ASAN Calls for Resumes from Autistics

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ASAN Calls for Resumes from Autistics

Greetings!

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) is calling for resumes from Autistic adults. Several large American corporations have contacted ASAN expressing interest in creating internships or hiring college-educated Autistic people in order to create a more diverse atmosphere at their workplaces. In addition, ASAN is frequently sent openings for jobs in the government, non-profit, advocacy and public policy sectors for which we would like to recommend adults on the spectrum. As a result, we are reaching out to the broader community for resumes of interested Autistic applicants who are seeking employment.

While Autistic adults from all backgrounds are invited to send their resumes, ASAN is especially but not exclusively interested in resumes from Autistic adults in the Washington, D.C. Metro area with college educations and/or backgrounds in information technology, computer science, biology, finance, economics, political science, marketing, and other professional fields. ASAN is considering various possibilities for enhancing employment opportunities for Autistic people who do not have a college education as well as for those working in non-professional fields. We hope to offer additional calls for resumes towards those ends later in the year.

ASAN plans to keep these resumes on file and will make them available to employers upon request. If successful, this will enable ASAN to keep a database of qualified Autistic people who are looking for employment in specific areas, and those resumes may be submitted to companies interested in employing Autistic adults. With low employment rates among both college graduates and Autistic adults, we hope that this will help to level the playing field for Autistic people searching for jobs.

By submitting a resume to ASAN, an individual is agreeing to allow ASAN to share their resume and any information they provide with potential employers, including their status as a person on the autism spectrum. Individuals should only submit resumes if they are comfortable having this information shared. For privacy reasons ASAN will not make the database itself publicly searchable or available.

While ASAN hopes that this will help more Autistic people gain employment, we are unable to take full responsibility for finding employment for Autistic people and ask that those who submit resumes continue their own searches for jobs. Please do not direct follow-up inquiries to ASAN. Those wishing to submit their resumes may do so by emailing them as attachments to [email protected] . Please ensure that resumes include contact information, educational and employment experience (including internships), volunteer experience, types and areas of work the applicant is seeking and any other information you hope to make available to an employer.

Regards,

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network



The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) is a non-profit organization run by and for Autistic people, fighting for disability rights in the world of autism. Working in fields such as public policy, media representation, research and systems change, ASAN hopes to empower Autistic people across the world to take control of their own lives and the future of our common community.

I sent mine. Who knows if it will lead anywhere, but it can't hurt. I'm out of work June 30, so I've been actively looking already. This is a great idea by ASAN, and it's nice to hear they have interest from various companies. I hope this is the beginning of a successful initiative.

I think it's great but after-all ASAN has accused the world of eugenics and guilted everyone about the abortion issue. This by people who are otherwise included and using autism for their own gain to receive money and now jobs. What about people who do not have resumes because they have been left out. People getting hired by corporations that are otherwise "qualified" already are included and are mainstreamed. It seems to me much like ASAN has taken advantage of the image of autism to serve those most higher functioning and who now receive compensation due to it's politics.

Again no respect for ASAN unless they include as an umbrella advocacy network and organization in premises the opinions, ideas and fair play of the true diversity of individuals with autism. Instead of trying to make people mad at eachother inspire them. Instead of using politics to shame people be friends.

People that are this high functioning are already much like what others call N.T's even though I dislike the term. They are just playing corporate politics so corporations can say they include "diversity" when really for the most part they are not. Leaving out those already left out with no outreach very high functioning people are really taking advantage of autism politics and using it for their own gain.

It's people who are very high functioning that we should be looking to for inclusion. The people that work for corporations that have said form of autism are indeed in roles to include. They may be at times in between jobs but they should be looked to with the same kind of expectation as the corporations themselves.

Do you actually have to be college-educated? I've really been looking forward to being able to be an advocate... but my highest level of education is a high school diploma. I want to be able to become an advocate through my gift of writing. I can't attend college because severe emotional problems and I don't think I'll ever get to college...

If you get hired because you are autistic, you will probably never be accepted by your co-workers and probably won't promote.

I think that would depend on the person. A person that is otherwise mainstreamed and was able to goto college who gets hired because of autism may experience that. However individuals in transitional programs when those programs work with the corporations and smaller businesses I do not think would be treated in that manner. 99% of the time my observations has been kind heartedness by others. I would however not be inclined myself to see a business as inclusive for simply hiring an otherwise included individual with an advanced degree and or mainstreamed self-independence who otherwise has already been included.

You do not need a diploma or degree of any kind to be an advocate. Me personally I head a macro campaign where I live and I could not complete high school for two reasons. Sensory integration \ transitional difficulty and educational learning problems where I could not advance in certain subjects. However I am also very inclined to be advanced with certain topics which does help with advocacy. Being good at writing such as you are is the perfect skill for advocacy.

If anyone needs assistance in putting a resume together, I can help. I have established a practice as a resume writer, and my rates are fairly reasonable

If you're unemployed or just starting out, I would be happy to help pro bono as I have time. Unfortunately, I must do quite a bit of work for paying clients to make ends meet, and this is the busier season. If you really do need help and don't mind waiting until I get time, though, please feel free to get in touch.

(EDITED to get to the point)---You are voicing a valid concern here Ci. I would hope they are not doing this, but they are currently only wanting college graduates it sounds like. I agree with you Ci in that everyone on the spectrum needs to be served and not just the top. They did say that non college graduates might be considered later in the year. It would be nice if the non college graduates could be represented now too in the resumes, but perhaps they are trying to do the best they can.

This reminds me of when I entered a short story project for authors with autism. I thought I had written a good story, but it got rejected. It seems this publishing company was only after the highly talented authors and not a good representation of the autism spectrum's authorship.

Last edited by glider18 on 31 May 2011, 10:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I am good at writing about certain things only. I have no interest in fiction and have only read one fiction book and that was because I was forced to called dances with wolves. English I was in special education for and when them grammar Nazi's start correcting me I think they got a stick up their butt. However since you agree with me in the imagination I have I have removed the stick from the butt idea in this context only!

I can relate to that Ci---good on writing certain things only. I have lately found writing anything challenging. I had all these great ideas for stories, but now I feel like I really have to work to get a good sentence.

I respect all that you are doing to have the voice of all on the autism spectrum represented. That is a challenging but worthwhile cause.

Autistic Disorder was originally for classic autism. People with high functioning forms of ASD seemed to be using it for their own gain by calling themselves autistics politically and not helping people experiencing economic injustices. They want to control the image of autism while those typically less socially aware and participating are not being helped by them. For myself in advocacy I literally went through great amounts of stress and did things very much out of my normal behavior to achieve sustained awareness. I am just the opposite and I'd considered it extremely selfish if I was able to attend college and otherwise work to balance the so called imbalance in my favor for having "MILD" autism when many are economically POOR and the college people who control ASAN are serving there own interests and obviously as they are to prideful to manifest compassion which they CALL PITY.

You ASAN folks are going to include more diverse advocates and styles or fall like many others groups who have put words in people like mines mouth. Politically manipulative self-centered and gainfully high functioning rude attention gathering folks that make mountains out of mole hills when you got otherwise really good lives and want even better while using my and others disability which they are so high functioning it seems to me like it is not causing the substantial inability to function per the DSM.

Social justice will come like a title wave if things do not change. A wave that will clear out for proper inspired leadership that has the esteems to not be afraid of receiving compassion and to be loved and not twist love and compassion of others as some kind of conspiracy of pity. Leaderships they call pity and when these individuals with a form of autism begin to lead because their parents all along cared and did not hate them like ASAN wants us to believe.

A change is a brewing and a change is unavoidable.

Thats the gifted writing style I'd like to implore!

It is good that ASAN is supporting this minority group of Autistic people that are college educated and have experience in Professional Fields. But, obviously the people that don't have the education and experience in professional fields are more likely in need of help finding a job. It is good that they are considering ideas that later in the year may help those people too, but in an attempt to speak for everyone with Autism those others should rate the same priority in effort for support.

While the organization doesn't mind offering constructive criticism to other organizations in what they see as exclusive efforts in supporting autistic people that are high functioning. The fact that they state they are especially but not exclusively interested in resumes from Autistic adults with college and professional backgrounds leaves out a special interest in the majority of Autistic people's educational and work experience backgrounds.

Especially but not exclusively interested is a rather patronizing way to state sorry we don't have any jobs for you right now.

Any idea how wording like that might make an autistic person without a college education and professional background feel?

A more thoughtful approach might have been to state the fields of jobs that that are available at this point, location of the positions, ask for resumes, and update the job opportunities and locations as ASAN is approached by or seeks out employers interested in hiring Autistic people.

This is the first example I have seen of the organization failing to promote inclusion of all Autistics Adults, from a public relations perspective.

It highlights the importance of the research that "Autism Speaks" is funding to develop community support for Autistic Adults.

I still commend ASAN on this effort; no effort that helps anyone should be slighted. Just a little constructive criticism on the wording they used in this letter, in how it might come across as patronizing to some people with Autism.

Nathan is the only person on this website that I have ever seen voice disappointment in the efforts of ASAN. I've supported the efforts of ASAN in my discussions with Nathan, but for the most part agree with his response to this effort.

I wonder if anyone else is disappointed in the wording of the letter. I didn't particularly like "We hope to offer additional calls for resumes towards those ends later in the year" in reference to jobs for those without a college education and non-professional backgrounds.

If I didn't have a college education or a professional background, I would be a little disappointed in the way that was worded, since it was coming from an all inclusive advocacy group for people with Autism.

They can certainly redeem themselves, though, with a strong effort toward that goal and results that allow autistic people without college educations and professional experience an opportunity to apply for a job.

Come on ASAN, let's get enthuised about jobs for all Autistic people, I'll be rooting for your success in this endeavor. Everyone wants to feel special!

Honestly I didn't read much of the letter. I just know the tact of ASAN. Make people with autism look naturally smart and when they don't attend college and are incapable of it they must have something else then autism according to some of their followers! They have taken compassionate pursuits and twisted them into pity because of their own self-image insecurity and a diagnostic label devised to help people. It is compassion that builds bridges to possibilities for those who are disabled by autism and not a presumption simply of a said superiority or even simple difference. It takes real bravery to accept and utilize the love of others to push for real change, justice and equality and not alienate it to control others for other political reasons like abortion.

ASAN has used abortion politics to feed the persecutory complexes they and others created and slammed otherwise loving people on the news for marching to improve the lives of people with autism. They are leaders of despondency and adversity whose fuel is running out and whose unjustified anger and mis-guided hatred spun out of control long ago. When this all is finished they will either serve the real autism communities needs or be stuck in their desires for control and lack of humility.

Leadership does not take being macho it takes taking the bull by the balls and compassionately moving forward in strength, dedicated resolve and an explicit innovative planning.