Should I become an autism therapist?

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Ok, so it means I should focus on one thing only or that I like to focus on one thing only? I think it means the former? Is that right.

I have a brain full of hay fever at the moment, it has eaten everything else, now I am entirely full of one thing: hay fever!

I believe he's saying, in essence, "focus on one thing career-wise."


I speaking from I believe HE believes, based upon my own experience.

Not that I believe what he says.

Similar things have been told to me, using similar words.

He wants you to concentrate on your objective of being a teacher, and focus on that---instead of focusing on all the other things which are on your mind (philosophically, etc). He feels this will divert you from your goal.

It's not something I would tell someone directly. I would take into account your efflorescent mind.

Thanks! That makes sense. He didn't actually say it in the context of careers. Rather when I was stood amidst a sea of clothes, unpacking for 4 people after a long holiday, and started to have philosophical musings about the whole thing and feeling rather overloaded by the sea of things to be put back into their place. In fact I felt rather lost and called him to ask for some reassurance and he said it then.

But your analysis works for that too. Focus on the objective and don't get diverted. Got it.

I have one more thing that needs decoding but don't want to further side track this thread. Will ask another time.

Going back to this. Alongside, what i wrote above about coping strategies, I would add....

Potential strengths:

Analytical skills.
Being able to look at the situation from different angles.
Thinking outside the box.

Also, as someone very wise told me once there is a big difference between empathy and sympathy and being able to talk to someone who "gets" aspects of AS might go a long way.

I would say struggles might be:

Building rapport quickly. I'm ok at this in practice, but often feel like I am faking it.

Like Kraftie mentions above, I also find it frustrating when people get stuck in behavioural patterns and when you see the solution clearly it is hard to keep being objective and not feel frustrated when they keep going back to irrational behavioural patterns (I spent a lot of time getting someone out of an extremely abusive relationship and it took quite a few goes to get things happening... I found myself very frustrated, but it worked in the end!) I think this is NOT one of my strengths!

I think you should give it a go, it sounds really rewarding and I think you could really achieve a lot.

Autistic people make great therapists, so yes! You might have to find your own approach to make it work for you like take notes instead of remember conversations or limit the amount of people you see in one day, but I wish there were more autistic therapists.

This seemed like such a good idea yesterday. But I've had a hard day with my husband, who for unknown reasons has become very weak and fatigued. My life is way too complicated and unpredictable these days - not something easy for an autistic person to handle. So I can't contemplate taking on anything more, I'm sad to say.

It must feel, sometimes, that it is all futile.

It is not. Your husband knows he is not alone—even if he might not be able to tell you.

I am becoming more and more the caretaker. Although he is still an independent person, I make many of the decisions now, sometimes without even telling him. I am imposing more structure on our lives, making all the dietary and medical decisions, and managing our day to day affairs. It is exhausting. In some ways I think it will be easier when he is even more dependent than he is now. It would be easier caring for an invalid than for a man who still has the delusion of autonomy.

And yet, he is still my partner and I am glad to have him. It's just hard.

I still think you would be a good therapist, it does sound like it's probably not the right choice at this point in time.

"An" autistic person could make a good therapist - it's a spectrum thing. I think your odds of helping any random client are lower, but your odds of helping those who currently fall through the gaps are higher.
I think I have helped a few people with some rare insight, but I'd burn out fast in a typical professional setting. Perhaps my greatest asset is that people feel comfortable sharing with me, and that helps them see themselves. There was once an old machinist who was visited by a fairly steady stream of acquaintances who would get an occasional nod as they talked to his back as he ran a lathe. They'd tell him their troubles, and then stop. That was his cue to turn around and say "Well, there you are, you see?" They'd brighten right up and think of something to do about it.
I don't really have any experience with a therapist who has good suggestions, but maybe a fellow aspie would help more. The counsellor I see has gone into private practice, but still sees me pro bono. I think she learns as much as I do.

That's an interesting observation. I've found the same thing myself sometimes, and my utter naivety about "adulting" and relationships actually seems to help. I've been congratulated on my insight quite a few times when all I have done is to repeat back what I think the other person was trying to say and ask a question or two because I'm desperately trying understanding what they're on about. It's a strange feeling to realise that I've helped someone with an aspect of life (e.g. romance) of which I have virtually no experience myself. I guess the trick is to ask a "dumb" question that the (presumably) more experienced person wouldn't ask of themself because they mistakenly assume that they must have the answer already.

^^^
People often open up to me and share very personal things too, even when we’ve only just met. I don’t really know why. I think maybe because I don’t do small talk and prefer to talk about meaningful things. Or maybe because so many parts of me are not average that they feel safe and like I won’t judge them for being different.