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HistoryGal
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Joined: 16 Jan 2017
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,648
Location: Orlando

19 Nov 2017, 9:00 am

A month ago I got hired as an Instructional Assistant in a classroom with autistic students. Of course I kept quiet about my own ASD. Job of my dreams. Only problem is that my colleagues are slow at sharing critical information with me. Like every other place I have ever worked or church attended, I'm the odd one out. I'm sure people on this board can relate. It's a very lonely feeling and makes for a long awkward day. All these people have a history that binds them. I finally gently said to the teacher that I'm assigned to that I wanted to be a part of the team and that I was unsure how to integrate in. She was taken aback by my question. Perhaps she could see that I lack the soft social abilities to smoothly transition into our work group. An NT would still have to overcome all their past history but would have had an easier time at finding vital connection points. I'm going to not call attention towards myself after that chat on Friday.

This post isn't me asking for advice. Please no snark. Just sharing relevant workplace experience.



ladyelaine
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Age: 31
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Posts: 1,164
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19 Nov 2017, 7:59 pm

Connecting with work people is especially hard when you can't relate to their life styles. It is definitely hard to connect with a group of people that have an extensive history with each other.



HistoryGal
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Joined: 16 Jan 2017
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,648
Location: Orlando

19 Nov 2017, 8:08 pm

I work with a bunch of extroverts. Very draining.