How to become an ASD professional?

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Hello everyone

I currently work in HR for an education software company. I have been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome and have become increasingly frustrated over the last few months due to the unstructured workload that doesn't give me the organisational input I require to work. Since the day I was diagnosed by a specialist I have wondered if there could be more that could be done to limit some of the effects that the everyday build up of stress and frustration that seems to be prominent in autism.

What I would like to ask of the members of Wrongplanet would be, how do I become a certified autistic spectrum disorder professional in Great Britain? I have just come to the conclusion that the help offered to adults is minimal and I would like to devote my life to the research and development of this field but don't know the first steps to take.

If anybody has any suggestions that would lead me in to becoming an asd professional I am always willing to listen. Also any input on your own personal struggles going in to adulthood with a ASD and the help provided would also be informative. I have read in to aspergers syndrome after my diagnosis and a lot of the information is tailored to children.

Wouldn't that be a clinical psychologist who specialises in ASD? You would have to do a psych degree, followed by a master's in clinical psychology, and specialise in ASD. There are certainly clinics around that specialise in ASD, including adult ASD (e.g. relationships, employment, emotional regulation), although they primarily focus on children.

Would you be able to recommend a regionally specific education setting in Yorkshire? The problem with going down the typical route is that you are never guaranteed work after graduating. So with this in mind I am really wanting to know specifics. What university or college would be high enough status to gain a graduate psychology degree and to have a high standing when looking for the needed experience to take the step in to this field?

As with everything I do, I need as much information as possible for these steps. This would need to include any possible connections in the region. There Is help available to adults but the only thing offered to me was a social group which explains certain things using NAS factsheets and videos.

Sorry. I am on the opposite side of the world to you - Sydney Australia.

I wouldn't have much clue about the English academic setting at all. I do know Cambridge University has an Autism Research Centre under Simon Baron-Cohen, but that is about it.

I don't know exactly what you want to do as a professional (diagnose? behavioral therapy? research?), but, at least in the US, two good options would be either Clinical Psychology or School Psychology. Another is the BCBA (Board Certified Behavioral Analyst), which is starting to catch on in the states at any rate. http://www.bacb.com/

If you want to improve the lot of aspies, you need to be an activist.

The measures to improve aspie lives are societal, and require a massive leap in the evolution of accepting difference. Currently we live in a one size fits all world.

training in politics and law maybe more helpful

Psyche training is there to make you a psyche and we have plenty of those already

While I think more activists need to involve with traditional ASD research, this is not a route to improved understanding in the short run as ASD research only deals with how to cure ASDs, and how to treat them, and not with society which is the cause of much of our problems today. Similary, one could also get involved in practical help with people on the spectrum, and as an ASD person would be much better suited for this, but again, this won't make much of a difference apart those you work with.

Instead, I think there are three major options in order to make a difference: Start research projects around neurodiversity, and get them published, write a book about yourself, and start doing lectures to educate people about how you work, or involve in activism of some type.

If you're in Yorkshire, try Leeds or Sheffield Universities- they have the best reputation up there. What you could do is look at the uni league tables at psychology to see what's thought of as best, and then look at the employment statistics of your chosen universities. If you want to specialise in ASDs, try to find a uni where a specialist works in the psychology dept so you can work with an expert.

I'm trying Birmingham uni for Educational Psychology for these very reasons.

I'm studying psychology in the University of York at the moment, which has a pretty good reputation. We've only had one lecture specifically on autistic spectrum disorders though, but it's a pretty niche area compared to psychology as a whole so I expect that's standard in most courses. There are clinical options in the 3rd year but I think you need to build up some work experience to take them.

Study Psychology and IF you have to.. create your own branch/theories of psychology to suit the needs of Autists. Also, you can lecture, write a book and be an activist IF you so choose to.

TheSunAlsoRises

I know there are Applied Behavior Analysis certificate and graduate programs in the US. I don't know about the UK though.

Apologies for not replying sooner, i wasn't expecting much of a response but i have read quite a lot of good input. Although i still have the problem of saving the money to go and do this venture, i believe it will be worth the time.

I work in Sheffield currently and i also received my diagnosis there, so the choice of Sheffield University does sound appealing. I'm hoping i can work my way through my studies so i am going to start looking at time lines and enquire with the University. Looking at the website though it all seems pointlessly informative about how great it is.