jobs4autism.com » high-functioning

The Voice of Experience – A Texas Autism Story

Barbara — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:14:17 +0000

Greg posted a comment on one of the posts that was so full of insight and information I felt it should be shared, so I’m copying it here…

“I am on the higher functioning end and have had people comment on walking slow, not being flexible enough, etc. I would be glad to share how I got disability with a lot of patience, a lawyer, and the effects of our condition such as anxiety, depression, and fatigue. You have to have some detailed notes etc. Once you get turned down you can get a lawyer at no cost up front - comes out of lump sum disability payment.

I volunteer right now and would like to have a job but after years of not being able to hold on and my age, now it will be hard. I am a dedicated and committed employee. It is just on the high functioning end. People want to ask what is wrong and instead I get fired. I got social security so I can have the disability protection that at the time could help me keep a job, due to past harassment from employers. You have to stay the course.

Texas is not the best place for help. I went to the re-hab folks and was told I was too old. They cannot help. I would be glad to share my process more, that started when I was a kid.”

photo from www.autismparents.net

Autistic Person Who loves Photography hopes one day to be a professional.

tdomf_7a1de — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:24:42 +0000

My name is Craig Thomson I suffer from Aspergers syndrome which is a form of autism.

Autism is a life-long Social and developmental disorder. However I have never let it hinder me from pursuing my obsession for photography.

Although I have problems doing the most simple of tasks like crossing the road, tying my shoe laces and dealing with social situations I find photography very uncomplicated and I love it.

I used to go for walks down the fields near my mum and dads house. I found this was my place to escape the social world as it was miles of deserted farmland. This was a regular thing for me to do from the age of 8. I spent most of my life in and around nature.

Around the age of 19 I figured I would start taking pictures of the wildlife and sights I found in the fields near my house. I had fun trying to sneak up on them and get pictures.

I started experimenting with photography as a hobby at the age of 19 where I got my first camera which was a totally manual vivitar v3800N SLR film camera. Later I got a Nikon D40 digital SLR.

I have been passionate about it ever since. I am now 25 and mainly focus on wildlife and landscape photography.

Due to my condition I have “Sensory sensitivity” so I see the world around me differently than others, I hope that my pictures reflect how a person with autism see’s the world around them.

Now I want to turn my hobby into a profession I’d love to be a professional photographer.

I recently posted a video about wanting to be a professional photographer on you tube and I’ve had a lot of response from it so far. Here it is…

Living her dream, despite autism: an Autism Story

Barbara — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:51:42 +0000

I am a divorced, single mother of three children-two girls and a boy. My son is 14 and was diagnosed with PDD-Nos when he was four yrs old. He is currently living with his father being that he needed a male role model. He also is thought to have aspergers.

I can relate being that I also had to struggle with autistic and sensory issues as a child. My cousin also struggled with mild autism-he is currently married with three children-all his kids are normal.

I am currently attending online college working on my bachelors degree in medical services management. I am also in the air force reserves (I got in with several waivers back in 1987). So you can see-it runs in my family along with depression and adhd. I also have adhd along with my youngest daughter. She doesn’t have autistic tendencies-very outgoing child. I also had to work through mild learning disability as a child.

My son is in cross-cat special ed classes. He is very comical, really-very funny kid- tries to not let his disability get in the way of enjoying life. He was diagnosed (like me when I was small) with being mildly retarded. I dislike that word very much.

I was wondering - is there proof that there may be a genetic link to autism or autistic/sensory issues? I am still quirky at times, myself. I am hoping that once I get my bachelors degree, I will be able to be put in a position to encourage or inspire others who have children or loved-ones with mild disabilities to keep working with them and not lose hope on the possibility that they may still be able to live their dreams. I am living proof of that along with my cousin. My son is working through his disability right now.
PS- I am currently carrying a 4.0 GPA -a miracle in itself

Get a Master’s degree, dig ditches – An Autism Job Request

tdomf_7a1de — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:15:24 +0000

I have never seen a job I wanted. I went to school until there were no more degrees to get. After graduation I sought and got a series of jobs that any ditch digger could do. It did not occur to me to aim higher until I realized all these low-aiming jobs are painfully dull.

I have sought and received excellent career counseling but sadly found no career ideas with them.

One light is here: Socrates Cafe. For about 6 years now I have been facilitating two such groups and am told by the long-attending participants that I am especially good at it. What I do is ask good questions of people which results in good answers. I also make sure people don’t talk too much nor too little. And when someone is speaking I make sure they have fully expressed themselves before anyone else gets to speak.

No one does this for a living. Many skilled people do it as a part of their living (journalists — DO NOT ask me to cover a town hall meetings; managers — I dread the thought of disciplining employees, Chairpersons of the Boards — yeah, right) but because this is my “special interest” I find any job that merely includes group facilitation to be uninteresting.

I would be thrilled beyond imagination if you can help me.

Finally figured it out late in life – an Asperger’s Job Search Story

tdomf_7a1de — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:17:58 +0000

My son is nearly 21yrs old and it is only recently that I’ve figured out that he could literally be the poster child for Asperger’s Syndrome (wonder if they need a model…). He just recently finished his 2nd year of college, and although he struggled greatly due to social problems in elementary school, we moved him from public to private school where the problems decreased a bit, and his grades improved dramatically. I’m not saying that the social “strangeness” changed. Let’s face it, kids with Asperger’s are always the oddball and usually the target of bullies.
He was tested for ADD/ADHD, etc.. when he was younger, but it was during a time when all of the counselors just wanted to label every kid with ADHD and put them on a pill. I was once completely against medicating my children, but if they came out with a pill to treat Asperger’s tomorrow… I would be the first in line!
We’re now looking for a job. I say “we” because he’s now making me frustrated. He applied for jobs via walk-ins, he’s had a single job that lasted all of 3mos his entire life – but he knows what he’s doing. The fact that he took his friend, younger brother, and cousin along with him while asking for applications was probably the first reason that any applications that he filled out were filed in the “circular bin”. The next knock against him was being dressed in heavy metal tee-shirts and putting no effort into his appearance prior to going out to ask for applications… and we’re not even going to talk about how long it took me to get it through his head that the employers are not obligated to call, interview him or tell him that they’ve decided on another applicant.
Talking on the telephone is another hurdle. Time and time again he has been told that the first thing he should do is introduce himself – it doesn’t matter if it is the person he is looking to speak with or the Pope on the other end of the phone, the first words out of his mouth should be “Hello, my name is….”. I cringe and make sure I’m not holding anything heavy to throw across the room because I can bank on the first words out of his mouth being “Who’s this” – after he is the one that dialed the call!
I am currently looking for information as to how to go about having him tested now that he is older. It was a really touchy situation trying to explain that I think he has a problem, but I was able to get him to agree to seeing people that could help him because they would have resources on finding him a suitable job. This really needs to happen, I don’t like the idea of him being labeled, but it is the only way to get him the services that are needed to help him.
It is so difficult being the parent of a grown child with this problem – especially after both of us have suffered through the battle of his social quirkiness for so long already. There is no way to give him constructive criticism without it sounding like I am bashing him, but as bright as he is (and he is very intelligent), he just does not have the capacity to realize that some of his behaviors and the things that he says are at times inappropriate, and now that he is older, I can honestly say that it sometimes makes him sound like he’s a real jerk.
If I can pass anything on from my experiences, it would be to allow your child to be labeled at a young age – these children can usually function on a normal to above average intelligence level and will not need special classrooms. However, the teacher will be empowered by knowing how to deal with things and it will also be helpful if the students in the childs’ classrooms are also educated on the condition because they will be less likely to tease a child if they know that there is a reason why the child sometimes does things differently and will be less inclined to ostracize your child.

Aspie Mama – An Asperger’s Job Story and a Bit of Advice

Barbara — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:21:41 +0000

I have six children, three of whom have Aspergers/PDD-NOS — and my hubby is an undiagnosed Aspie. I am fairly certain I have some aspects myself, as my hubby is just like my father and brother! Husband is a graduate of Stanford University — 2 degrees in EE. He has been employed as an engineer w/the same company for over 20 years now. He finds a lot of aspects of his job challenging, as he just doesn’t “get” the social stuff very well. But he is a hard worker, brilliant, and somehow, has managed.

I have been home with the kids for 20 years now, and we homeschool. We love it. Three of our boys are very quirky, and our oldest has had great difficulty. He attempted university, but came back home after a semester. He is now going to community college, has just moved into an apartment, and is working PT. He has great difficulty finding and keeping jobs, too, as he also has fibromyalgia, and is in pain a lot of the time. There are a lot of challenges in life, but we just take it one day at a time. Peace to you all — stay positive, and continue to reach out and seek help!