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I have an employer who is willing to work with me. The problem is that the employer's business includes my having to undergo a credit check. When I act as the employer's representative I have to undergo credit checks. Unfortunately, because of issues related to my autism my credit rating is very low. It doesn't really reflect on the quality of work I do but these business associates want to know why a person can accumulate such massive debt, be on disability, and yet be articulate and smart. So I have a hard time explaining that situation. This employer is giving me a chance to become self-sufficient and to be employed.

How do I explain my credit history? If I say that I have autism and that I was undiagnosed for many years and had to live by my wits to survive and this including a lot of debt the business associates will just think I am a) someone with mental illness or b) someone not to be trusted or c) they won't even bother to try to understand and will just write me off.

Has anyone else faced this problem? I get questions like, "If you could get a university degree how come you were unemployed for so long?" Of course the answer is that I have multiple learning disabilities...but most people only understand the one kind of learning disability..dyslexia...not the kinds that I have which include Central Auditory Processing Disorder and problems with proprioception and math skills.

Has anyone else faced the problem of explaining your history and weird life story to potential business associates?

I suppose I should ask what your credit history is? How much debt? What kinds of debts? Anything in default?

Having debt isn't an issue. Not having made payments and being in default can be an issue. If the employer knows you have autism, I don't see why a negative credit report would be a problem by itself.

Most times credit reports are used to see if you are a "high risk" employee who should not be trusted with money issues. They are supposed to evaluate the information on a case by case basis.

I owe over $100, 000. It's bad. Really bad. And it is because I took out loans to survive. The employers business associates want to know why I have this credit history. If I tell them I have autism I don't think they will understand. Most people think of autism as mental illness or retardation or some other issue that will be a liability.

That's more debt than most people. BUT, most people today are in some kind of debt. If they ask about your debt and you absolutely don't want to disclose your autism, you can say something like, "I made mistakes, but I learned from them and now I'm paying back the debt" or something like that. You're not obligated to go into detail. I don't think it's a bad thing to mention autism, but people might not connect how that relates to being in debt. At this point you might just have to let the chips fall where they may, this is a situation that seems largely out of your hands right now. Good luck...

I don't know how much debt people normally have, the point is I haven't been able to pay it back. There is no point in my telling people that I made "a mistake" - that implies self blame as though I had done something morally wrong when in fact it has to do with disability.

Can you not just lie. Say something like you have a family member with health problems or financial problems and over the years you've taken out loans to help them.

My ex girlfriend had severe problems with depression and used to say her mother was ill and needed care to explain some of her gaps on her cv. Then qualified it by saying she was now being looked after by someone else an aunt or something so it won't affect her career any more. The employers didn't press her on the issue much and she was able to get jobs.

I have over $100,000 in debt, but it's all student loans. I have $0 in other credit/debt areas because I made the mistake once of using credit badly and learned from that.

I don't know what to advise. If your debt isn't student loan debt, they might be right to question. Student loan debt is self-explanatory. Other debt is an issue. Since revealing you have AS could cost you the job if they take it the wrong way, perhaps a straightforward, "I made mistakes in the past, but I'm working at paying it off" will work. If pressured and you sense they might not hire you because the issue is not being addressed to their satisfaction, you might just have to tell them about having AS and that because nobody would hire you (my presumption) you used credit as a way to pay the bills and got in over your head.

I always try to just give factual answers and withhold commentary so other people can draw their own conclusions. For example: "I never learned how to handle money very well until after I had accumulated much debt and began realizing I must now dig myself out." Or more suggestively as to the matter of non-employment: "I believe in the value of the university's return on the monies I have paid there, and I have yet to find an employer (or company) to help confirm (or to prove) that."

Personally, I grew up in a time when we so-called "Human Resources" were still considered "Personnel", and I do not even want to work for any company that cannot see and accept me as a human being. So, I do not go in there begging since I know they need *someone* to do the work and I can do it if they really want it done.

It seems to me that rather than telling lies or trying to persuade people to empathize with my disability or otherwise jumping through hoops to get around the the issue of debt related to disability that I should have some legal recourse to have the debt forgiven. I know I can do that with student loans. I am going to see a lawyer to see if there is any chance I can have other debts forgiven also..based on disability. I'll let you know what he or she says, if you're interested.

Certainly, please do keep us posted!

1. For student loans, in the USA, getting "forgiveness" for loans just isn't an option unless you can prove you are a "hardship case" and that standard is not easy.

2. Bankruptcy will deal with all other debts (and student loans if you are a "hardship case") but it becomes a negative mark employers can hold against you if they feel your "credit rating" is relevant to your employment.