EMPLOYMENT AND ASPERGER'S SYNDROME
By Mr Coffee
Some consider Asperger's
Syndrome to be a positive trait that will grant a person riches
and wealth. The question is: how can a person be granted riches
and wealth if they are not able to function very well on an interpersonal
level and work as a part of a team? If you have a diagnosis,
chances are you got it because of a need for housing, medical, and
financial benefits in addition to a lack of ability to maintain
any gainful employment. I can only speak of my own experience in
this area, as I am not familiar with what others with the diagnosis
experience.
As far as jobs, I have had many. I worked as a
janitor, baker at a donut shop, general clerk, pizza delivery driver,
painter, grounds keeper, bus driver, and as a courier. Each of these
positions had a common issue in regards to my ability to maintain
each job: interpersonal issues with co-workers and a company's clients.
I think a good idea would be to describe the type of job that is
supposed to have the least amount of human contact so that I can
hopefully describe Asperger's more graphicly: that of a janitor
or custodian.
SOCIAL SKILLS, TRUST AND EMPLOYMENT
Little may people think, but working in the building
maintenance field does indeed require maintaining a trust between
the building's owners, the company, and other custodial staff. If
a client does not trust a worker, then they will find some other
contractor to do the work for them. The same goes for an individual
who the co-workers do not like. Any sense of suspicion by a client
could get an employee either transferred to a different job site,
or terminated all together by a company. This is especially true
in a post 9-11 era. In my case, the work place troubles started
before then.
unable to fit in
Employers want someone who can do the job with
little time spent on coaching and training. They want someone who
gets along with the team, and works well with them while cooperating
with supervisors. There is a social element attached to all of this,
and workers tend to form a common bond among themselves. An exception
would be somebody who appears different in their ways of thinking
and acting. Enter the employee with a neurological disorder, the
person who has Asperger's Syndrome. That co-worker truly wants to
fit in with the group, but is unable to due to traits in his or
her condition. Those traits would include the lack of ability to
interpret body language, sensory issues, motor habits, eye contact,
and other details too numerous to mention.
Problems emerge over time
The interview can often go well, without any problem.
If the prospect is young enough, chances are they don't have enough
of a work history that would likely get them turned down for employment.
In my early 20s I worked as a janitor, long before companies actually
considered security issues important in hiring. Problems did not
appear to begin until at least two weeks into my employment. At
this stage, people discover differences in a person with Asperger's,
traits that the workers are not likely to have. Eye contact gets
to be an issue, and some may notice that the worker doesn't have
a steady relationship or girl friend/boy friend, and is not able
to relate to others in that area. The new worker may not totally
agree with the culture shared by the group, or even the type of
music they listen to. Noise and the environment may disrupt the
concentration that the worker needs to do the job. All of this happened
in my case.
co-workers feel uncomfortable
As time goes by, the employee is often transferred
to other locations, because the last set of co-workers complained
extensively about the worker's habits or the their lack of ability
to perform on the job. Other co-workers may complain of "feeling
uncomfortable" with an individual shortly before they are either
transferred or fired. Much of this is due to the environment and
lack of empathy from other employees, but to the employer it makes
no difference. The cycle starts over with the new set of co-workers
the employee is involved with. Eventually, a building manager may
take notice and decide they do not like the worker being in their
building, or involved with the staff, and the company ends up letting
the worker go due to performance issues.
Much of the time, the trouble lies with the ability
to work on a team. The intelligence is there, yet there are no interpersonal
skills and sensory issues keep the person from being able to perform
their duties. By the time this happens, the employee has built up
a negative work history that will affect his or her other employment
prospects. It did in my case, and I am now on social security.
A recent research article on employment
There are some references in regards to employment,
but it is often hard to dig up. A person on the chat room directed
me to an article at this location:
http://www.autastics.org/JVRpaper.htm
The author of the article is Eve Muller. It begins
with an abstract describing the purpose of the study. Data was gathered
from interviews with 18 individuals who have the diagnosis, where
at least 18 years of age, and had described themselves as having
difficulties with social interaction. The majority of the participants
of this study had negative experiences with employment. Most of
the major problems related to difficulties with supervisors and
co-workers. Those whom were younger then 30 experienced fewer problems
then those over 30. Almost all of the participants experienced long
periods of unemployment, as well as lack of opportunities for career
advancement.
Being fired repeatedly from jobs is common with
Autism Spectrum Disorders, and opportunities to find other work
tends to erode as more job terminations appear on a person's record.
A lack of vocational success is usually attributed to not being
able to hold down a job long enough to accumulated enough experience
to be considered for advancement. Some end up completely losing
any opportunities for employment in the future due to severely damaged
employment histories.
In the end, the article states recommendations
for vocational supports for those who have Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD). Among them are job matching, individualized ASD-specific
job supports, communication supports, and Autism awareness training
for the employers. The importance of Autism awareness cannot be
emphasized enough.
early intervention
I will state very clearly, that early
intervention is the key towards success in the work place. The
person affected must not be in a situation where they accumulate
a negative prior employment history. A negative employment history
will make job placement extremely difficult, if not impossible in
some circumstances. The way to maintain a decent employment history
starts before high school, or even grade school, where a diagnosis
during early childhood can be made. The earlier a person can learn
to function and cope in a social situation, the more likely they
will experience a successful career in the future.
Click here
to read Temple Grandin's tips on moving from school to employment.
Click here
to read a fact sheet on finding the right job when on the autism spectrum.
Click here for the full range of Asperger's and autism fact sheets and personal stories
at www.autism-help.org
Click here to
read more personal stories from parents of children on the autism spectrum, and from adults living with Autism, Asperger's syndrome
and other Autism Spectrum Disorders
This story is reprinted with the permission of
Mr Coffee who organizes an Asperger's syndrome forum at www.autismforum.net
|
