Autism and Working

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I have a degree but I never managed to get a graduate job due to the recession/bad grades. I struggled to get any kind of job in the few years after graduating and eventually got a job through family in local government office admin. While I hated working there I was largely left to get on with my work which was ok. Was there for about 5 years until trouble with new management forced me to leave. That was 6 months ago and basically I've given up on the whole work thing.

Personally I wouldn't tell employers about my diagnosis, I eventually did in the above case but I think it just made things worse. I'm not "obviously" autistic, people probably just think i'm a jerk and a bit weird and i'm fine with that.

The big problem with revealing your diagnoses is that it labels you as a possible problem but doesn't actually identify what people can do to help you. Normal people don't have time to study autism to figure out how to help you. They have their own issues and lives that come first. Sure, if you could just point to some popular fictional character and say "I'm just like that" then revealing would help. Or if you knew your boss was a real autism expert because she is raising three kids on the spectrum and they were all different.

Otherwise I think you are best off just asking for whatever accommodations you need and not necessarily explaining why you need it.

My boss has me supervising two autistic co workers.he said he'd like me to use my disability to help them understand their role. In other words, since I'm autistic he asked me to help them since I too am autistic

I agree with you a 100%. Most employers during crunch times or downturns in the economy will always look for the "low hanging fruit" or possible "weak links" in their employee ranks and the ones who always get the boot first are the ones like us Autistics. We are a "possible problem" in the eyes of our employers so anyone who wants to "come out" as Autistic to their bosses should be aware of this. Whatever country you're in may not be as enlightened as others and there are some REALLY unscrupulous bosses and companies out there who won't give a flying fig what kind of disability you have. They'll create any reason to get rid of you, and they'll NEVER say, "Oh it's because you're Autistic." They're not stupid.

I'm almost sure that if I told my boss that I'm Autistic and I need to wear a diaper because I'm incontinent because of it, and even if I showed him my Medic-Alert bracelet that says, "Autistic, Incontinent, Myocardial Infarction, Asthmatic" he would almost undoubtedly show me the door.

ASDs like us need to watch our backs and protects ourselves because most NTs see us as either a threat or a weak link in the workplace. Please be careful guys. It's a dangerous world out there.