Warning about the working world!

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At one stage during my teens my brother sat down and talked too me about the working world in relation too my aspergers and he said too me during our conversation "you will face prejudice", "there are people out there who laugh at those with what you have", "you are going too be in competition with others" and "you are going too meet some real pricks in your life". I know for certain that my brother was saying this in a caring way and not in a spiteful tone because my brother has more experience of the real world than i do.

Can you go into more depth about the things my bro was trying to warn me about, esspecially
the part "you will face prejudice".

Prior to the conversation i was acting enthusiastic about getting a job and maybe my brother was just trying to make me not build my hopes up to much about my enthusiasm for taking part in a society built upon tryanny and ignorance.

Ignorant/prejudiced employers might refuse to hire you because they assume that having an ASD means you can't be a skilled and competent employee -- or they might pass you over for promotions for the same reason. Ignorant/prejudiced co-workers or employers might treat you badly or outright bully you on the job because you're different..they might talk down to you, gossip about you, laugh at you, make fun of you, exclude you (pretend you don't exist), or set you up to fail on purpose to get you in trouble/fired (e.g. mess up your work or give you false instructions or bad advice when you ask for help -- to make you do things the wrong way).




I think you're probably right. I also think maybe your brother was trying to give you an explanation of why some people might treat you badly/unfairly, so that if you do get bullied or discriminated against you know right from the start it's not your fault and you don't deserve it.

It's good to be realistic -- to be prepared for the possibility that other people might be ignorant or treat you badly/unfairly. But I think it's also good to remember that there are still kind and fair-minded people out there who treat others with respect....it's good to have some hope.

Any certain jobs where i can avoid this kind of treatment?

No, I don't think so....Bullying and prejudice aren't job-specific, it depends on the people you work for/work with. I've worked at different places doing the same kind of jobs, and each workplace was different in terms of how people acted towards one another.

I say just go for the jobs that match your skills and what you'd like to do.

But it might very hard for me dealing with bullying since i am not very mentally strong

I'm not sure what you mean...Is it that you don't know what to do when people are mean to you and just get really upset or angry? (This happens to me sometimes -- used to happen all the time)

Bullying happens sometimes, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen to you. Most of the places where I've worked, there was no bullying....You might also find work where you won't be discriminated against or bullied.



I thought of something else:

It might help if you find a job through an employment service that works specifically with people who have ASD. Do you know about the National Autistic Society's service called "Prospects"? Here's a quote from their website:



And here's a link to their website:

http://www.autism.org.uk/prospects

Why are we reffered too as disabled? I certainly don't feel disabled. Granted I do have issues with my emotions I can do normal day too day things like go too the pub or travel too city's etc


Quote "the only disability is a negative attitude"

Pretty much this. And if they do hire you, they might fire you for some made up reason when they find out you have Asperger's or autism. They will try to find any excuse in the book like it's unsafe for someone with autism and Asperger's to work in the environment or that you mess up stuff. People can be like that.

People can be disgusting

I think I've heard that quote before...I'm not totally sure what it means (if it's meant literally or not), but it makes me think about how negative attitudes about disability can be a far bigger problem than the disability itself. The word "disabled" has too much negative meaning attached to it.

"Disabled" shouldn't mean, "can't do anything"....yet too many people seem to think it does. Having a disability doesn't mean that a person doesn't also have abilities.

The word "disability" is attached to a lot of negative or extreme stereotypes, as well -- and it shouldn't be. There are all kinds/levels of abilities and disabilities.

I agree -- people can be disgusting and bigoted and unfair.

But people can also be kind, fair, and accomodating. At my last workplace, I got accomodations for things like my executive functioning problems without even having to ask for them. This kind of thing may not be common, I'm just saying it does happen...I don't want people to give up on finding a job where they won't be discriminated against or bullied, even if that kind of job is hard to find.

My parents stop me from doing things because of the disability label too.

Everything your brother said is true, but not just for AS. Everyone has to deal with some "real pricks" at some point in their life. Everyone gets laughed at sometimes. Everyone meets someone who is inexplicably prejudiced against their race/gender/sexuality/religion/weight/hair color/way of speaking. The important thing is knowing that such people and experiences exist (your brother has helped with this) and then deciding that you will succeed in spite of them (this part is up to you).

That said, if you're worried about facing discrimination in your job search, I would recommend that you look for companies that already have a strong reputation of encouraging diversity in their employees. Do a google search and try to find the ones that not only claim to support diversity (which has become something of a buzz word lately and doesn't always mean anything), but actually have documented proof of having done so. Studies show that companies who have employed someone with a disability in the past will be more likely to hire another in the future, even if their disability is completely different. AS is still widely misunderstood in the world of employment, but progress is being made as awareness spreads.

(Also, the Prospects service animalcrackers linked to is a very good resource if you don't feel up to conducting your job search on your own. I don't have first hand experience with them, being American, but I researched the program fairly extensively in writing my thesis on AS employment, and I was very impressed with them. You should definitely check it out, if you haven't already.)

Sound like you have a cool brother.

Here is my experience, speaking very broadly:

1. Jobs or professions considered "nerd" might be worthy of consideration.

2. Some employers have explicit conduct requirements for employees that specify bullying is not tolerated (e.g. some large corporations with more advanced HR policies). While that in no way guarantees bullying and prejudice would not be faced, it is nonetheless a helpful step in the right direction.

When we talk about the working world, there is a huge span of industries and occupations. Something like public relations or sales where we have to be exceptionally normal and chummy in the social arena are not good choices for aspies. Engineers, computer programmers, librarians, and other jobs that draw in other aspies and at minimum people who appreciate our strengths would be better choices. In my experience a lot of part time stuff that is low skilled are easy places to start out in the work world. Also guys usually have a far easier time on the job in terms of prejudice because girls can be horrendously competitive and vindictive.

I would say you may face challenges depending on the intensity of your condition.

You spend 40+ hours a week at the office, so people often engage in socialization. Aspies who have weak social skills may have difficulty with this aspect. Also, employers often look for someone who will fit into the work place, as much as do the work.

Interviews can be challenging for aspies because it is just as much about impressing the people as it is about your actual skillset.

Many jobs require working in teams and being able to communicate. Some find this challenging.

Keep in mind none of these are set up to intentionally discriminate against aspies, it's just functions of the job and of life.