Aspies and Auties as therapists

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Autism therapists who have autism themselves? It's more likely than you think.

I'm a speech/language-therapist-in-the-making (As of May 2011 I'll be a real SLP!). I never thought I'd be doing something like this, originally, but I was drawn to it because of my own difficulties with communication. I feel almost as though I have an advantage over the other women I'm working with, especially when it comes to working with autistic clients (my supervisors know that I have Asperger's and that I'm interested in working with such patients, so they've assigned me to an autism social group this term - it's really fun!). I'm able to relate to my clients and they're responding to me really, really well. There are things about this career that are draining, such as the hectic schedule and the constant contact with people, but I can work around that by spending time alone in my office.

How many of us are SLPs, or Occupational therapists, or psychiatrists? If there are any out there, do you feel like you're at any particular advantage or disadvantage because of your diagnosis/traits? How did you get into this as a career?

I'm going back to school to become a speech therapist. I see language in pictures and that is how I've been teaching my verbal 4 yr old with Autism. I go for my Neuropsych eval next week....

I am an Autism Consultant with a Master's Degree in Special Education. I hated teaching in school due to the constant interaction with co-workers. I was successful with my kiddos but the stress of the other aspects really did a number on me. I find it remarkably easy to determine the most probable causes for issues the kids face because I faced many of them myself.

I'm contemplating a career in special ed/speech therapy/general counselling (probably with a focus on people on the spectrum). Being an SLP might be the most obvious route--I used to teach linguistics for a living and have taught many SLP-wannabes. The structured work environment is also enticing. However, I personally have a very very slight auditory processing problem (not officially diagnosed, but to me it's as clear as day) and I know I have a bit of a verbal tic too. How am I supposed to fix other people's hearing/speech if mine is flawed?

I'm also really interested in being a psychologist working with people with learning disabilities or AS. However, I don't want another PhD---can people qualify to do psychological testing or diagnosis with "just" a Master's?

I currently work in autism research and am contemplating getting out of the field, to be honest.

I wasn't officially diagnosed until after I started working with my current research group, so I didn't expect to have a personal connection to the research when I initially accepted the position. The first few weeks were really hard. I can remember looking at the study measures and realizing that I had so many symptoms.

Because I didn't feel comfortable diagnosing myself, I sought out evaluations from numerous autism experts. It was a challenge to find ones unaffiliated with my current research group, but I found a few, and all have diagnosed me with Asperger's.

The problem now is that I am having a hard time accepting my diagnosis. Almost all of the people I work with on a daily basis seem to understand, except for one investigator, who seems to not understand at all. I keep thinking that if the autism expert doesn't seem to think I am on the spectrum, then maybe I have been misdiagnosed by all the others. I keep coming back to that.

I don't know. I think I may just have a higher standard for her and I feel like she "should understand." It's so frustrating to me.
There are days I want to yell it out to her, just so that she'd understand. I want her to see that I'm not stupid, just struggling to compensate with executive functioning deficits. I want her to understand that dealing with all of the changes she continues to make is unbelievably difficult. I want her to see that I work so much better when there's even just a little structure, instead of this "figure it out as you go along" philosophy.

My other colleagues seem to understand that I have Asperger's, even though I've never officially told them. I think that it just comes with working in the field. They know about my sensory sensitivities, they've experienced my communication problems first-hand, and they know that I don't do well with change. They seem to overlook my weaknesses and focus on my strengths (numbers, mostly, and computers), which I appreciate.

The hardest part of working in the field, for me, is having to keep it a secret. It's illogical, I suppose, since most people seem to have figured it out already, but, for whatever reason, it feels like I'm not supposed to identify myself as a person with Asperger's. So, I constantly feel as if I can not truly be myself. I try my hardest to make eye contact, cope with change, and be socially adept, but it doesn't come naturally. It's a challenge and I feel like a fake most of the time that I'm at work. Sometimes, I feel like it would be a lot easier if I were in a field where I could just be myself.

Also, there is the fact that I'm surrounded my autism pretty much 24/7. When I had no other interests besides work, it felt like I was always thinking about autism. I couldn't get away from it. The line between personal and professional matters is not always clear, even now. Sometimes, I'll find myself scoring a test and realize I can really relate to an item, I'll get lost thinking about my own life, instead of focusing on the subject. Or, I'll see a kiddo that's very high functioning and feel jealous that they're getting intervention that I didn't. I sometimes feel like I use myself as a subconscious standard; if I had to struggle through adolescence and I survived, then others should and can too.

There's also the issue of keeping treatment separate from work. When I was looking for an evaluation, I searched pretty much every psychologist in the state. There were only a few that I could find, which didn't have a connection back to my research group. As it turned out, the psychologist I picked still ended up knowing the people I work with pretty well, and that's been okay, but it still makes the situation a little more complex. Sometimes, I feel like they expect me to know everything about autism already. I don't feel like they provide as much guidance and information to me, as they might to somebody who is not in the autism world.

I don't mean to be discouraging. I truly do think that the insight from somebody who has experienced autism "first hand" is very valuable. I just would caution you a lot about making the decision. It can be really hard to be constantly surrounded by autism. It can also be difficult to feel comfortable being yourself and realizing that even the autism "experts" might not understand your personal struggles. It can be hard to keep the relationship with colleagues work-based and truly understand that you can't expect them to help you out professionally with regard to coping with symptoms of the disorder.