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Tetra
Tufted Titmouse
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22 Sep 2011, 2:31 pm

I am in an unpaid student position in a nursery run by a family member I am not close to. I found it really difficult when I had to go to a training day an listen to a high functioning autistic guy do a talk on what its like to have autism, and now we are having someone else come into work to do an in house training day on autism. I have had this in a previous job in a care home but I think everyone there knew I had aspergers because they kept bringing it up in conversation.
I have been brought up to not tell people things about myself, particularly judgmental family who will tell anyone they know. My manager just thinks I have anxiety problems but did not think there is a difference between having serious anxiety issues and just being shy. Some people like to gossip a lot and I have found it is best not to tell people in a working situation. It makes me feel really irritable and stressed listening to autism training stuff whilst trying to hide the fact I am diagnosed with aspergers. Has anyone else been in this situation? Any ideas on how I can try and keep calm?



kt24
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23 Sep 2011, 1:20 pm

I have to say I totally agree.
We had autism training at school at the time I was being diagnosed with AS, and when noone knew about it. I knew more about it than the person doing the training, and was sitting there wondering why I had to be there.
I ended up saying nothing at all as I didn't want anyone to know about my AS until I had diagnosis.
I found it really stressful sitting in the training as I had to hide my AS and think about how to act and respond as an NT to all the questions and activities we had to do.

I guess that sometimes you have to do things in work that are hard.


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BasalShellMutualism
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30 Sep 2011, 8:08 am

Two things:

I absolutely LOVE IT (sarcasm) when a well meaning family member says things like, and I quote "its good to be calm and low key, but be enthusiastic" or when relating my failed attempts at attention seeking, "just talk every now, and then and share something about yourself each time" or read this book, or just keep trying.

I'm nigh 40 and it has only been within the last 4 years that I found out about Aspergers and realized what has been going on all my life. I want family and others to treat me "normally" but respect the fact that I cannot radically improve my ability to socialize overnight. It seems as though no one, even those you know unless they are well educated and experienced with autism, can just accept you as another variety of human. The dichotomy thrown on us is on the one hand being treated like we're helpless disabled, and on the other as if we are reluctant and antisocial because we refuse to try harder at socializing.



MrEGuy
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30 Sep 2011, 10:40 pm

Autism training at school? What is this?

I'm old enough to remember my fifth grade teacher telling my mom "Smart kids often have a hard time socializing and fitting in." And that was the entirety of everything my mom was told for the entire time I was in school.



kt24
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01 Oct 2011, 2:58 am

MrEGuy wrote:
Autism training at school? What is this?

I'm old enough to remember my fifth grade teacher telling my mom "Smart kids often have a hard time socializing and fitting in." And that was the entirety of everything my mom was told for the entire time I was in school.


The training at school was because I'm a teacher!


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Depression, GAD, Social Anxiety and unidentified mental health issues too
And now OFFICIALLY DIAGNOSED!