Autism & Society: Employment (Making Autism Work)

Autism should not be a barrier to gainful emlpoyment, so why is it harder for autistic people to find and keep work than almost any other social group? What can employers do to make employing autistics easier?

#AllAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #Autism

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[oleonard]

The other major problem with autistic hiring is it's done as an act of "desperation" in very good economic times. Then they are first to get fired as soon as the economy turns down.

[draneym]

I've been lucky to keep a good job for several years, but I was just diagnosed a few weeks ago. In retrospect I see how much of what they call "culture" is really just forced socializing and frankly it's pretty ableist. Plus they have a special group for everything like LGBT, African American, etc, but nothing on neurodiversity. But from what I've seen, that's not at all unusual.

[mrhamel]

In the US, disclosing that you have a disability is completely 100% optional, employers are not allowed to ask what the disability is. I've disclosed my autism to a recruiter, and they have mentioned it to the company on my behalf. At first they thought I would be overpowering, but they took me on board, and haven't looked back since. While they know my attitude can be interesting at times, or I may do things that break a protocol here or their, the intense amount of ideas, and putting new ideas inmotion, to help the company achieve their mission statement, have greatly offset my quirks.

[dino_sore_asd]

Without knowing I was autistic I've only ever worked part time in all my jobs. This has also been bc I've always found it difficult to be around people and knew I always needed to have time away from folk for my head to rest up and renew so that I could interact again. Now that I am diagnosised (in middle age) I can see why my constitution sought this an ideal. 💛

[alanguest]

You're describing what I experienced in my last full time job - 8 years ago. At the time, I didn't know it was autism, I was made to feel useless and a failure. In hindsight, it was clearly the wrong job for me, but I can't help think bodies like Jobcentre Plus act as if they don't want me to learn from my experience, let alone but those lessons into practice.

[clairerandall]

I’m now trying to get my own business launched as can’t tolerate working out there in the world anymore

[EvaluateAssimilate]

It's often workplace hypocrisy that drives me into another job. My last job was casting acetate film in cabs that reached 100 CELCIUS and, in some cases, 200 celcius. The SOP was to cool the cabs to 40 celcius before entering, but this process could take up to 45 minutes. So it was production that took precedence over safety and protocol. I had asked several times to change the SOP to fit our behaviour, that we were jumping into 100 Celsius cabs without following the procedure, but that would break the accreditation we acquired for the safety of the job.. so, you know, just get it done. Yeah, that didn't last long...

[daRiddler]

My special interest is movies. I can tell you who was in what when and who wrote, produced, directed, and what studio did the film no matter if the film came out recently or 70+ years ago.
So naturally I started working at a movie theater. Was there for almost 7 years learning the business end of things as well. I was constantly bullied, harassed, and targeted by both employees and supervisors alike. When I would report these to my boss, he would accuse me of making stuff up or not taking responsibility for my actions. To make matters worse despite my skills and knowledge of the job I was constantly passed up for promotion to full time Assistant Manager for various reasons such as "oh we don't like how you work through this problem" or "we don't like how you did that that way". This last time I was told indirectly that I wasn't going to be promoted cause I was on the Autism Spectrum.

[robertjmccabe]

I want to force everyone in my company to watch this video.

[unnaturaledq]

THANK YOU!!!! This is what I have been trying to explain to so many of my friends and family, and no one believes me.

[_wija]

I'm 21 years old. I'm currently working on a diagnosis with my doctor. I've always been frustrated with how difficult it was for me to keep a job. Many of the things you've said in this video were relatable and helpful. Thank you for helping me understand what I'm going through. I want to work, and I work hard when I do, but it's difficult for me, especially while also going through college. I will do what I can to be part of that 16%.

[jasonmeade]

3 degrees and a grad certificate, 3 professional certifications, and detailed in depth knowledge of a complex field has been (just barely) enough for me to get jobs that a charming person with a GED often has no trouble getting.
I have had more education, knowledge, ability, and experience than nearly every boss I have had for the past 20 years.
I have never had an employee review where I score below average in any category involving knowledge or technical ability.

Yet I have not yet had a job yet where I did not get into serious trouble (defined by me as written formal punishment of some sort) with supervisors. The "problems" have never been a failure to do my actual job (not once); always for making people feel uncomfortable or feel unsafe (and with one exception, in a situation where someone else was blatantly violating the rules everyone is required to follow, something I cannot simply ignore).

The biggest reason (imo) autistic folks fail to survive in the workforce is simply because we suck at the "normal" social behaviors, and these days the only thing that really matters is how well you get along rather than the actual results.

[kristianlavigne]

I’ve had around 30-40 jobs during the past 20-30 years… Rarely keep a job for a year 🤨

[gamezswinger]

Outstanding video. I am diagnosed with ADHD and I can totally relate to many autistic issues.

[haroldmr]

My first job as an adult was in the USAF where I was a transportation driver. always on the outs with the higher-ups. They could not fire me and I could not quit, by law. I was kept on night shift most of my term and only worked in one shop. Many other jobs I lost was when I got a new boss for these reasons in this video

[kr]

I'd like to know why people don't respect me

[anthonypena]

wdym no longer. the only responsibility companies have is to their shareholders

[mtneves]

Have you done a video about ADHD and autism. I've been diagnosed with ADHD and medication for this has been extremely helpful for me but I also relate a lot to the experiences of autistic people and feel as though a diagnosis of ADHD doesn't completely explain my challenges/differences.

[lakkakka]

This really nailed it on the head for me.