Portland, Oregon

Post Reply New Topic

So I've been offered a job in Portland, Oregon. They were interested enough to fly me up on Friday last week without having had a phone interview or anything and I got the offer letter in email after I got home from the trip. It's for a software company in the automotive industry.

I didn't mention autism or AS during the interview, although it's interesting to me that both the CTO and the Senior Developer at this company struck me as seeming to express themselves like aspies. And I find that I notice to some extent how that (even in the way I express myself) might cause challenges for communication between aspies and NT's (with no "fault" implied). Thinking back over all the other jobs that I've had, it seems like even as a programmer in the IT industry, the majority of people I've worked with (other programmers) have been NTs, contradictory to claims by nearly everyone I've talked to about the subject that "most people in IT are AS or autistic". In my experience most of them are still NTs. Maybe it's different in Silicon Valley.

In any event, I've started looking for others in and around the Portland area and am finding it challenging to find anything geared toward either adults or even age-inclusive. I've found several autism groups in the Portland area, although they all seem to express rather specifically in their group descriptions that they are intended as resources for parents of autistic children. Although I'm not blaming them, I find this very frustrating.

So long story short, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else in or around the Portland area, to network with other aspies, etc. Also if you have any good resources for finding apartments and/or roommates in or near the SouthEast streets downtown or the Alberta Arts district, I'd be really interested to hear about those.

Here in Austin I was trying to get assessed for AS and have an appointment to meet with MHMR for an assessment on Oct 2, although I'm pretty certain I won't be in Austin long enough to be at that appointment. I imagine I'll probably have to go through a similar process with the local MHMR in Portland once I get there.

I am trying to tell anyone going up to Portland, OR that your man with the plan is Roger N. Meyers! Here is his web page. http://www.rogernmeyer.com/

When I heard about AS I found his name on a website and because he was up in Portland ( I am down in Southern Oregon) I called him up on the telephone.

He is an Aspie, so try to take that into consideration when you talk to him. But he is an excellent resource!


good to have you in Western Oregon, we have the opposite of a desert here!


Merle

PORTLAND OREGON ADULT RESOURCES
There are numerous resources and providers for Asperger Syndrome children and their parents in Portland. This list does not cover those resources, primarily because their focus is on children and parenting issues and not AS adults. Several existing AS support groups in the Portland metropolitan area do have parent members with adult children, but the thrust of their discussions and activities center on childhood and adolescence. These groups wax and wane. It's unfortunate but true that as AS children mature into adulthood, their parents who have been strong supportive partners in such organizations want to move on in their lives as well. It's only natural. They want to re-establish new bonds in their marriages. They attend to the other children in the family. They move on to other generational issues. Unfortunately, very few of these parents stick around "for the long haul" to walk alongside new members. It could be otherwise, but up to this time, that hasn't happened.

The resources linked from this index page focus exclusively on adult issues. These resources have met continually, are reliable and solid sources of support and professional development, and have stood the test of time. While their members come and go, the resources themselves appear to have developed a life of their own.

Recently, the Portland Aspergers Network, a parent support group, attained 501 (c) (3) non-profit status. Its board of directors is too new, and the corporate entity is so fresh as to be untried, to consider expanding its potential to include causes or organizations heavily focused on AS adult concerns that up to the present have stood completely on their own. One thing such a non-profit organization could do is raise enough money or attract grants allowing the parents of Portland's Asperger Syndrome children and adults to put on conferences and major events. That's happened in other parts of the country, and in other parts of the state of Oregon even before chapters of national or state autism organizations were formed in their respective communities. It has yet to happen in Portland, the state's largest metropolitan area.

I hope this list of adult resources can be expanded, and that other adult AS resources will come into being. Minimally, I can see a need for an organization dedicated, exclusively, to affordable housing for AS adults. I can envision an organization that assists parents of adult AS children and the AS adults themselves in substantial, person-centered, long-term planning. I can envision a coalition of adult health, adult recreation and leisure, and dignified, living-wage adult employment resources having some kind of stand-alone, permanent life. The Portland metropolitan area is big enough and has both the social and the economic capital to make this possible.

In the meantime, here are three entities that do address adult issues. None of these resources are affiliated with any national or state autism or AS organizations. Click your mouse on the title of each to be taken to a description of the resource.


http://www.rogernmeyer.com/portland_or_ ... group.html

http://www.rogernmeyer.com/portland_a_c ... group.html

http://www.rogernmeyer.com/portland_a_p ... adults.htm

Portland is one of the most livable cities to live in because we have very good transportation. We have light rails, lots of buses and streetcar.
If you do move up here, I will hope you join Roger Meyer’s AS group. It’s held every month every second Sunday. But we do gets lots of rain here but not in the summer.

I just got back from the Asperger's Support Group picnic today at Red Sunset Park in Gresham led by Roger Meyer. He makes the best fruit salad! Beautiful day and fun talking to Furball333 and many others.

Portland is a very beautiful city to be in!
Ike, if you're looking for homes, there is one a few doors down from mine, hopefully you can find a home here in Portland.
I'm an Aspie & there is a great Aspie crowd you can join.
Good Luck!