Working with low-functioning autistic adults

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compcuanol
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
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12 Dec 2012, 8:47 am

Hello. I've been thinking about applying for a job where my mom works. Mostly because I have more chances of being hired. She works with autistic adults, the "classic" kind who have to be taken care of.
I was wondering if anyone ever worked, or had prolonged interraction with the "other kind" of autism. Is there a good chemistry between people on opposite ends of the spectrum ?

I hope you understand what I'm trying to ask, my english gets worse when I'm tired and I never quite understood the appropriate terms around autism. To be honest, I still don't know if I should say I AM asperger or I HAVE asperger.

Any answers will be appreciated



deltafunction
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12 Dec 2012, 9:34 am

I've worked along side others with LFA kids for short periods of times and I've seen case workers with LFA adults. TBH sometimes it seems like a whole different playing field. These people may self-injure excessively and you have to deal with that - knowing how to keep them safe and pretty much letting them take it out since it's really hard to get through to them when they're doing it. Even basic communication can sometimes be a problem - they need to be told instructions in a certain way, from a certain person or repeatedly. Others who don't self-injure as much seem tamer. Though you may have an easier time understanding why they act a certain way, you may still have as much trouble communicating with them, at least in my (limited) experience. It's definitely worth a shot and is a great learning experience to work with LFA adults, so go for it. Let us know how it goes :)



monkees4va
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12 Dec 2012, 8:15 pm

I'm an aspie about to start a job in the same sort of field myself. I'm terrified my communication barriers are already going to stunt my job performance, but I want to push myself. My best friend is a support worker in the same company, and she's slowly introduced me to the field. I've met some of her clients, they're all different. Some are completely non-verbal, others can talk and some will only talk if they want too. Some can lash out when they're angry or anxious and others just do as they're told. The two links below are fantastic videos about working with severe autism, the first one from the view of the professionals and the second from the view of the autistic person. The aspergers woman scares me, just because she's like my clone XD

http://www.scie.org.uk/socialcaretv/vid ... f9a0817c01

http://www.scie.org.uk/socialcaretv/vid ... E3EDF72B0A

There's also a strong chance I could have an autistic child in the future, which is another reason I want to learn the skills needed to deal with sevre autism.


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