"can even hold down a job"

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Hello - I'm 32 and I've just been diagnosed as mildly aspergers a little over a week ago. In the last week I've read up as much as possible in the time available to me.

Again and again in media I keep coming across an awful phrase in magazine tyope articles about aspies or HFAs: "can even hold down a job".

Now I appreciate there are a great many people on the spectrum who struggle to maintain employment but there are also many who can do a hell of a lot more than "hold down a job". I don't hold down a job; I excell at my job, I'm respected in my field. My boss has told me I have a big future but now I'm reluctant to tell workmates about my diagnosis in case I become the guy who can jjust "hold down a job ".

Everytime I read that awful phrase I want to drag the journalist into my workplace for a week to see if they could manage to do my job and then tell me if I can even hold it down or if I excell.

Does anyone else get wound up about that phrase.

not really, I can't even get a job let alone 'hold down a job'.

But I can see why it would annoy you if you could do more than that. But the fact is not the autistic people can't hold down jobs innately - a bit certainly I think is also the way people treat you when they know you're autistic which if you're diagnosed before you're an adult is completely out of your control (and esp if you start out appearing 'low functioning' - not a fan of functioning labels). But also it's because people think autistic can't hold down jobs, then those who've managed to avoid getting a diagnosis as a child don't get diagnosed as an adult because they 'can hold down a job', triply so if they excel at it. (probably why you got told you're 'mildly aspergers' despite that not really being a quantitative or all that useful label)

Meh. People are morons, also plagiarists. There's tremendous overlap between "internet content writer" and "plagiarist", so yeah, you'll see the same phrases come up repeatedly.

I'm one of the more fearsomely able people around, and though it'd be delightful not to have to have a job, I'm employed at a higher level than I'd like. I'm just aggravating, I dress oddly (though around here it's hard to tell), my eye contact's lousy, I'm hypersensitive to everything, and I don't really like being around people much.

tbh, this "even hold a job" thing is one of the reasons I don't bother with diagnosis. You can count on the vast bulk of people to be utterly simpleminded about any disorder. And in my lovely state, they only knocked off the last round of eugenic executions in the 1970s.

Otoh, my ex really does have trouble both getting and holding down jobs. He's Ivy-educated, and extremely bright anyway, but he needs the right sort of environment and the right sort of bosses to make a go of it. Needs very clear directions and gets emotional. And doesn't drive, so the place has to be on a transit route. As he's getting older, it seems, the job also has to be reasonably light duty physically, no warehouse work. So it's not nothing.

I suspect that in a few decades we'll see this "spectrum" explode into a constellation, and that some areas will be more obviously disabling than others. Till then, enjoy the ignorance, avoidable and otherwise.

Who cares what the diagnosticians say? You know you excel. The diagnosticians live in a vacuum, in what may be called "the ivory tower." They don't tend to take the "real world" into consideration when considering diagnostic criteria.

Why would you tell your boss or fellow employees about your diagnosis? It's none of their business, really.

It's also irrelevant to your job.

Some Aspies excel; some Aspies could barely hold down a job. Same with NT's, by the way.

Also: I keep seeing this word, "meh." Does it mean "so-so?"

Holding down a job doesn't seem to imply excelling or barely getting by....seems like a vague way to refer to someone being able to work but no reference to how well they work. So I wouldn't get so worked up over it if I where you as the phrase is not meant to mean you barely get by at your job. Thing is lots of autistic people struggle with employment so its probably more rare that someone with autism is actually succeeding at a job than someone without it.

I can't even barely scrape by at a job let alone hold one down for any length of time.

The "can't hold a job" stereotype is based on two main factors: 1) The media and autism advocates (i.e. Autism Speaks) represent the whole spectrum as being barely functional; 2) Workplaces accommodate harassment, both active and passive of autistics. FYI, I've been driven out of several jobs.

The range of views here and the fact that I had a good day at the office and home have calmed me down a great deal. I think I'll take peoples advice and let it fly.

Tarantella64 - Where on earth do you live? Eugenic executions in the '70s; that's outrageous.

it depends on who you are.some people do well in the workforce some do not.sometimes people with mild AS do well at work some do not.many people with severe autism do well at a job but most do not.

does a certain person with the right savant skills,are they in the right job market at the right time is the big question

Yeah, Oli,

It definitely is best to not let a diagnosis define you.

I think that this is an example of the old wives tales "creeping" into todays knowledge of autism. People used to think that we were less then the average person, and now we should be seen as equals. Unfortunately, we are still not always seen as equals even to this day.

Considering my utter lack of enthusiasm for my job, I'm amazed I'm even holding it down in the first place. At one time I seriously considered going on government assistance, and I almost went through with it, but my pride got in the way of that. I figured that as an able-bodied individual, I shouldn't exploit the system. It's taken a toll on me physically and mentally actually being employed, yet somehow I think society at large prefers it this way. I only wish I didn't have to suffer to get by.

I worked full-time hours at one time, but I quickly realized how taxing this was, and I went down a few notches with my hours; first was 32 hours a week, then 20 when I transferred departments. I can get by on 20 with my current living situation, though I still dread going to work everyday and the s**t I have to put up with. I have no idea how I'm going to amount to anything when I'm older, or cope with a full-time job.

Mr BigMouth

I'm glad Pride got in the way.

Public Assistance, in all its forms, is degrading and demeaning. The people who work in it degrade and demean you.

I'm not saying some people don't need it; I'm saying people should avoid it if at all possible.

If I had so little pride that I were willing to go on government assistance, then I damn well wouldn't worry about being demeaned or degraded. That's just how it is.