If you live in the USA:
Research "Peer Support Services" as a possible opportunity to look into a job that deals specifically with your diagnosis. I do not know if Autism is qualified under that specific work certification, but it may be. Alternatively, you can investigate what sorts of Autism agencies are in your area, and investigate what sorts of jobs and/or advocacy is available within or related to those agencies. Google "Autism Advocacy Networks" with your specific area included (So for instance, "Autism Advocacy Networks Yuba City" ought to turn up some results, if your visible profile info is correct). You can also look into other similar job opportunities, or, if you have the ability to do so, you could go to college and get a degree in psychology specifically geared towards Autism.
There are plenty of benefits of people who have certain conditions getting a degree that deal very specifically with those conditions. No one else understands what it is like to have Autism better than a person who has Autism. The downside is that there is a stigma related to it... some people, even professionals, might assume that a person who is Autistic might not have the capacities to do work related to Autism. And for some individuals, that may be correct: There are difficulties that may be apparent in working with others who are autistic that you may not recognize.
But who knows?
Even if you do not want to make a career out of it, or get into a scholarly lifelong research goal for it, that does not mean you can't advocate for it. In my area there are agencies that have support groups related to Autism, which is volunteer work or self help related. you can advocate that way by joining with such an agency to talk about Autism publicly.
I have also seen several youtube channels that deal with Autism. Self advocacy can also be useful to others if done on a public platform.
I know all this because I already work in a field that is somewhat similar, and am beginning to look into making shifts to do this myself. The barrier I have is that I am not formally diagnosed: I am about a year or two out from being able to get assessed, and that doesn't mean that I will be diagnosed (even if I am pretty confident I am on the spectrum). So I do not qualify for some things because, as an example, becoming a Peer Support specialist requires a diagnosis and 2+ years of "recovery." recovery is a loose term...it just means you have had the diagnosis for 2 years and have shown signs of improvement, which is very subjective for incurable situations like Autism. In my case, arguably I could get a waiver to qualify because getting a diagnosis just means it was identified at my age: I have been "in recovery" since I was born. I doubt anyone would argue against that. But again, need that Dx first...
but then I have other avenues available to me just because of my experience. You probably have different opportunities available to you that either I do not have, or are unique to your circumstances.
19 Aug 2021, 4:56 pm
