I made a HUGE MISTAKE

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In my quest to seek Federal Employment I sent the Schedule A Coordinator this before she was even able to look up jobs for me: It is a list of accommodations that might be needed


Be patient during training, and break instruction into small segments. If an individual is asking an excessive number of questions, it could indicate anxiety or confusion about an assignment

Explain how tasks and assignments fit into the whole the "big picture") and why particular steps or processes are important.

Whenever possible, encourage the use of written notes, outlines, and checklists. Icons and color coded filing systems will help with organization. People with Asperger Syndrome are usually visual not auditory learners.

Assist the individual with creating a personalized "rule book" that contains processes, procedures, and where to go for help

Check for understanding by asking the individual to summarize an assignment

Make expectations specific and quantifiable: "The draft I due in three days, and should include at least six ideas for improving efficiency" or "Thirty entries or more must be made per hour." Avoid vague abstract directives: "Take the data and run with it" or "I want you to take ownership of the project."

If there is a performance problem, bring it to the individual's attention using clear, explicit language. Hints, inferences, and sarcasm will not be understood. Be direct: You must limit e-mails to four paragraphs;" or "There is too much detail in this presentation, what I need is..." or "The priority is to complete the data entry by noon."

Be mindful that [i]what looks like a behavioral or attitude problem is usually a communication problem. [i]Don't take blunt remarks or social gaffes personally.[/I Clarify the individual's intentions. Be specific and matter-of-fact in pointing out inappropriate or unacceptable behavior. General statements such as "you're rude;" or "You're not a team player;" or "How could you say that!?" are confusing. Be direct: "When you tell people to 'be quiet' it's considered rude. Instead, ask them to lower their voices."

Assign a work buddy or mentor to explain social norms, encourage social interaction and answer question. Individuals with Asperger Syndrome often hesitate to ask questions, fearing that they will appear "stupid", or that the wrong question will result in job loss

Relax the standards for "teamwork" where possible and allow these individuals to focus on the technical aspects of the job.

Take sensory difficulties seriously. An individual who is hyper sensitive to noise may require a quiet workspace, noise cancelling headphones, or a white noise machine. Someone with an auditory processing problem may need to use a TTY (text telephone) or other assistive technology. A photo sensitivity can be mitigated by a natural light source, or lamps with incandescent light bulbs.

Give an individual permission to take short breaks in order to avoid sensory overload.

These individuals often experience heightened levels of anxiety, and as a result may magnify a situation. They may panic over a minor mistake or an insignificant disagreement with a co-worker. Often, they do not know how to correct the situation. Do not dismiss concerns as trivial, or something that the individual should know how to handle. Listen, acknowledge concerns and brainstorm an action plan.

Educate human resources personnel, managers, and employees about Asperger's Syndrome. Increased understanding is directly proportional to increased employment success. Retaining just one employee at risk of derailing more than covers investment in training.

Provide a coach who is familiar with conditions like Asperger's Syndrome to work with an employee and his or her manager. The pragmatic, goal oriented nature of coaching, combined with an action plan based on organizational needs, assures that performance objectives are addressed. (Although in most cases it is illegal, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, to ask an employee about a disability, you CAN discuss performance issues



WHAT DO I DO TO FIX THIS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Tell her you think you attached a document by mistake. Your son has Aspergers and you had just sent that document to his school. Guess you needed more coffee.

Done.

You're welcome.

[As a person with a hidden disability and a person who studies autism in workplaces-I do not recommend disclosing disabilities before you're hired!]

Why is that a huge mistake? You'll need the accommodations sooner or later, it might be easier for her to just have them on hand to send to whoever hires you.

She's working to help you, just call her up and be honest. Let her know that you're having anxiety about that list making it more difficult to place you with a job. The list looks boilerplate, being a Schedule A coordinator she has probably seen it before, maybe you could ask her for help in personalizing it for you?

The job coach having this list isn't a bad thing.
Just make sure she doesn't forward it to potential employers too early in the process

Being on the autism spectrum makes you a hidden minority, who can be discriminated against. Since autism is not understood very well by the general population, it make it easier for them to discriminate.

When we send in our resumes and applications, people on the other end can often tell our gender and race, not always, but more often than you might think. For example, "Chris Brewer" is probably a white man, because if it were a woman going by "Chris", she would have used the full version of her name on the resume. "Shay Washington" is probably a black woman. "Shay" could be a white or a black name, but "Washington" is usually a black last name. This gets more obvious with Asian and Latin names. Anyway, often without even knowing it, people will discriminate against a person because they are looking for a certain "kind" of person. It may not be a white person, or a man. Just whatever is in their heads. Since the understanding of autistic people is so sketchy right now, there are few autistic characters in people's heads, and they don't always get hired while being themselves, unless it's for an aspie typecast job, like IT.

Okay, so when we're at the resume and application stage, there aren't any "autistic names" so my point is that the OP was correct in saying it was a mistake to disclose at this stage. He was essentially giving them ammunition to discriminate without letting him get further into the process.