Working with autistics/other disabled

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Am I the only person who really likes working with others with disabilities and thrives on that interaction. I will be studying to be a speech therapist and I love working with others on the spectrum or with other disabilities. I don't like working alone all day.

Me too.

I've never done it, but I would love to give it a try. Sadly, I have no idea where to begin to get into a job like that, and truthfully, the only relatable experience I've had was babysitting the neighbors 5 and 7 year olds.

I dated a guy back in college who really had a knack for working with autistics and bd (behavioral disorder?) students. He really enjoyed the work and thrived on it.
He was a bit of an odd duck, but, I do not think he was on the spectrum himself.

I work with people with disabilities and enjoy it, so I say go for it. I tend to get along a lot better with clients than some coworkers, actually. It's all of the extraneous stuff that comes along with my job, like the office politics, that I don't like.

I do too. And I feel like I'm really good at it... better than I am at most other things.

I want to be good at it, too.

some favourite support staff of mine [unfortunately not working with self now] are on the spectrum,one of them is a WP semi-regular, shes
an awesome support staff who tries hard to overcome any barriers she has.

the autism & intelectual disability specialized pyschologist of mine acts typicaly autistic,had always thought he was and had always got on with him very well so he admitted he was autistic [though not diagnosed] this year.
have had many caring and understanding support staff with disabilities; ranging from severe spinal injuries caused by a horse riding accident [now has a morphine pump and will end up in a wheel chair as his spine is crumbling]-always thought he was so typicaly autistic, to a staff with severe dyslexia [she had a girlfriend with aspergers], to a male staff with aspergers and OCD,to a residential home manager who had aspergers.

its just easier for people who have impairments of some kind to have an open mind for others,though not always,am intelectualy disabled and rarely get understanding,avoidance of intelectual disability slurs, stereotypes plus ignorance from the online aspie specific community.

I don't have much to say on this subject, but I just wanted to say how much I value and appreciate your perspective, KoR.
I find your comments on point, factually sound, and extremely insightful, especially as compared to the rantings of some HFA/aspie folks on here.
Although it seems clear that you have many difficulties in expressing your ideas, when you do they're almost always quite deep & sophisticated, which seems to strongly contradict the idea that your cognitive, behavioral, and communication issues make your intellect any less powerful than the rest of us.
It seems like you're probably slower to get the thoughts together, and have a lot of trouble getting them out, but when you do I feel like I can almost see/feel the intense intellect struggling with a recalcitrant brain & body, and the effort you put forth.
It's visceral, palpable, intense, and incredibly impressive.

I don't really have a point to make as such.
I guess I just want to say thank you for sharing your unique insights and perspectives and helping to improve & enlighten mine.
There are some of us here who really appreciate the effort you make & what you bring to these forums, even if we're kinda quiet about it most of the time.

I provide direct support care for two individuals with developmental disabilities and I love the work. The only downside is when their stims clash with my sensory issues or when I'm stuck with an uptight or lazy co-worker. Even though the guys are non-verbal I feel like we can communicate so much better with each other than I can with most NT people using words. There is no one else in the whole world besides them who I don't have to moderate my behavior around and it is so much fun because they get to be themselves also without being judged or scolded. At the end of they day I am drained from working hard while still keeping up the fun, but it is well worth it. Some days it is really rough, but I've yet to find a more fulfilling line of work thus far.

I work with people with various disabilities, including others on the spectrum, and have done so for my entire working life. I actually started out when I was put in special education classes after my diagnosis, but I was very intelligent and didn't need remedial coursework, so the teachers made me a sort of assistant instead. Then they helped me get a job in a special-needs pre-K after school. I am now working on a special education degree and I want to work with autistic kids. I think I would be better at that than an NT person, because I understand how an autistic brain works from the inside out. I wish more people would see it that way.

I've worked at an adult day program for the last 2 1/2 years.
I started out working one-on-one with a guy on the spectrum (whom I'll refer to as "Jake" for ease of communication),
considered to be on the "severe" end because he is non-verbal.
I hadn't known too much about autism until I started working with
him, but it was through the research I made prompted by wanting
to understand his diagnosis that I began to suspect that I myself
was on the spectrum.
Sure enough, I went to a psychologist, and after all the testing, etc.
I have been diagnosed with Aspergers/HFA myself.

I enjoyed working with Jake so much--truly the best "job" I've ever had.
I think we understood each other on a certain level, and I
helped to get him an iPad and showed him how to use it. Now he
uses it extremely well in order to ask for things.

It makes me think that it is very important for people on the spectrum
to be helping each other out in this world, since we might--more often than not--
understand each other better than NTs do.
For example, before I started working with "Jake", his staff assumed that he
was profoundly ret*d and often just had him sit at a table folding a towel
over and over again all day long.
I think he may enjoy that as an occasional stim, but now that he has an iPad, he
asks to go places and do all sorts of things.

I don't mean to sound like I saved him or anything--it was his own motivation and amazing intelligence that have brought him to where he is; I'm just saying that I think
people on the spectrum, especially aspies/HFA folks, are much needed in this
"field of work", since I think we can bring a better perspective to it and relate
better to those on the spectrum for whom it is harder to communicate and
interact with the NT world.

Hello everyone I'm new.
I intend to post this to the general discussion about this topic. If I wind up posting onto anything else please forgive me.
I'm learning.

I grew up in a home with someone on the spectrum so I was drawn to the field of developmental disabilities.
I have worked in the coummunity, inside the classroom, and in day programs.
One day while doing research for my job I came across the book "Look me in the eye".
At 25 turning the pages of that book, for the first time in my life I felt like I wasn't alone.
I have not been diagnoised but after a year researching aspergers, I'm 100% positive that I'm an aspie.
I've mentioned it to a few coworkers and family members but I wasn't sure if admitting that you are on the spectrum would prevent you from working with others who are, but apparently that's not as uncommon as I thought.

I've recently been considering if I ever left my current job, to pursue working directly with special needs/autistic individuals. My current job is the absolute BEST job I've ever had. I transport special needs adults and children to school or day programs. Right now, my route has an elementary girl who is non-verbal, but staff hopes she may open up some day and start talking. I'm absolutely amazed by her. My monitor and I highly suspect she's far more intelligent than staff gives her credit for. I've recently started mimicking (communicating) the sounds she makes back to her, and she gets so excited and lights up, smiling and animated. Just today, I added my own "sound" and she mimicked ME! It is SO heartwarming and rewarding to think that lowly bus driver me could potentially be breaking through a communication barrier. Makes me wonder if I'd be good at doing more working with special needs. But I'm afraid it would be too draining. I love driving alone for half my shift, just listening to the radio!!

i've worked with autism/learning disabilities since leaving uni.

My first job was working with people with learning disabilities. i really enjoyed the work and found i could communicate really well with the service users (probably due to years of practice, analysing interactions!). unfortunately, i disclosed that i had Aspergers, and was bullied out of the job, basically. i was very passionate and good at what i did, but (after disclosure) if i ever got stressed or anxious, i was told i was incompetent and unsuitable for the job. i was strictly against bad practice, and people manipulated me to avoid me reporting issues etc.
one day, i was getting really stressed about some (very) bad practice and the manager told me that i was the problem, because i adhere too strictly to 'rules', and then went on to say "we can either support the service users, or we can support you. we can't do both". Actually, they could - do the job properly and ethically, then we'll all be happy!

i have since left that job, and now work for an autism-specific service. the service is great and the people are great. I'm having a few issues with anxiety at the moment, so I'm hoping that i can get over these before anyone gets too annoyed. I've not disclosed (learned my lesson!), so my anxiety is constantly increasing because i fear that every minute i'm anxious is a minute closer to them finding out and getting rid of me.
This is annoying, because the anxiety would be manageable if my previous job hadn't trained me to believe that every time i was worried about something i would get sacked.

so, wish me luck!

i hope i can stay there, because it is fantastic. People on the spectrum can support other people on the spectrum. i am completely oblivious to the 'office politics' and sometimes get myself into trouble lol, but i am extremely patient with the service users, i can analyse the surroundings, and can communicate very well with them. And the service users like me

What is needed to be a speech therapist is a bachelor's degree in the area of speech therapy. You will want to obtain internships prior to graduation. If you are able to obtain a master's degree in speech therapy, that would also help.