Discrimination because i am autistic

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Does anyone of you have problems with being discriminated against? I do. There is this nc start and they are discriminating against me going to respite , and i finally came to terms how it is to be discriminated against. They told me the supervisor at nc start has problems with me going to respite because i was on insulin. So the doctor took me off of insulin and i am doing good without the insulin. The doctor of mine my medical doctor gave me a letter okaying my stay at respite. The supervisor at nc start is still discriminating against me and telling that he fears me going to respite because of health concerrns. A doctor okays it and they still dont let me into respite. They expect me to be calm about it not to worry about it. The supervisor does not even want to meet me because i am autistic i guess. So yes i am having problems with nc start and getting discriminated against. I dont understand it at all. I dont take insulin, my medical doctor has a note saying it is okay for me to go to respite. Now the supervisor at nc start is playing doctor i guess. Yes this is how autistics like me get discriminated against and it is not okay. Did anyone here experience discrimination like i did , let me know.

i am finally able to go to respite

I get discriminated against. If I tell someone that I have AS, they immediately think of the stereotypes and the myths. Like I could be sitting at an interview for a job, telling the interviewer about myself and answering his questions correctly and looking proffessional and showing him an accurate CV of all the things I have accomplished up until now - then I could tell him that I have AS and he will immediately think, ''oh, she's got an Autism thing - I'm not going to waste my time and money on employing her, she'd be useless and wouldn't do anything right and she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone and could be scared of noise'', and then that's it - I don't stand a chance. I think that is rather inconsiderate. If I were an employer, I would give people with any disabilities a chance, and not look at the stereotypes and the myths. It's really unfair how people with invisible conditions like AS get discriminated against. I mean, where's their comment sense?!
Here's a link of a very well-spoken man saying how he feels about this sort of thing, and I know exactly what he means. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0OWROqH1PU


I know this isn't much to do with the topic, but I am just so disappointed in the way young people are today - not all, but a lot of them. I'm currently unemployed, and I've actually built up the confidence to go around the shops asking for vacancies, giving my CV out, or asking for an application, and I should be proud of myself, but I'm not. I'll tell you why - it's because I got the impression a few times that young girls laugh at me or comment on me when I go in and ask, and I think that is very immature, unempathetic, inconsiderate and just really ill-mannered. I walk in with my shoulders up, I put on a friendly impression, I smile, I ask, ''excuse me, have you got any current job vacancies?'' in the right tone, making the right eye contact, and all they do is laugh after I leave the shop. I can just feel it, by the way they look at me. And I know it's not my imagination because sometimes I go into shops and I don't get that impression that they're laughing at me at all, only in some places I do. I am quite good at telling body language and other non-verbal cues like that, so I am usually right about this sort of thing. And I just think that these girls are being downright inconsiderate and rude. Instead of giggling at me and making some sort of smarmy comment, they should look at me and be thinking, ''she looks a bit shy but good for her for building confidence to go around and ask, she's not backing out or anything'', because that is what I would think if I worked in a shop and a shy-looking young girl came into my shop and asked about a job. I would also be impressed that she is interested in the company, and I would give her the application and wish her luck. I would never wait til her back is turned and start giggling, because that is primary school behaviour. Young people should act proffessional if they're dealing with the public, not like silly little 9-year-olds. I think it's terrible.

@joe90 job interviews are an odd one.. I have interviewed a lot of people and even hired an aspie for a long term work placement... I am generally fair and would give any one a chance if they are capable of performing the work.. I do have a point somewhere here, bear with me...

All interviews are a game of chance, declaring may or may not work against you. a lot depends on:

- The interview panel - a one on one interview might be very different than sitting in front of a quick fire 22 panel interview.
- Wether you the subject matter is fine for you, a monologue on your favourite activity may actually work surprisingless well in an interview.
- quality of the interviewer and their methodology. some interviews are chats, quizzes, competency based, role plays and so on. some interview techniques might be harder ot deal with than others.

you can probably find out a lot of this before applying and certainly once you've been shortlisted. If you feel you have a reasonable chance in the interview setting without declaring your asd, then i'd be tempted not to declare it during the application and interviewing phase. if on the other hand your chances are severely lessened, then you really have nothing to lose

The funny thing with me, is although I've done plenty of interviewing, I'm hopeless at being on the otherside of the table. At my most recent interview i completely clammed up, stuttered and may as well have not been in the room. The interviewers are people I know well and are able to communicate with ok one on one. - Funny how 2s company 3s a crowd.

Thankfully they knew my capabilities well enough to effectively ignore my interview performance and gave me the promotion anyway. however I know now that I'm not going any further up the food chain, a 40 member panel interview isn't going to work.

i hope this is somewhat helpful,

Jason

Dear Sarah, Tamsin/Tamzin and Ruth at the national autistic society uk,

Further to my conversation with Tamsin/Tamzin on the phone about why I did not get the inclusion post, I thought it would invaluable to give you some insight in what it is like to have aspergers syndrome and go to an interview that was not fully inclusive. I hope this will give you insight on how to better treat people with aspergers syndrome in future.

I was unaware that one of the main reasons to be picked for the job was the level of interaction whilst giving the presentation. I was never informed this was going to be part of the marking process. I went there thinking that the interviewer(s) would fully understand that I have to look at the screen as part of my condition means that I have a poor memory and depend on looking on the slides to impart the information. I felt I could go to this interview and be safe. I also followed a direct instruction and took it literally that "I was to sit in front of the laptop and look at that". I did just that. It seems that the interviewers and the people who designed the interview did not see the interview from an aspies point of view. Having knowing now that one would have to have a certain level of interaction to pass the presentation test, it has become clear that however much I prepared and performed in the interview and paid money that I could not afford for the travel, I would never have got the job. The reason? That my aspergers syndrome prevented me from interacting the way that the interviewer wanted me to. I did not get the job because I had aspergers syndrome. I went to an unfamiliar environment, with unfamiliar equipment and really believed that allowances would be made but these are the very things I was marked down on.

The things I did explain on the phone to Tamsin/Tazmin did seem like new concepts to her. Is it that only 11% of people with aspergers are in paid employment? Is getting people with aspergers into work the objective of the government right now? yes it is. So therefore, in order to do this a way to be inclusive is to loko at the merits of the aspie, and not the way they interact. To be fully inclusive in this post a person who is lacking in interaction skills should be able to go around tower hamlets and give the slide presentations, therefore they get to see an aspie the way they are. Isn't this all what it is about? People seeing real autistic people the way they are, not some that have to act to please the interviewer, or worse still the requirements of the role meant that only a neurotypical could be chosen as the requirement for interaction during the presentation was so strong? I was actually in Holland doing the exact same job as what you advertised, but they did not require the person the have high interaction skills, just the intellectual and teaching ability. In Holland, to be blunt, they were more inclusive than your organisation has come across to be.

The government is saying put more aspies in jobs. But what is happening to me is that every time there is someone that interacts better, the other person is chosen. Everytime my employer looks at a role (as i am currently on the redeployment register due to having AS) they find that reason to not let me do that role. I am due to be relieved of my job on March 7th. That means we are still on square one as to asperger syndrome issues are concerned. Please do not think i do not understand the exception section in the Equalities Act 2010, I do, as my colleague is an aspie in the FRU. He is a trained solicitor and he has throughourly mentored me on this issue. I thought the NAS was one place where I could go where they adapt their jobs to make sure they could show they understood the issues. I still cannot believe someone was chosen based on good interaction issues whilst doing a presentation. It seems that the whole job, interview and everything around it was written with the expectation of whom could be as neurotyipical as possible, even if they had autism.

This email may feel strange to you as it is the beginning of pointing out a very strong issue in society that you may have felt you have been trying to help, and not hinder. All the autism books state there needs to be a shift on assessing people with autism by the work they produce and you had a dam fine origional presentation from me (used the origional view of three examples of people, comparision to neurotypicals and put in current autism issues and poilicies), plus a 31 page detailed document that was very origional and answers that were fine. Plus a degree in disabiltity studies, nurse training and level 3 counselling skills. I did not get the job due to my autistic traits.

Please go forth and design some jobs that are not using an interview process looking for neurotypical traits. I had to go without food to pay for the train fare and materials for this interview. With no disrespect to anyone, I feel rather teased. All I can gleam out of this is that I am destined for specialised benefits. Why not be honest with people who have very little money and aspergers? That we should not spend money on interviews (the interview I went to cost over £40 for me to go to) and just keep that money as you will not have the traits we need, and go get a weekly shop at Sainsburys, rather than sitting round at Euston station waiting for the train knowing you could not afford any of the food there and did not practically eat all day. Go on specialist benefits. This is the reality of people with aspergers whe things like what happened on Monday happens to us and I think you need this dialogue to know how you actually effect us. I really, passionately want things to change for us. But to do that, people need to actually listen to the autism act and not just say they are not going to apply it for that day because they prefer something/someone else. Specialist benefits here I come. Unless you can design the process to be more inclusive.

This email is copied into someone who is having to deal with the emotional needs of people being excluded in society due to having aspergers syndrome. She heads my local asd support group. The story of me not interacting enough to get a job at NAS is going to be shared on the aspie networking sites. This has to get better. I mean no disrespect but you have to take my point.

I as employee of the month twice at the McDonald's I worked at, always on time, always clean, smiling and polite. I was told I did not get hired back last summer, simple because one of the managers though I was annoying. I was unemployed for a summer, because I did not get his sense of humor. (No I was not rude, I got along very well with the other employees)

If that's not discrimination, i don't know what is