Asperger's on the Job: Must-Have Advice for People With Asperger's or High Functioning Autism, and Their Employers, Educators, and Advocates (15 page)

If a degree is important to your self-esteem and to your financial prospects, you can try a couple of things:

• You can go to a university or college part-time while you are working.
  
• You can try online or distance learning.
  
• There are some universities (e.g., Empire State College in NY) that award college credit for professional and life experience to be applied towards a degree, thereby reducing the number of classes you must take to complete your degree.
  
• There are specific university programs for people with Asperger’s Syndrome (see “Programs” in the Resource section)
  
• There are shorter vocational courses one can take to get professional qualifications, e.g., hairdresser, personal trainer, auto mechanic, cook, etc.
  

Economics are the bottom line, and there are no economics without people. Human resources are your best resource. If your employee has AS, getting fired will only begin or add to the demoralizing string of social failures he/she may have experienced. And it’s just one more body in the bread line. Further, outside of employment there are few or no other ways for a person with AS to get an income. Benefits are very hard for someone with Asperger’s to acquire.

• Talk to them. Find out what their interests are. If you feel your employee is in the wrong job, or you feel they have not tapped their potential, don’t just cut them loose. It might be worthwhile to encourage them to take some classes, whether directly related to their current position or not.
  
• You might find that their newfound confidence improves their outlook and performance at work.
  
• They might become promotable if the studies correlate to the job, e.g., an electrician may become an engineer.
  
• It may be possible to expand the duties of their current position to create something that is of more value to you and more satisfying to them. A secretary might become an accounts manager. A receptionist might design and create the company newsletter or brochures.
  
• If they are in the wrong field altogether, you still might encourage them to take some classes, and give them time to do it as well as time to find a new position. Wish them well. Your current janitor might become your future lawyer.
  

List possible strategies for continuing education or putting what you already have to better use.

(This is explored further in the “The Personal Job Map.”)

I
f you are an employer, you may be reading this because your employee had the courage to come out and disclose to you that he/she has AS. You may be conjecturing that an employee has an ASD. Whatever the case, understand that it takes courage and effort on the part of a person to tell people that they are “on the spectrum.”

There are many arguments for and against disclosing that one has Asperger’s:

• Staying “in the closet” does nothing to advance the cause of and shine a positive light on those with Asperger’s.
  
• But:
  If an Aspergian is getting along well on their job, why rock the boat?
  
• If a person with AS doesn’t disclose their syndrome, their associates will have no frame of reference, no platform for understanding their anomalous behavior.
  
• But:
  If a person with AS tells coworkers/bosses they have AS, chances are people will
  still
  constantly wonder why they do the things that they do.
  
• If a person does not disclose their AS to their employer, they are not going to be protected by the ADA should they be discriminated against.
  
• But:
  It is still often very difficult to prove that discrimination is at the root of problems at work anyway.
  

If you have AS, no one can tell you what is right to do in this regard. Here are a few different perspectives:

“I don’t tell people. They are either hostile (family), suspicious (acquaintances), or patronizing (like call center workers, plumbers, etc). I’ve never had a reaction that didn’t fall into one of those categories.”

- TRACY, 29

“No cop, judge, or anyone else ever cared if I had autism or not. Why should they? They don’t know what the syndrome is anyway.”

- FRANK, 25

“My fear is that I will be put into a box or be thought of as someone who needs special treatment or sympathy. I simply want understanding. I struggled but am nevertheless gainfully employed.”

- RICHARD

“It is best to let them know what it is so they don’t guess the worst. The vacuum of not being able to insert a label means others place it. While many claim that they don’t like labels, labels are used because that is how people think and categorize. The term ‘Asperger’s’ displaces ‘crazy.’ Preemptive strike-fill the vacuum before someone fills it for you. This is why I think it is better to tell.”

- LEWIS

“When it comes to getting a job, I would not recommend disclosure. I know it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against a person with Asperger’s, but the truth is you most likely will not get the job. An employer will not want to take the risk when he/she can just find a ‘normal’ person to fill the position. Plus sometimes with disclosure people think Asperger’s means a form of retardation and you’ll get treated as such. I think I should clarify that this depends on how much Asperger’s affects you. For people who have an exceptionally hard time with social interaction, they might need to disclose their Asperger’s in order to explain what might be seen as ‘extremely weird and strange behavior.’ In this case, you would not want your boss thinking you are some crazy person.”

- DIANE

“I gave the store manager a copy of AS traits so that maybe he would understand some of my quirks and behavior.”

- RICK

“I have tentatively told a couple of people, but stopped. I could see they couldn’t understand so there is no point.”

- JULIAN

“It is always a personal decision. Disclosure does not necessarily mean walking in and saying that you have AS, rather to disclose whatever facets of the AS may be a challenge to you. It may be as simple as asking the employer if it is okay to bring lamps in for an office so that the fluorescent lights can be shut off...it is more about self advocacy in general. In most cases we urge individuals not to disclose until they are hired, as it may hurt your chances during the interview process, whereas they are protected by the ADA once hired.”

- MAT K., AS ADVOCATE

Those who are not officially diagnosed would not be protected by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and even if you are, it may be quite difficult to prove why you were fired.

Sometimes discrimination is blatant and justice is not done. This story comes from a man in Northern Ireland, who passed the rigorous test for selection into the N.I. Police force:

“The head of the Police college became aware that I had AS and I was terminated for ‘failing to disclose my Asperger’s disease’(!) The actual dismissal proceedings were a kangaroo court where I was shouted at and ridiculed and was called a liar for not admitting to having learning difficulties/mental health issues. I tried to explain that Asperger’s is not a mental health problem and I have an IQ of 137 so don’t have learning difficulties but was shouted down. I attempted to take them to the Fair Employment Tribunal but had to drop it as I lacked the financial resources to employ lawyers. I am proud to have beaten 7600 others in a selection process designed by them and for them. It’s like being one of the astronauts selected for the moon missions. The only thing that stopped me was illegal prejudice. I am now working in a factory.”

This is the fear the keeps people from disclosing their AS and it is a valid concern:

“ASDs often become targets of adverse disparate treatment and alienation. Occupations in law enforcement are not ready to accommodate ASDs. In my situation, I am armed and have a security clearance. I was thoroughly screened with many good character references. Yet, if I were to truly be myself at work, especially if I threw out the AS word, I would be rejected as being too defective to work as an armed officer.”

- SCOTT

• It is entirely up to you whether to disclose your AS or not.
  
• One belief is that if you are doing well in your job, and you tell others you have AS, then you are advancing the cause and reputation of people affected by ASDs.
  
• If you are having trouble in your working life, then disclosure might be a way to get some understanding and accommodation.
  
• Asking for what you need without full disclosure is another valid perspective. That may be enough for you.
  
• Others choose to “tough it out” and never ask for anything. But that doesn’t mean we all can take that stance.
  
• Weigh your options carefully. Whatever you decide will impact your life.
  
• If and when you do disclose, do not do so “unarmed.” Take your favorite short description of AS with you and give it to the person you are disclosing to, unless you are very good at describing it verbally. Others give a web address that contains a description they like. Urge whoever you are disclosing to, to read as much about Asperger’s as they can and recommend some positive books or websites.
  

If your employee hasn’t told you that they have AS, you probably wouldn’t be reading this book. You’ve taken the first steps to educate yourself about the condition. Even so, every individual with AS is different and they will all have differing abilities emotionally, intellectually, artistically, socially, etc. You cannot know what their limits are, so don’t assume you do. Regardless of the law, it would be ethically questionable to fire someone for having AS. It would also be shutting the door on utilizing their numerous, sometimes amazing, gifts.

What are your thoughts on disclosure?

Have you had any positive or negative experiences from it?

How can you improve your chances for a positive result?

E
mployers should not lose a valuable employee over things that can be fixed. Nor should a person with AS leave a job they love for the wrong reason.

Some with AS will quit a job if they see termination or trouble on the horizon, just as some will quit school rather than fail. If an AS employee starts taking sick days or shows a decline in interest or performance, this could be the
Asperger’s pre-emptive strike.
There is something—probably at work—that needs to be addressed to stop this happening.

“I have rarely had big problems with bosses, because my work is usually good; however, I have quit jobs when I could see failure on the horizon. My problems have been with co-workers.”

- WALTER

“The downfall came when I was pressured into jobs that made me communicate more with the ‘team,’ rising gas prices, and fear of layoff. I quit.”

- TOM

Sick days: Illness is a warning: It can be the result of environmental sensitivities, bullying, anxiety, etc.
Exhaustion
can occur from constant over-stimulation.
Depression and anxiety
are part of the autism package. As discussed earlier, there are many routes an individual can take to remedy that situation and most of us are very pro-active, acting as our own body detectives and trying various methods until we find our modus operandi. Suffice it to say that work problems can, in turn, cause more illness and stress, which can, in turn, cause more work problems, so this cycle needs to stop, preferably before it starts.