Any Aspie social workers here?

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The answer will probably be no, but I'm just curious. I don't think I should do it anymore after losing my bird. I just feel so lost and hopeless.

grief is a common life experience that would help you relate to the folks you serve. it certainly doesn't disqualify you.

True, but I honestly don't know what to do anymore. My life really sucks right now.

care to talk? you could PM me.

I'm still going to pursue social work, but now I have a lot of people telling me I shouldn't because of the Asperger's!!

I want to be a social worker! I'm just trying to figure out how to make schooling work.

[quote="peaceloveerin"]I'm still going to pursue social work, but now I have a lot of people telling me I shouldn't because of the Asperger's!![/quote
From what I've been told from psychologists is that an Asperger's diagnosis shouldn't automatically disqualify you from pursuing the career of your dreams. People with AS are able to learn, and there's all kinds of shades/degrees of it.

I am not a licensed social worker. However, I have worked as a case manager with adult substance abusers in a forensics setting.
Asperger's made my job more difficult because I have to spend most of my time talking to people. Also, there is a big emphasis on being what I call "lovey dovey," basically being warm and empathetic. Asperger's prevents me from doing these things and it made me feel insecure, like I wasn't doing a good job. Also, the emphasis on interpersonal communication made me use a lot of mental energy to try to figure out what people were really saying to me. I would be exhausted everyday after work.

With that being said, I was a good case manager because I was driven to do a good job. I am a perfectionist in all things.

The thing that makes me not very well suitable for social work is the fact that I suffered so much abuse growing up. I cannot separate myself emotionally from a lot of my clients. This has led to problems with falling in love with female clients, trying to rescue people (regardless of sex), and feeling heartbroken when people fail.

I am currently looking for a different career. I am passionate about helping people and I am passionate about social justice, but I don't think I can do it full-time for a career. I need to focus all my energy on my own mental health issues. Realistically, I need a case manager to help me. I don't need to be doing the helping because I have so many issues and I am less than fully functional.

I just passed the ASWB Bachelors exam a week ago! Thinking back, I was worried about how my aspergers would affect my practice during my internship. I discovered something surprising and beneficial. When I come to the table unable to instinctively read body language and social cues, I can shed the cultural baggage that might impede me from effective practice.
For instance, one of the clients I worked with was a juvenile offender of East African origin. During our sessions, initially, he would look down at the table or the ground, instead of directly at me. A white person is raised to believe that the eyes are the window to the soul, and that the behavior this young man was exhibiting was dishonest or deceptive. I would've just assumed that without even thinking about it, if I was neurotypical. Because I'm an aspie interpreting behavior and body language on manual, I remembered from my studies that East African youths do not look elders or superiors in the eye, but rather avert their gaze as a sign of respect. If I were neurotypical, we probably would've gotten off to a bad start immediately.

There are many organisations that specialised in supporting HFA/Asperger. Usually the team composition is a clinical psychologist + 1/2 social workers who worked to help with counselling or career or social skills coaching. I think Aspies who interested in working as a social worker should aim for those position. As Dr. Tony Attwood mentioned Aspie clinical psychologist working for Aspies are great idea because there is more credibility in terms of common experience. In my own opinion, for an Aspie to be a social worker, there will be a lot of adversity and limitations. If we believe God will supply the strength and trust that because He is able. Aspie can conquer the adversity to be a social worker/counsellor/clinical psychologist for Aspies.

I have a friend who works at a women's help line for college students. I couldn't tell she was an aspie until she told me (even though I study ASD/AS) but from what she's said, she still has a lot of problems around people who don't get her.

I had a problem last year and went to her for help. She said all the right things and directed me to the right people. I think her internal scripts and different way of seeing things worked great in an emergency situation. She didn't try to understand or relate-she got the information she needed from me and then made sure I connected to the right resources. I think any aspie who wants to pursue social work (for people or animals) should definitely go for it. Your natural talents can be way more useful than you might think.