Ways AS can screw up job performance

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I've had several problems with AS (before I knew I had it) and how it affected how I did my job.

For example, at McDonalds, when one takes out the trash to the outdoor compactor, one has to lock the freezers and the dry goods storeroom so that someone doesn't sneak in to steal food. One time it was my turn to do it, and the manager said, "Don't forget to lock up." For some reason my brain went on a crazy tangent and thought he meant the exit door, and I completely forgot about locking the other doors. When I got in from taking the trash out he knew I hadn't locked anything so I got sent home. I explained to my parents that I'd gotten confused, so I was not fired. But still...bleh.

Another time, I was being given an evaluation. I was asked whether I thought my performance on any given task I did was good, satisfactory, or needed improvement. Not realizing what 'needed improvement' meant, I answered that to all. Because seriously, though I was doing a good job, I did think it needed improvement. I ended up not getting a raise.

Another time, I was working the grill. I'd a particular way of getting the grease off the upper clamshell grill, that wasn't exactly like how they showed us. I did not do it the way they showed us because I was afraid of burning my wrist. Some manager saw me doing this the 'incorrect' way (though IMO it was a far superior way). I refused to do it the other way and I got let go.

MY LIST:

(1) Executive Functioning Problems-Difficulty prioritizing and organizing at times.
(2) Social Difficulties-problems with co-workers. Difficulty managing multiple, complex social situations.
(3) Anxiety-often co-morbid with AS. Has made it impossible for me to even count change.
(4) Sensory Overload-makes work exhausting and makes us completely unable to focus towards the end of the workday sometimes.

That is really unfair, and I know what it's like when it comes do certain things while in a job, that is, if I am even LUCKY enough in the FIRST place to get my hands on a job!!

A little while ago I worked at Subway (apparently.. to me it's like a fragmented dream, rather than a memory now), and I succumbed to the rush of people.. it was a pressure I could not handle, and frequently I had to be sent home when I would sorta.. black out, so to speak. Actually, it was more like maybe my brain being fried.. I dunno.
Sorta like I was kinda in the background in my head, but nothing seemed to work..

Also when I worked at Woolworths (the local supermarket), I had my own way of taking care of certain tasks which were left entirely up to me.
Okay, as hard as I worked, apparently I was too slow.. even if I gave it my all.
One time, one of the ones in charge of the department I worked in went off at me because I wasn't doing the job the way she would do it. She even led me into the cooler ESPECIALLY to have a go at me, and saying that I was in the wrong, and that she was ALWAYS right.
She (I refer to her as "The Troll".. tiny, nasty, and when she isn't wearing her glasses she has really beady freaky eyes) even said untrue things about me and this resulted in me getting in quite a bit of trouble.
One time she even almost crushed me to death by speeding through the storeroom on a forklift, with a pallet of crates, and crashed into the pallet of crates I was about to move.
This caused the crates, full of potatoes (and stacked quite high) to begin to topple my way, just after the force of the impact sent me backwards and onto the ground. But thankfully the crates were tied together, and thankfully they stabled themselves.
Seriously - I would have been killed.
Then she comes around, and starts yelling at me!! Why? Because I didn't tell her to stop.
How could I if I was doing MY job?
Besides, I couldn't see the forklift from behind that pallet, AND she was the one driving.. SHE should have been the one watching where she was going..
I suffered constant depression there.. and that's not all, but I should cut the stories or this would be a VERY long post.. ^^;;

I can see where you might read the "Needs Improvement" part wrong - I mean, you're rating yourself, and what would be wrong with improving on what you already know and can do?
Did you explain it to them?

There is one other thing when it comes to finding jobs.. apparently people can pick up that there is something.. not quite right with me.
It's actually really frustrating.
And.. have you guys ever had it that because you have AS, people treat you or go around you as if you are completely ret*d?

Mine is more subtle. I don't work and play well with others, so I don't come up for a "competitive" promotion. The autism interferes with my ability to lead others, so I am killed there. I am extremely unmotivated (uninteresting work) and can't get interesting work because others fear my ideas that often buck the conventional wisdom. I'd quit if I didn't need the money, which is quite good.

1. Social issues with coworkers: sometimes it's not remembering social niceties but it's also the more subtle things like not mingling well so I don't find out about things that everyone else knows are happening and the kind of assignments and opportunities that more social people seem to just fall into.

2. Misunderstanding instructions. I'm especially bad at things that others deem to be "intuitive" and therefore not requiring explanation. I'll screw them up every time. (I'm fairly certain that "intuitive" is code for "I'm too lazy to explain it, so I'll just wait and fuss at you when you screw it up.")

3. I can not seem to manage people well, not even when it's just one other person. Or maybe it's just the person.

4. I'm constantly late. My boss jokes that I've been on flex time since the day I started.

All of the above. The worst for me was always messing up really simple stuff and difficulty with following instructions. The most annoying little thing though is the inability to say no, bosses can really take advantage with silly shift patterns and overtime if you let them.

What led me to get an official diagnosis was that I was kicked out of an internship because I would become so focused on my work that I didn't stop what I was doing to look at a co-worker who was talking to me. Another issue is that if someone stands over me while doing something that requires accuracy, I'm more likely to make a mistake, especially if they say something to me. This happened once while I was doing a temp job where I was doing data entry, and I was relieved when that contract ended because it meant that I didn't have to deal with the anxiety of that individual standing behind me while I was trying to do the job.

Oh, I've also been told that I'm bad at explaining things clearly. For some reason, people don't tell me when they don't understand something I'm explaining to them, though, they just say, "uh-huh." My daughter tells me this is fairly normal, that most people would do the same thing. I have no idea why. When I know that I don't understand something, I let the person know I don't understand it. It works out better in the end.

I have a tendency to treat my bosses as equals... and you're not supposed to do that. I'd point out when they do something wrong or could be doing it better, etc.