Employment with Asperger syndrome

Volunteering in a cancer centre (sort of part of a series).

One of the things I'm best at, is teaching. I'm really really good at it. I've taught several classes of my own, in addition to being a Teaching Assistant several times as an undergraduate and graduate student. I even have a second job centered around teaching, where I'm constantly held up as an example of one of the best teachers at the place.

B’s cavalcade of casual service jobs (a brief list).

My first job was scooping ice cream. Normally someone would come up to the counter, tell me what they'd want, and then would stay there until we traded money for cone. The system worked fine most of the time. I could keep track of my customers fairly easily because the shop did not have high volumes of traffic, and the narrow store-front meant both limited seating for customers (most of whom promptly left) and that the servers stayed behind the counter.

Sergeant Joe Friday of the old American cop show, Dragnet, was famous for asking witnesses -- in characteristic deadpan delivery, "All we want are the facts, ma'am." Sounds good to me. Not just facts (albeit they're tremendously useful, especially when you have them in variety), but also the focus upon transmitting information, without a lot of accessory fluff.

I work in a really great place. Seriously. After freaking out my future manager by asking during my interview if I would be able to have time off to go to the vets if my cat was ill, I still got the job. I should have known then that it was a match made in heaven. I followed up the job offer letter with an email outlining all the things I wouldn’t be able to do because of my Asperger’s, which was swiftly met by a referral to Occupational Health.

“This one is my ‘Insurance Job’.”

She is one of my coworkers, this on job #3. Yes, I have three jobs, one almost full time, one seasonal evenings & weekends, and the other seasonal and weekends. Hence the general lack of regular bloggery due to 10- and 12-hour work days, 6-7 days per week. I am one of the many over-worked and underemployed, or perhaps that’s underpaid, but certainly unable to make a living from one job, in any regards.

M' Kelter's employment history: "an Odyssey of Social Confusion, Sensory Issues and Paychecks".

Here's a sobering statistic: 66% of adults with autism in Australia are unemployed, compared to 6% of the general adult population. In other words, only one in three has a job, and we are eleven times less likely to have a job compared to our non-autistic counterparts.

Working in customer service can be difficult for anyone. However, having aspergers or autism adds to this challenge. For a year now, I have worked as a hostess in a restaurant. This job has taught me a great deal and helped me to grow. One of the biggest lessons was how my aspergian brain affects my work, especially when dealing with customers.

This video is about my own experiences with job hunting and job interviews. For more information about me, check out my other YouTube videos or visit my website, http://marandarussell.com.

I attempt to explain why it is hard for Aspies to find employment.

--- Garry Burge has made many videoes on the topic of autism and employment. I recommend checking out his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/channel/UCkf0Br_517__Ua_IJM_tV0A

Following on from my last post about work. I thought I'd write a bit about my experiences in meetings, training and group work. A bit part of social work and other related community services jobs is networking. If you have had the fortune or misfortune of attending an interagency meeting you will quickly find that…

It's been about two months since I first started at this job. From past experiences, I have learned not to say too much about myself to begin with. People at work can be quite inauthentic when you initially start to get to know them. People are odd that way. They are also contradictory. It's good…

When I was a kid, becoming the second-wave feminist "Woman Who Has It All" was presented not as an option, but as a requirement.  I had to have a full-time career, maintain my own house, get married (to a dude only), have children, and look good doing it.  Oh, and I had to be the primary breadwinner,…