Work Study Job? Don't Be Afraid To Tell Employer About ASD.

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Text deleted (OP on reflection disagrees with the position outlined previously)

I somewhat agree. I am big on disclosing myself but you should never just come out and say I am autistic and here are my demands you must treat me this way, or else..... Best bet is to always follow-up with your psychologist on how to tell your employer or friends and such.

Reason being depending on how you look your future boss might think you're using an excuse to get out of real work and get you on the fast track to being canned. Disclosing is a very delicate matter I had the misfortune on disclosing to my family and they all took it as an excuse. My psychologist warned me before telling anyone to come up with a plan cause people do take it the wrong way.

Depending on a person's job disclosing might be the best and worst thing. Most people have the mistaken belief that ADA protects you once you disclose so they can't fire you. If your disability is something that can cause an undue burden on your employer then you can be fired. So it's always best to go into a profession that works well with your disability. You definitely don't want to do retail, or a receptionist gig when your prone to melt downs cause an employer would have a right to fire you for a melt down.

Keep in mind feeling offended because you feel you're being 'babied" might be a symptom of a larger problem. I recommend people disclose but definitely work on it with your therapist on how to go about it. Cause you don't want to be put into their "ret*d radar" in which they think your an idiot so they give you the easy stuff and talk down to you which ensures you prob won't get much promotions.

In my case when I disclose and it's not done right people think I am lying and there is nothing wrong with me but one thing about autism even though many of us can act the part of 'normal' it comes out eventually and those people then felt you lied to them because you came off as successful.

I linked some ADA law about disclosure because when conversations about disclosing come up there is always misinformation with people saying, "they can't fire you after that point because of your disability" or "you can sue them and go to the EEOC for discrimination!"

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Example 19: Tom, a program director, has successfully controlled most symptoms of his bipolar disorder for a long period, but lately he has had a recurrence of certain symptoms. In the past couple of weeks, he has sometimes talked uncontrollably and his judgment has seemed erratic, leading him to propose projects and deadlines that are unrealistic. At a staff meeting, he becomes angry and disparaging towards a colleague who disagrees with him. Tom’s supervisor tells him after the meeting that his behavior was inappropriate. Tom agrees and reveals for the first time that he has bipolar disorder. He explains that he believes he is experiencing a recurrence of symptoms and says that he will contact his doctor immediately to discuss medical options. The next day Tom provides documentation from his doctor explaining the need to put him on different medication, and stating that it should take no more than six to eight weeks for the medication to eliminate the symptoms. The doctor believes Tom can still continue working, but that it would be helpful for the next couple of months if Tom had more discussions with his supervisor about projects and deadlines so that he could receive feedback to ensure that his goals are realistic. Tom also requests that his supervisor provide clear instructions in writing about work assignments as well as intermediate timetables to help him keep on track. The supervisor responds that Tom must treat his colleagues with respect and agrees to provide for up to two months all of the reasonable accommodations Tom has requested because they would assist him to continue performing his job without causing an undue hardship.

[b]Practical Guidance: Ideally, employees will request reasonable accommodation before conduct problems arise, or at least before they become too serious.52 Although the ADA [b]does not require employees to ask for an accommodation at a specific time, the timing of a request for reasonable accommodation is important because an employer does not have to rescind discipline (including termination) warranted by misconduct. Employees should not assume that an employer knows that an accommodation is needed to address a conduct issue merely because the employer knows about the employee’s disability. Nor does an employer’s knowledge of an employee’s disability require the employer to ask if the misbehavior is disability-related.

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Example 20: An employee informs her supervisor that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A few months later, the supervisor asks to meet with the employee concerning her work on a recent assignment. At the meeting, the supervisor explains that the employee’s work has been generally good, but he provides some constructive criticism. The employee becomes angry, yells at the supervisor, and curses him when the supervisor tells her she cannot leave the meeting until he has finished discussing her work. The company terminates the employee, the same punishment given to any employee who is insubordinate. The employee protests her termination, telling the supervisor that her outburst was a result of her bipolar disorder which makes it hard for her to control her temper when she is feeling extreme stress. She says she was trying to get away from the supervisor when she felt she was losing control, but he ordered her not to leave the room. The employee apologizes and requests that the termination be rescinded and that in the future she be allowed to leave the premises if she feels that the stress may cause her to engage in inappropriate behavior. The employer may leave the termination in place without violating the ADA because the employee’s request for reasonable accommodation came after her insubordinate conduct.

SOURCE: https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/performance-conduct.html

Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I was very lucky. I'm a football manager and I had to disclose after I had a meltdown, but I explained that it's only the weight room that's too loud and I can deal with noise just fine otherwise, and that it shouldn't affect my relatively simple job of recording practices and occasionally helping set up. I apologized and didn't expect to be treated any differently. It was embarrassing to think that I was being a burden. I guess "infantilized" is a better word than "babied." I guess it's better to not disclose unless you have to. I'm just waiting for the coach to bring up my issues again when he actually has the opportunity to fire me. I'm not exactly essential to the team, anybody with a decent reaction time can press buttons on a camera, and highlight reels can be put together in 5 seconds.

I'm going to just take out another loan. I'm an idiot.

Your not an idiot but I'd recommend working with your therapist to work on ways to get out of the zone your in with your employees and coworkers. It's not a bad zone and not end of the world like anything you try to work your way through the situation well improving your situation