

Not if I want to get the job.



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28 Jun 2014, 9:36 pm

Who_Am_I wrote:
You have to be able to read people to get through job interviews.


Yessss, and I am terrible at it. Doesn't mean I don't try, but I'm very very bad for misjudging people, and assuming I'm on their bad side. What I'm even worse at is making myself harder to read when I'm nervous, or making myself look "good" in general.