Aspergers and unemployment

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I bet there is a lot to this. Many who are barely able to tolerate full time work or those who luck out with an aspie-supportive work environment (as in, low social expectations or very little social interaction, etc) probably do not get "officially" diagnosed. Including myself.

CCan't be sure but I hhave my suspicions. It's part of why I'm trying to get a webcomic started to provide income - it seems more likely to work.

I've been out of work for two years but managed to land a job just after posting on a thread about being unemployed. Funny how that goes.

I think you may be right. I know this has always been the hardest part of working for me, the perception of time dragging. Then I get distracted, start dicking around on the internet or just spacing out, and get in trouble. Except my job now where no one pays attention to what I'm doing. Which is why I'm there almost three years. They have no idea if I am working or not.

I don't know if 80% is correct but it sounds right. I used to describe my jobs as pure, unmitigated hell. The problem was always social skills. I was usually better than most at the work itself. People would say, "Smile!" and I would say, "Why?" I believed it was rude of them to interrupt my work. It was only when I found WP that I discovered what the problem was. My average time in a job was 2-3 years. My first job was in 1967 - lasted 2 years there. That was when I first got tranquillizers. And super-strength antiperspirant. In the morning I would shower, put on a fresh blouse, and sweat it sopping wet down to my waist by the time I had to leave.

I made it as far as 55yo and then crashed totally, went on disability. Now I'm on normal pension + disability. Because of all those hellish years, my pension isn't too bad. I can live well enough.

And thanks to WP, I know what my problem is and can search ways to strengthen myself. God bless Alex.

Reporter looks up front and honest to me but whether we should get involved is maybe something the Mods could guide us about.

Only one store ever hired me, and while I worked seasonal there a couple years in a row, not only did they only keep me for a couple months at a time but it was absolute hell for me. I was a cashier and I think it goes without saying how bad that is for people like us, or least similiar to me. I tend to dissociate when I get overstimulated, and I have trouble processing numbers when its either loud or stressed out, and retail jobs particularly seasonal jobs are both.

Not only that but I worked at a certain store that requires us to try to "sell" debit/credit cards which I never had the social skills to do, so that's why I was probably first on the chopping block. That, and due to stress and anxiety my immune system got shot so I got sick twice in a row.

So most people with Aspergers that I know are either unemployed or working jobs that are...unsuited to their level of intelligence, shall we say.

I don't know, the picture is complex for those of us on the spectrum. You might be highly skilled and intelligent but you have to sell yourself in a CV, perform well in an interview then if you get the job deal with the social politics of the office and keep your anxiety under control. And god yes, networking. The necessary evil.

I had a lot of trouble maintaining employment for many years & even after I found employment that I could maintain I became so depressed that at one point I quit my job & tried to commit suicide by starvation & extreme dehydration. This lasted for 2 weeks. I became afraid that if I continued my quest to die by starvation that someone would find me after my kidneys failed but before I died & I would be forced to live with what I had done to myself & my life would be tied to a machine. I. Would like to make note that by the time I decided to end that quest to die I was extremely dehydrated & close to kidney failure. It took me a week of constant drinking of water to get my hydration level back to normal.

Previous to this I was on disability for 10 years due to not being able to keep jobs providing that I could even get them in the first place. I also spent long periods between jobs before getting on disability. After getting off disability I found something I could in fact work successfully at but still had some difficulty keeping jobs but did also develope a positive reputation in spite of my failings & found it easier to find work as often due to my reputation for taking it easy on epuipment work would come looking for me. The last seven years I have been at the same job & doing ok.

The only problem with my reputation of taking it easy on epuipment was my production was a little lower than most & most employers took exception to that eventually. Fortunately my current employment is not so production oriented so I can meet thier demands for the most part fairly easily. I now have a dedicated run which I got by being consistently on time & reasonably decent with costumers at least with the limited contact I have with them.

Last edited by germanium on 03 Mar 2016, 10:26 am, edited 3 times in total.

Yep...you're doing well now. You don't get into wrecks. You shift the truck properly. They like you.

Imagine if you were a cross-country trucker? That would be great for the Autistic in us!

I imagine it might get tiresome after a while, but I can relate to that idea. I enjoy driving long distances, listening to music and a bunch of podcasts. A job where all I had to do is keep my eyes on the road for hours at a time might not be a bad thing!

I relate And I spent most of my "recovery" time anticipating/dreading the next day, so it's anxiety 24/7. I'd only sleep like 4-5 hours as a result and start the day on zero, if not negative, spoons. Worst of all I was talking about dreading those 8-hour days and people LAUGHED before making me feel guilty because people everywhere have it way harder...

I concluded recently that I'm just not suited to full-time work. Considering the time consumed by working + commuting, I don't even have enough time by myself to recover and regenerate. It's a nonstop nightmare, not to mention how boring it is or how enraging it can be working with certain types of people. I haven't had as much trouble finding work.

Unemployment makes a lot of sense.

The only full time job I landed by myself, fresh out of college, interview and all, lasted 3 months and I was back on the streets. It was hell on earth. After the 1st week everybody (even the new hires) had made acquaintances with someone else. I was alone and picked on. After the first month they made it a local joke to treat me "stupid" because I had the habit of demanding more details for everything my boss asked me to do. Only on weekends did I have time to spend on my interests and be happy. I quit, not nearly soon enough.

After a year unemployed, a really awesome math teacher from college fixed me up with another job. This time it was a back office analytics job, no politics, no unnecessary socializing. I arrived, turned on the computer, and began pounding at numbers all day. Almost all communications by email. The people there appreciated the work I did, and didn't mind the quirks (they also had some peculiarities of their own). I did my job fast and brilliantly. Got promoted 3 times in the 3 years there.

My current job is in a managing position, a friend I made in the previous one got an offer at directing position and needed a "numbers guy" for the Risk Management department. Been almost a year, one of the hardest jobs. Still back office and analytical, but being in charge of people takes a HUGE toll on me. It's only 4 people, but I still need to take breaks along the day just to breathe, alone and at peace. I often do origami while at work to calm down. I don't know how much longer I'll be staying, this type of thing isn't for me. Only thing that keeps me going is I have a great boss and friend, and the pay is very decent.

You would get bounced a lot in most trucks which I find very tiring. For me the sharp small bumps don't bother me that much but the bigger once that bounce you some times to the point of your feet coming off the floor board really tire me. All our new trucks are really bouncy. I asked to drive one of our older trucks with the 8 bag suspension as they bounce a lot less than the new trucks with the 4 bag suspension. All of our trucks have air suspension.

Am I the only that needs a flexible schedule, that allows me to work at my best? Problem is I have trouble in jobs because of my seriousness to my commitments. I put in a lot of hardwork in a lot of my jobs too the point I get Autistic Burnout.

An 8hr shift back to back to back doesn't work for me, because I end using all my energy in one day that I need a recovery time. I find a 3 to 4hr shift works better for me, but the next day I cannot go to work. I need on and off again schedules.

Which sounds really inefficient. But I am only beginning to make these realizations as I struggle in work I am not naturally good at, that doesn't tire me out.