Major Work Meltdown Got Me Fired

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I'm seeing serious transition issues in your post--not being able to switch from electronics to toys when requested. Were you having problems switching mental gears too? I mean, like how you have things planned ahead, and then you kind of get going in one direction and can't switch out of it...

You are free now and your own boss.

I think a quiet place would be effective in some situations, because there have been times that I've ran away and his somewhere for a few minutes. But in this particular situation, I don't think so. Because even if I had gone to a quiet place, he still would have expected me to go back to toys afterwards and I'd get mad again. There was no escape.

yes! Exactly! I was not mentally prepared to spend most of my day in toys. I was planning on being in electronics like usual. Worst case scenario being that maybe I'd have to cashier up front for a few minutes. With some transitions i don't care, but sometimes I have a mental plan for what's going to happen and someone coming in and
messing it up is something I can't handle well.

A meltdown involving the use of razors on oneself is a whole new level of severity. Are you sure your not manic? It almost sounds schizophrenic as well. Very worrisome behavior that is beyond anything I have ever personally experienced. You should get professional help.

Sometimes clearing your head can also help you reformulate your case, and come up with better arguments. One other thing to do might be to work on some scripts for talking to managers when they are upsetting you with unexpected changes. Maybe your parents can help you work on some scripts for that sort of thing. So you go to your quiet place, get yourself calm, figure out which scripts to try, and when ready try to negotiate again.

Another accommodation might be advanced notice on where you will be expected to work, since that does seem to be an issue.

Do you have any idea why he was so insistent on you being in toys that day?

Belive me, I cannot help but understand when this
kind of thing happens, I can't remember how many
times I got sacked from mickey d's because of
a bad customer triggering a malfunction in me,
whether TigerRage, to a total
blackout (and possibly a seizure.)

And then they blamed it all obn me,
they would probably blame me for 09-11 if they
could get away with it.

I hate walmart

uhhh, I'm pretty sure. After the meltdown, I was no longer in any kind of state that could be confused with "mania". I took a nap and felt better, except for some crying off and on. I have a pretty firm grasp on reality. No delusions, hallucinations, or paranoia. I don't see how it' could be manic or schizophrenic. I don't match symptoms for either disorder, except maybe negative schizophrenia symptoms(but that's pretty standard for ASD), and maybe symptoms resembling mania only when I'm having a meltdown(and it could also possibly look like it from the outside when I get excited about a special interest).

I think the issue of spilled blood would constitute a potential health risk, most employers would start worrying about blood born diseases in that sort of situation. So, I'm not surprised you didn't get your job back. But hopefully in future situations you'll have a plan in place to help you manage the meltdown better... a safe place does sound like the best solution.

I feel for you, I worked at Wal-mart on the night shift and I could not handle the change the place and the people, in under two weeks I had a panic attack and quit.

I tried to calm down, I tried phoning my close friend and he told me to suck it up which I tried but eventually another worker pushed me over the edge and at the end of the shift I was sitting in the parking lot with another employee who walked me out to make sure I could drive away ok after the attack (I passed out, and was a bit out of it when I came to.)

I have also cut deep on accident because of an unrelated meltdowns, had to get sewn up at the hospital a few times.

It took some time but I ended up at better job were the people understand my needs.

I have less meltdowns now, I think it's because I try hard to avoid triggering one at all costs, plus a less stressful life situation.

You're actually going to try and get your job back? Seriously? edit: read the posts, I see that you didn't

I'm quite surprised you haven't been banned from the store for life, disability or not.


What you did matters because you could have hurt someone.

Nothing I did could have hurt anyone. I am only ever violent toward myself and objects. I don't even hurt bugs unless it's by accident or when I'm feeding them to
my geckos and spiders.

your employer (and potentially, the customers) had no way of knowing whether you would hurt other people or only yourself and objects. your boss acted in the best interests of the company and customers, based on the limited information he had. hopefully you can get a good reference from your usual boss so that you can move on to a place that will accommodate you in the way you need.

perhaps you should attempt to sue them? or seek compensation in some way, becuz if they fired you for an illness you cannt control then they should be responsible. i would look into this atleast

It's been quite a while since my last meltdown, and that's entirely God's provision. But I do remember how bad they suck. I do agree that something should have been written in the work agreement. Could you have talked to your normal supervisor about this? He/she probably could have talked to the offending supervisor about your AS. I also agree, however, that when you told him you felt a meltdown coming on and he acknowledged it, it was completely on him. If you had had your supervisor talk to this guy about the AS, he acknowledged it, made no changes, and the same situation happened, you would be rolling in cash off your lawsuit.

Scotty, don't overreact. It's simple self-injury, not psychosis. People who aren't even mentally ill occasionally cut themselves when they're very stressed, and about one in eight people have tried it at some time or another (they surveyed college students for this, though, so some of it might be the result of goth/emo trends). In fact, half the problem with self-injury is what people, including mental health professionals, think of it. Being needlessly overmedicated or even detained in a mental hospital can be a problem, because doctors tend to overreact and think it must be serious simply because superficial injury is involved. Some can't even tell apart self-injury and an honest suicide attempt. I mean, seriously, you'd have to be pretty stupid to think you could kill yourself by scratching your arm or biting your hand or whatever it is you do...