Chronically Unemployed Aspies...

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Right now, I am in no danger of starving to death. So it was a figure of speech, albeit a relatively serious one. I have gotten very used to my chronically unemployed status - it does not bother me and I am not ashamed. I am more fortunate than others in that I worked until I was thirty and have some savings which I deploy in the market. The returns are used to support my very simple lifestyle. Poverty does not bother me, what people say does not bother me. So long as I can keep doing this, I will live as such. However, if it came to the crunch, I do wonder if I would rather starve to death rather than go back to work. Unlike what others have said, I have never found work to be fulfilling or meaningful. It always felt like I was a whore turning another trick. You make the money, but honestly, you would rather not do it.

I just quit another job. Really the work wasn't suitable for me - telephone customer service. I dislike constant communication, and I hate being constantly monitored by management. Both are a basic features of the over the phone service industry - "this call may be recorded for quality control.."

I spent 20 years trying to be in the work force. Now, at 50, I take the disability pension, been on it about 10 years.

I hate the 'what do you do?' question too, but it's an icebreaker social question, people want to establish your status (ugh) and people like us don't have any status. Now that I'm older looking, I don't get asked so much.

I could only get part time, casual or temp work in my twenties. I wanted the money full time work brings and so (although I dreaded it) I sat for the public service exam and got my only full time job ever, lasted 9 years before the bullying and backstabbing ruined my health.

If you're good at driving, I think some driving/delivery jobs might suit aspies, you get to work alone. I didn't mind driving jobs. The other field where I was somewhat accepted was in kitchenhand/food industry work, I worked for a casual agency, so I never worked at the same place twice (although you can, if you want to, you get former employers asking for you if you're good), you get a few days here, a half day there, a week somewhere else, I liked not being with the same crowd all the time and there's a lot of odd people in the industry, a lot of alcoholism, so you can go unnoticed.

I know you are telling the truth, but this quote is BEYOND A DOUBT! one of the most IDIOTIC and naive attempts at deception ever conceived! If they aren't trying to deceive then they are BEYOND IDIOTIC!

I DREAD ever calling ANY business because I am almost assured they will be idiots and a waste of time.

Steve

I work part time, so I guess when I am asked I can answer that :3

I just recently started my first real job (doing lab work), at the age of 24, and it has been a godsend. I never thought I would be able to handle a job like normal people. I was really lucky in that I kind of got it through a family member who also works there, and drives me there and back every day. Having that security helps a great deal.

I used to HATE it when I was out (on the rare occasions lol) and people would ask "so what do you?" and I would always reply "oh nothing..." It was always so embarrassing, it's not like you can just explain all your personal problems as to why you don't/can't work to someone you've just met.

I honestly thought I'd live my entire life unemployed, but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel.
Now all I have to do is work on my interpersonal skills.... dealing with other PEOPLE where I work is so challenging, but rewarding.

it depends on what job it is.
dad is in his sixties,an aspergan and works as a fork lift driver.
he used to get a lot of free stuff because of his job,they don't seem to over order stuff anymore though.

I have only worked 4 3 months n im strugglin 2 keep my job even though they like me da problem is dat i have been bullied n da duty managers r using me cos im very good at my job but in my opinon they r takin da piss as they have only givin me 1 day off n makin me work at both weekends wen ur only allowed 2 work 1 weekend n 2 days off seems a bit unfair really.

I have a very hard time holding down a job, my attention either wanders, or the people just don't like me.
Ive also quit some others that I just hated with a passion.

At one of my jobs, the mechanic thought for 2 weeks that I didn't speak English because I never spoke.
I thought it was funny.

I am always just barely hanging on to my sanity when I am employed. After the hurricane I was unemployed for 9 months and I was a lot less stressed-out and depressed. Now I am back to being irritable, on guard and pretty depressed because of all the human interaction I have to deal with on a daily basis. There just aren't enough jobs for people like us out there, and the ones that I know I would be okay at don't pay enough.

The only job I have ever had that didn't drive me insane was working as researcher for 3 months at USM. I got paid well, I had a set routine, I worked at my own pace and I worked ALONE. Best of all, I got to read all day. Those jobs are scarce though. I only happened upon it because I knew someone that knew the professor. Since then it's been job hell for me.

I can fake it well enough to get through the day but each day I feel like I am closer to just snapping. It's hard being an aspie sometimes. No one understands either. If I try to talk about it with my dad he just tells me I need to "get it together" and "train myself".

NTs work to fund their lifestyle out of the office, aka, food, shelter, booze, shoes. We cannot collect disability because we hate the work load…THIS IS WHY!!

However, in America, we have WIA (Workforce Invest Act) dollars that flow through the States that flow through the Counties that flow through to you. If you have a diagnoses and are eligible for disability, you can get free job training, on site job coaching and tests to find out what you are suited for. Catch 22, your stupid worker is stupid and shouldn’t even be in the workforce because they are stupid and jealous you have a brain and talent and will hold you back from succeeding because they can’t succeed. Grrr.

Each State/County has a WIB (Workforce Investment Board) that determines the workforce needs of your locale and provides free job training and job coaches in spite of what your crappy worker thinks she/he knows. It is the law.

Sadly, you have to be the master of your fate and research (Google) what you are entitled to, but let me make it clear: DVRS: Developmental Vocational Rehab Services – Does an assessment of your likes, dislikes, skills/abilities. Discusses with you what your interests are. Finds a fit. Finds an employer. Sends you out with a job coach to help you learn your job and helps your employer work with in your limitations/strengths. Your employer gets a tax break hiring you. Everyone wins.

NT work culture sucks. There are degrees of AS abilities. Most successful AS own their own business. This takes an obsession with learning governmental rules and regs. If you are AS and really cannot adapt, you can collect disability and do odd jobs to supplement your income. You are entitled to governmental health insurance, food and utility assistance. You just have to bash some sense into your stupid case manager.

Just always remember, work sucks or they wouldn’t call it work. Every job has it’s politics, just stay below the radar…aka do your job and don’t make a fuss. Never promoted, but never fired.

You are smarter than the average bear, make it work for you. Somewhere there has to be some employer who needs you more than you need them…

I don't think you should get offended. This is a common topic starter that NT people use to start talking about similarities and life in general. A person's career is a main part of someone's life. You are a homemaker. Nothing wrong with that. Just don't let it bother you that someone asks you a question that is so common for NT people to ask one another.

It may not be illegal discrimination, and not all discrimination is illegal. If a person can't perform the job duties (with reasonable accomodations), then they can be let go. Employers are free to discriminate against 'unqualified' workers.

And in much of the US, employment is 'at the will' of the employer. People can be let go for good cause, or no cause, but not for bad cause (like religion or gender, etc.). But it has become almost impossible to prove that someone was let go for a bad cause. With todays legal standards, they have to publicly say that they are firing you because you have a disability and make a note of that in your personnel record.

Partial protection against this is to convince the company that they are making money by keeping you, or to get your boss to like you. That requires finding a job that you can adjust to, and doing it better than an NT.

On the positive side, there are some companies that do reach out to hire people with disabilities, that do make lots of accommodations. My brother was in a wheel chair and had lots of health issues, and he worked for many years for a company that really did meet him halfway and treated him like a person. I know AS is not as as visible as being in a wheel chair, not as easy to understand because it is on the inside, and it is 'new.' But some companies do want to do the right thing, even if they don't always know what that is.