Is this comment ignorant??

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I'm a contractor with the Federal Govt, so they don't sent me the pay checks, my company does. Think of it has a Raytheon, Boeing, Oracle, CACI, CSC employee working for Dept of State for example. Anyways I do have aspergers and its documented. There was something that happened over the spring that I can't seem to move on. A Federal Govt employee told me that perhaps my supervisor within my company should find someone who doesn't have aspergers. So basically get rid of me due to my aspergers and get someone without aspergers? Just because I have aspergers does it make me a bad or stupid person? If a person gets hired but doesn't have aspergers does that make that person a better employee? Another thing is that I have been here for 8 years and this other employee has been here 2 years yet he gets to be lead in some projects. That makes no sense. He is a contractor too. I don't like the way people are treating me. It's a small group too, only 12 of us. The employees are actual Fed Govt people or contractors. Various ages too. I hate parties. I hate this job. I don't know what is worse though. To still get paid but hate the job so much that it makes you sick, or to have no job at all.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability ... rights.htm
http://www.swdbtac.org/html/publication ... yment.html

May or may not be useful.

yeah, I think length of time served is a pretty bad predictor of leadership skills. And to be honest, you've said you hate the job & you hate socialising with the other workers... I would probably pick an enthusiastic people-person to lead the team as well.

As for the comment, yeah, it was ignorant. Asperger's is a spectrum, not a binary condition. Some people with ASD are difficult to work with. So are a lot of people without ASD. Some people with ASD are fine, even great to work with, as long as you know how to handle them.

I spoke to my supervisor at my last job about my ASD, and she handled me accordingly. But you can't always do that.

Maybe a job shift to a place where you don't have to deal with fed gov employees so much?

Well I also take the metro trains and it can get crowded. It's so noisy, smelly, sometimes too hot or too cold. People staring at you. People laughing so loud. People who got BO. Having someone sitting next to you so close or standing next to you. Then when I get off the metro train to walk to my car in the parking garage I look around me to make sure no one is following me. This is probably mostly an anxiety issue that I have. I do want to get out of DC. The cost is expensive.

Yeah, it's an ignorant comment. Whoever would say such a thing to you is a real a**hole. Seriously, you should talk to a lawyer about suing for some kind of harassment. Depending where you are on the spectrum, there may be jobs that you're not suited for, but you shouldn't have to listen to this jerk throw it in your face.

5 years ago I was in a very similar situation, working as a contractor for DoD with a bunch of govt employees. I got in way over my head and wound up having a complete physical and mental breakdown. Haven't worked since. I'm quite happy not working, but it isn't for everyone. I think you should keep trying, even if that means looking for a different job.

My personal experience is that social skills have more than anything else to do with who gets chosen to lead projects. Obviously, this puts an aspie at a huge disadvantage. Do you really WANT to be a project leader, or is it just bugging you that they give it to somebody else?

If this person is in a position of authority, they can't say that. It's against the law if it could be proven. It's no different than saying "maybe they should hire someone who isn't in a wheelchair", or "maybe they get someone who isn't diabetic". If they aren't in a position of authority, it's still harassment. If you can find some proof of this behavior, you can make it very unpleasant for the said person and whoever employs them. Remember sometimes fear goes farther than admiration in the workplace. If people are afraid you'll get them fired, they'll be on their best behavior. They won't be nice, but they'll be quiet and polite. With some people, this is the best you can do.

No, that's an unfair thing to say, though instead of crying about it, you should address him like a man.
It seems like you have a lot to whine about, I suspect a lot of your "me v. the world" carries over in real life.

Is it the norm for people with aspergers when given a new task to do that we need someone to show us and sit with us to do one example?


For example, I had to add text and add line to 2 Adobe 9.4 PDFs. I never had to do this before and the person who handed me the task told me to figure it out on my own. How can I do that when I never ever did this before? What would have helped me is if someone were to sit with me and we can do one PDF together, then I can do the other one on my own. That's just how I learn. I need someone to sit down with me and show me just one for example, then I feel more comfortable. I don't want someone to hold my hand. But I thought when a co worker asks for help, then someone should help that person out. So many times I have asked for help, and get the answer:figure it out on your own. Then I get so angry and start yelling out profanity. Is getting angry and yelling out profanity part of aspergers? How would you all react in this situation?

The person who handed me the task is a Dept of Justice employee and he is the same person who said that maybe my company should find someone else who doesn't have aspergers to replace me.

I just wonder do contractors who work with Fed Goverment get any disability rights? Is aspergers covered under ADA? Anyone else have dealt with ignorant co workers?

I also have learning disability

Well when I was given the task I did try to figure it out for over an hour then I emailed the ignorant person that I'm stuck and he refused to help me. How can one man ruin my life? How can I let him control my life? He has made me hate life and hate my job so much. I come to find out that the meanest people have tons of friends (that's according to their facebook page) I am shocked as to who wants to be friends with someone who is cruel to people especially towards disabled. I don't think that this situation is about aspergers but mostly learning disability. I have a hard time with reading comprehension. I remember my previous supervisor telling me if I have any questions that I shouldn't be afraid to ask someone. Mom even told me co workers should help each other out. Mom has been doing retail for over 20 years. Perhaps I should do simple things. File documents, scan documents, make copies, etc. Very low paying job as a receptionist. I don't know anymore.