Careers & Education for People on the Spectrum

Post Reply New Topic

As I have been failing in school, and as it has become obvious that, despite a high IQ, I am incapable of pursuing a physics major, I need to find a new major. The biggest difficulty for me right now is motivation; I have depression as well as Asperger Syndrome, and the two interact in such a way as to propel me towards my various obsessions rather than make the effort to do schoolwork. I think I use the obsessions (at the moment--psychology, RPGs, and crochet) as some sort of escape from the negative emotions caused by the depression; and when I am depressed, it is harder to resist spending time on my obsessions. For example, a recent obsession with psychology has me reading books about schizophrenia and child development while my German homework--which takes less mental effort than understanding psychology--goes undone.

Consequently, I need to find a different, perhaps easier, major. Psychology is, naturally, out of the question; I do not have the social skills to work in that field, and the obsession will likely not last the four years it would take me to get a degree, much less during my entire future career.

Optimally, I would be able to work in a field which matches one of my obsessions; but these do not last more than four to six years! I still enjoy learning about cats (as I did when I was eight), about the abortion debate (as I did when I was twelve), and about physics (sixteen), but I no longer spend a great deal of time on these pastimes, as they have been replaced with new ones. So choosing a career based on one of my obsessions seems doomed to failure--just as my physics degree is now doomed to failure--because I would "grow out of it"!

So a counselor--a very sensible sort who has a math degree himself--suggested that I come here and ask about your perceptions on how autism/Asperger's interacts with the choice of a major in college, the decision to pursue education after college, and the choice of a career.

What I would like here are answers from you, as someone on the autism spectrum (or about someone you know who is on the spectrum): What career do you have? How does your "different sort of brain" help or hinder you? What do you think would be a good career for someone with Asperger's?

I have always been a terrible student. I have a good memory, scored well on the IQ tests and such, have good language skills... I just can't focus on something if I'm not interested in it. So I've actually changed my own university degree around a couple of times. Unfortunately I've come to the conclusion that my current path can only lead to employment, rather than further interesting education. So I'll finish this course which I can easily handle, use what it gives me for gaining a decent income, then perhaps use that income to dabble in whatever interests me.

I had excellent grades in high school and had a scholarship but only went for a semester. I did get a job doing proofreading (not just words but legal requirements) for insurance documents until my daughter was born. I went back to another job very shortly proofreading (of all things) church papers for one of the larger denominations. Would not have been something I considered originally, but there was something satisfying about that - probably the OCD that liked order and correctness. And the fact that you got to sit in a proofreading room with no phones (yay) and few interruptions. So you might want to consider something business.

Can I PM you with my answer? It'll take a little longer to write out than would be a good idea on the actual forums.

i only got good grades when i was in small classes.
i was in a wonderful program in high school called connections.
i was with the same 24 kids all day and and sometimes we were split up into groups of 12 (standard and basic math classes)
it was perfect... i got all the help i needed form the teacher and other students, i stayed more organized thanks to random notebook checks, and we were given time to do homework. in addition to hfa, i also have add, so doing homework at home wa sjust not an option.
it was also easier to make friends and learn to interact with peers beacuse when yuo're with the same people all day, you have to learn to get along with them.

I got bad grades in high school because I would read what I wanted to read (music and play scripts) rather than what they told me to read. My only saving grace was that I could write. I was also bullied very badly and I'm sure that didn't help.

I got mediocre grades in college as an undergraduate (now I began to make friends, but I still couldn't focus on the things I was supposed to be doin). By graduate school, I began to slowly improve and had a 4.0 in my doctoral studies.

In graduate school, of course, you can narrow your studies down to the areas you are willing to explore. In other words, fixation can lead to success (Go ahead, ask me something about Othello)!

I have two sons who are diagnosed as autistic (my only children). My older son is pretty high functioning although delayed academically and socially. His younger brother is much more "involved." Having kids with autism caused me to learn about it, and that's how I saw myself in the self-writings of aspies.

I read somewhere, perhaps in something by Tony Attwood, that the two most common professions among aspies with "successful careers" were college professors and computer programmers. I happen to be a college English professor. I'm also the person that everyone in the Humanities Division calls upon when they are having computer problems.

Go figure!