Lorie’s Son…”In Between”: An Autism Job Dilemma
“I have a son who is 20 and has always had a hard time keeping a job. He was pre- approved for disability then turned down after 2 months. He has used rehab services and over a year ago they got him a job but he got fired from it and they have not found anything else for him to do. His last job was a temp job and he was let go for being too slow. We run into this kinda stuff all the time. Any HELP out there??? He is on the lower level of the autism spectrum so there are a lot services he isn’t able to use. It’s like one just in between and no help anywhere.”
- contributed by Lorie
Lorie, thank you for sharing your son’s story.
Anyone out there have a similar experience? Anyone have some advice for Lorie and her son?
I am a lot older than her son and on the higher functioning end and have had people comment on walking slow, not being flexable enough etc. I would be glad to share how I got disablity with a lot of patientance, a lawyer, and the effects of our condition such as anxiety, depression, and fateague, 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 disablity 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 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 disablity protection that at the time could help me keep a job and due to past harriashment from employers. you have to stay the course. Texas it not the best place for help. I went to re hab folks and was told I was too old. can not help. I would be glad to share my process more. that started as a kid.
thanks to everyone good stuff.he got disability for 2 months and then taken away.for a history of being able to work. i even got letters from his employers of how it related to his asberger’s. for being let go.next step i guess is a lawyer for him. right now he is working at a temp service. i’m so thankful for them. wonderful people. i have plans to try and get him to change some of his meds so maybe it will work on anxiety,i think without a job his anixiety gets out of hand. thank again to everyone.
sounds so much like my son. getting a lawyer is our nest step. yes he too has anxiety,and i understand.i just was hoping he would be able to keep a job down the road.to be so young i wanted him to try. thanks to everyone.
Lorie–
Two thoughts for you:
1) Your son may need a job coach to be a liaison with the employer as well as help him improve his productivity over time. The job coach can see if small adaptations need to be made, etc. Maybe your son can volunteer to try a job out before actually starting and the kinks could be worked out beforehand. If the employer knew he was making progress and had a job coach working with him, maybe the employer would be more understanding? The other approach is to have the job coach make sure the work gets done in a timely manner — he/she might have to do some of it at first until your son can learn to do more.
2) The other approach might be to get work that can be picked up & delivered and done off-site. Then he could get more time if he needed it. My son (low-functioning autism) does this. When he has a bad day and makes little progress, no one knows except us. When he has a good day, he has more time for basketball (his fave activity). But over 2 years of doing laundry, my son has really amazed me at how much he can do himself now.
Just some thoughts …
thanks again, rehab said to to the job coach. i will do it if i have to myself.i don’t know about everyone else but for me the older he gets the less he wants the world to know.
Lorie,
Does your state have a rehabilitation center? Arkansas has one and it is where students go and live on campus and are taught a trade such as automotive repair, collision repair, welding, cooking, etc…
They also teach them job skills like how to write a resume and how to interview for a job. My daughter is in the printing program here in AR and she loves it.
Check out Walgreens, they are currently launching a pilot in Dallas/Ft Worth to employ people with disabilities. VP of Logistics, Randy Lewishas an adult son with Autism.
I’m in the same boat Lorie. we need to celebrate our heroes, like Randy Lewis and support business like Walgreens that are supporting our kids.
yes i heard that too. thanks we will check into it. good luck. it makes ya wonder, what will happen to all these children as they grow up and we grow old and die. we all need to stand up and tell our goverment how worried we are for our children.
Thanks for these suggestions, Christy and Ingrid. I didn’t know about them!
I have a daughter with Aspergers, the high end of the Autism spectrum. She has a placement person who is supposed to help her find employment but they don’t intervene until the individual finds a job. Getting hired is the biggest barrier. With her social and communication barriers she doesn’t make it past the interview. Helping her find employment is very frustrating. She needs a job so that she can learn to be responsible for taking care of her self at even a very basic level. Virginia has a very good rehab center where individuals can can go to learn vocational and living skills. She has been to one 2 week training and is looking at going again for a 9 week living skills training.
My son will be 18 in 2 weeks and he is so close to being in legal trouble if he doesn’t get help. He doesn’t have but one or two friends and neither does anything with him out Of School. He is always with his father and I and his three sisters. He never gets a break from us. I do let him stay home alone, I feel he needs time away from all of us. [He probably] wants to live away from us, but he has no income he is still a full time student. He goes to the career center through the public school, he wants a girlfriend so bad, that is how he is getting in trouble he follows girls around or writes notes and uses lyrics of songs to write to them. Some of what he writes is threatening the girls he doesn’t understand why everyone gets so upset. He doesn’t [realize] what he does is bad, he says that he just writes them a letter. Is there anyone that can help me? We don’t have money to pay for any counseling or special school or housing. We live in Bronson mi not many resources are available here. Please help me I am stuck.!!!!
wow,when you say legal trouble are you talking about pot (drugs)? i say that cause some kids will self medicate just to get a break from feeling like they are out of their own skin. or are you talking about the letters? i know counseling here is done on income of my sons pay so like most of the time it’s like 7to 20 dollars. not bad check with rehab. call everyone ask everyone and your state rep.make them hear you.also after he is 18 if you have insurence you can see about filing for handicap disability claws and keeping him on your insurance.
I too have a 20 year old son with Asperger’s. He is functioning enough to manage, but not quite high enough to be successful. He falls short of meeting criteria for services, but is not able to be sufficient on his own. The job search is the most frustrating.
I think the suggestion about getting work that can be done off site is good… but what kind of work would that be? Also, where does one find a job coach? We are in SC.
There was a reference in one of the February posts on this site. I copied it in. Not sure who sent it in but here’s the info:
If you are interesed in a private coach, you can contact Bill Goodyear at billgoodyear.org. He is a very experienced coach. He is also mentoring a cadre of coaches. I am participating in that project, and am also a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation with many years experience working with individuals on the spectrum and their families. A coach would work on developing a vision of what he would like to do with him, and then agree on goals and steps to take to reach them. A supportive coach can make all the difference!
The type of coaching I’m talking about is somewhat different than a job coach, per se, who often goes with the individual and supports them in learning a specific job. A Life/career coach might do some hands on things, but often coaches by phone or Skype. Check out Bill’s website.
job coach is done through rehab service.they may test too to see if he can so to a trade school or collage.
It was mentioned earlier, but Walgreen’s already has a facility in Anderson, SC that employs individuals with autism. This program is exemplary and I am pleased to hear they are expanding it to other states.
My 20-year old son has Asperger Syndrome, graduated high school and has vocational training in computers. The job market is very tight here. We are on two-month waiting list for the state vocational rehab center. So we are looking into volunteer opportunities to give him job experiences and positive social interactions — and be productive — and
get him out of the house.
Somewhere I read about a way to have a job coach from a distance. There was some electronic way that the job coach could “be with” the person, and give them cues, etc… from a remote location. I don’t remember what this is called; does anyone else know?
thanks to all of you and best of luck.