Uggggh, my pet peeve!
1. Proper, comprehensive training - I need to know exactly what to do. To understand my work, and workplace. This is best done, in my view, on the job, where an autistic adult can acclimatize to the place, without the pressures of being expected to know everything straight out the gate. Training on the job means they know you are only learning, you don't know it all yet, and they have a responsibility to train you to the point of capability. They don't expect you to know how to do everything when you turn up, and get nasty when you don't perform to their expectations.
2. Skill or task focused work - I am much better being employed to do a task with a tangible, non-subjective outcome. The walls are either painted or they're not, the pipes are fixed or they're not, the car starts or it doesn't. Work that hinges on personal opinion, whether they like you or not, is not going to work, because they won't. I have had trouble with this before - even though I was entirely proficient in my task, because I refused to be the patients' friends and answer all kinds of personal questions about my private life, I was taken off the roster (used to work in healthcare). It was all a subjective popularity contest. I prefer work where I don't have to constantly try to keep up with social expectations, of either coworkers or customers. Being capable, polite and cooperative should be enough for the workplace.
3. Autism awareness. For me, employers have to know I am autistic and understand what that means. They cannot expect me to function as a neurotypical person and then get nasty when I don't.
4. True entry-level jobs. Many autistic adults have patchy, at best, work histories. All the prerequisites of every single job - three work related references within the last 12 months at a managerial or supervisory level, three years previous experience in a similar role, graduate qualifications, "demonstrated" characteristics such as "demonstrated ability to work in a team," "demonstrated high level communication skills," "demonstrated computer literacy," all create barriers for people who have had bad work history, or none at all. Because "demonstrated" usually translates into "from your last job or qualification." A true entry level job should be a clean slate, with no reference necessary to any past work or training.
5. Training that is not out of reach for low-income adults. This is something else I have encountered. In order to retrain (as I am entering the workforce again after a few years recovering from a chronic illness) I am told that I will need close to $10,000 just for a basic diploma. That, or repayments of $80 a week, when I have living costs, past debts, etc. The training needed in order to get back into the workforce is only accessible to those who already have money. This is not going to be so for unemployed people.
6. Work that actually targets strengths and interests, and doesn't try to push something you are neither good at nor interested in. Interest of course plays a big role in autism. I have a rant in this forum about the uselessness of disability employment services - I believe autistic adults seeking to get back into work need real support to find the job that is right for them, something they can really love and get into, where their capabilities will be as asset, not a disadvantage. Possible an alternate way into these jobs for people with disabilities. If ordinary entry pathways are not going to get it done, these agencies should be creating alternative pathways in partnership with employers to provide a more realistic way for that person to retrain and find work.
- I could say more but I've probably ranted enough.
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Alexithymia - 147 points.
Low-Verbal.
10 Mar 2017, 6:48 am
