Are autistic professionals under represented?

Post Reply New Topic

I rarely ever hear about media talking about autistic people in their professional field.

Is this because it's really really rare or is it because charities think that people with successful careers don't need help?

There used to be some news articles about autistic genius kids getting really good grades in school but what happens after they graduate?
Did they not graduate? Did they not find good jobs?
There seems to be very little follow up.

There are some jobs/professions that have traditionally attracted a disproportionate number of autistic people. These include:

- engineers
- computer programmers
- accountants
- librarians
- civil service jobs of various kinds
- health care workers of various kinds

Only a minority of autistic people are actually able to find jobs in these (and other) categories, however. And this problem seems to be getting worse, as more and more jobs these days, even in some of the above categories, now require "excellent interpersonal skills" and the ability to fit in with corporate culture.

This is one of the many reasons why we need a much bigger and better organized autistic community than now exists, so we can have Autistic-friendly workplaces.

Interesting.

How do you feel about newer jobs such as Youtubers, Social Influencers, Freelancers (gig based economy) ?
Or animators, illustrators, musicians, etc?

Not everyone with autism has a diagnosis


Not everyone with a diagnosis, disclosed


All things equal, (which they are not) people with successful careers , "need" less "help" than people without successful careers

It's the low numbers, I think - we're a minority of a minority of a minority.

Some rough figures I've seen are autism rates 1 in 100 of the population, but Asperger-type rates only 1:250. And then only about 20% in full time employment, apparently, which makes 1 in 1250 of the adult population. And how many would be in what you'd call professional positions? Another minority figure, probably. Say 20%, so that's 1 in 6,000-ish. Plus, if you've survived well enough to get into a professional field, why would you admit to being autistic? I'd bet something like 80% are undiagnosed or undisclosed. So now we're at about 1 in 30,000. In my town, population 250,000 (population of working-age adults maybe 150,000?) there might be 5 openly autistic professionals, spread across different fields. Which is probably why I've never met another disclosed autistic at work, only online, and that's even working in engineering. We're like needles in a haystack.

Seems to me you've got a point about new internet/social media - related jobs, though. I bet a lot of autistics are using the internet to sell their writing, music, artwork, specialist expertise, etc. (and I know there's someone else from my town here on WP, though I've never met him on person). But we'll always be a minority.

Those of us who have had some success in professional fields may be concerned that "coming out" as having an autism spectrum disorder might ruin our careers. I, for one, do not want to be thought of as someone who might "go postal" at the slightest provocation, or as the "Token Aspie" in a room full of NT professionals. Either way, my professional credibility would be compromised.Why would anyone with a successful career need help from a charity? I certainly don't.Does it matter? Seriously, it's one thing for a 12-year old to start his or her own million-dollar business -- that's unusual, to say the least. But aspie or not, once a person becomes an adult, their accomplishments are ignored unless they are exceptional (i.e., professional athletes), or recognized by their peers (i.e., people in the entertainment industry) because that's what adults are expected to do -- succeed. Failures are left by the wayside and mediocre performers are simply paid for their efforts and dismissed when no longer needed. In the real world, nobody gets an award for just showing up.

My hunch is that most people who are autistic and also have professional jobs get on well enough in life to not receive a diagnosis, and likely do not know themselves. They are probably just seen (and see themselves) as quirky and introverted.

Zee egzentric zientist vit his frizzy hair und lab coat? Ja!

And running jokes about IT guys taking things literally.

I may have the crazy hair problem, but rarely wear my lab coat outside of lab. The coat is contaminated with the chemicals that I use and would likely dissolve if I washed it. I do have a clean lab coat that I modified for Halloween though.

To the OP, many professionals that are on the spectrum could be in the area of the hard sciences. But, we somewhat can hide there because those areas are looked at as “wired” or “quirky” to begin with compared to most occupations. I do not have a formal diagnosis and would not want one because it could damage my career. Many of my coworkers do not understand people on the spectrum and have picked on students who they thought were on the spectrum (happened before I was hired on here). That greatly saddens me that the people who you would think would be most understanding of others are actually bullies underneath their coats. I am trying to do my best to change that perspective when I can without giving away my position as being ND. I wish things were better, but that is what we have to work within life.

I think the stereotypes are misleading. I know aspies in all kinds of different professional careers. I'm an aspie who has worked as a psychologist for 20 years, which probably isn't the most obvious job for an autistic. But I believe my success is due to my autism, not in spite of it. Psychology and helping people with emotional problem is my special interest and I've obsessed at it for decades and now I'm really good at it. My success hasn't been through skillful masking. I'm way too eccentric, odd and disorganised to pass as neurotypical.


But I don't tell people until I've proved I can do my job, but most the time but I'm successful and well respected.

Bingo. My employers don't know. People in academia are really nice and accepting of me and my oddities. Left alone to do my research I am generally pretty agreeable and easy to work with, though not a social nucleus by any means.

-but even so I am constantly hearing things being said around me that make me think that if I disclosed that people would treat me differently, or maybe talk behind my back (e.g. "That jerk! He must have Aspergers or something." or "Did you see that waiter getting my order wrong? This place should stop hiring so many autistics.")

I've always tried to hide my autism professionally. I'm considering abandoning that method as it has become too difficult in the "everyone is allowed and entitled to be up your ass" society we have become. 20 years ago I could ask people to not pop in at my desk and interrupt my work and to instead send an email and I'll set up a meeting if necessary. Now I make that suggestion and they think I'm being an as*hole.

Because of my high rate of productivity bosses have always fast tracked me to management against my wishes. "Nope, I'm cool just plugging away..." Then I'd get a promotion that I didn't ask for and didn't want and have to try and coach a bunch of children who just want to talk about how work makes them feel in one-on-one meetings while they complain about lack of fulfillment, and blah, blah, blah while telling me I'm wrong about my approach to work...

The public sucks at such a high level it is no longer sustainable to try and keep it covered up...
It wasn't always this way.

There are so many groups with entitlements and advantages the correct play for someone on the spectrum is to get their job, and once they're in a position they're happy in to communicate the autism diagnosis to their work. Then be able to play the same annoying card all these other entitled groups do so as to move faster through those annoying times when everyone is being irrational.

My employers don't know that I'm autistic neither, and neither do my colleagues.
But I do find it difficult at times, since the higher ups can be very demanding.

Also as someone in the creative field, I can't help but to think if it is advantageous or disadvantageous to come out as autistic.
I've seen some autistic artists/ youtubers/ musicians gaining popularity or even donations on the internet.

Sometimes I can't help but feel "do I really need to try so hard?"

Rather than come out as autistic on the job, it makes more sense to specifically ask for any accommodations necessary to do your job. Autism isn't one of those disorders in which you can "Google" and get a good sense of the person's issues.

Just Temple Grandin...always Temple f*****g Grandin. If you're female, working in animal related field, and people find out you are autistic, people ALWAYS compare you to her.