Life with Aspergers

In my last post , I covered the first four of eight steps to financial independence while looking at the key issues that specifically affect autistic people. This time, I want to cover the next two crucial steps; Generating Income and Making Good Investments .  Step 5 Generating Income The foundation of financial independence is generating income, and for most, this means securing a job. While jobs are generally accessible to young people, gaining a foothold in the workforce can be challenging, often requiring prior experience or qualifications. Don't be discouraged if your first job isn't glamorous – sometimes, it's just about getting a foot in the door. My own first job involved making dog food! The key is to commit fully to your current role while always striving for something better. Autism and Job-Seeking Autistic individuals often face unique hurdles in the job market, particularly during the initial recruitment phase. Many of these issues center around the interview ...

If you're the parent of a child with autism or if you work with an autistic individual, you'll often find that they're very resistant to trying new things, even if they seem to be very safe or "easy" to you.  In this post, I want to look at why people with autism are so resistant to trying new things and why it's important to keep trying to push the barriers. The strategies that you use to push the barriers are important too and it's critical that you know when to back off and when to add a little push.  Fear of Failure We all have a fear of failure. Sometimes it's a very real fear of injury or embarrassment but sometimes it's just the fear of failure itself. Many people on the autism spectrum try very hard to achieve "perfection" in their lives and what might seem a simple failure to most people can become a very big deal to them. Some people with autism torture will themselves for decades with thoughts and regrets of "fai...

In part 1 of this series, I covered how to make the most of your final school years in order to gear yourself up towards work.  In part 2 , I looked at developing your CV, and marketing yourself towards jobs. In part 3, I want to look at the interview process, whether or not you should disclose your autism diagnosis and what other options exist to help kids on the spectrum find employment. The Interview Process If you keep applying for jobs, eventually you'll get an interview. If you're applying and not getting any nibbles at all, you need to talk to some new people (people outside of your immediate family). If possible, talk to people in similar jobs to those for which you're applying. They'll help you tweak your resume to get noticed. A little preparation can take a lot of the discomfort out of an interview. Preparation If you're applying for an office job, you'll need to do a lot more preparation than you would for a trade position. Here's a ...

In my last post , I talked about how important it is to get your kids on the spectrum into longer-term work experience, how to make the most of their last year of schooling and how foster independence. I also mentioned how important it is to ensure that you choose to work in an area that aligns with your special interest.  In this post, I want to look at finding, landing and keeping a job. Most of the advice here applies to anyone, however I've tried to take into account some of the difficulties that people on the spectrum face.  Finding Jobs These days, finding a job can be quite difficult especially considering the unemployment rate and the fact that so many people have multiple degrees. People on the spectrum are quite often "under-employed", meaning that they're in jobs where their skills are under-utilised. They're also less likely to have a degree than their non-autistic peers even though they certainly have the ability to get one. One of many issue...

My eldest son now has a job and of course, I'm over the moon. No only does he have a job but it's also in his area of interest and there's a traineeship component. He's going to thrive there.  His employment is the culmination of years of planning and it all went so smoothly that I wanted to talk about it because I feel it's a model that others can follow. In part one of this two part post, I want to look at how you can use the last few years of school to get your teen prepared for a job. The Statistics Before I get into the "how to", I just wanted to take a look at the statistics for people with autism being unemployed, under-employed (in lower paying jobs than they should be) and not completing higher education. The Australian Bureau of statistics published some statistics from 2015 here and here   The results are grim and the story is similar worldwide. In fact, I'd venture to say that statistics and support in Australia are a little bett...

I've posted a few times over the years on the difficulty of finding appropriate jobs for kids with Asperger’s Syndrome and other special needs. There's the need to find a job that matches their special interests but also doesn't involve a lot of confrontational personal contact. You need to find a boss that is understanding of your child's differences and who knows when to push and when to relax the rules… and of course, you need to get your young adult past the interview stage. Sometimes it's just “all too much”, sometimes you need to create that employment environment yourself. Picking the right career  There are two major factors influencing the choice of career; Special interests  Long term availability  Special Interests Your young adult with Aspergers will thrive in an environment that is tied to their special interests but not all interests are career-worthy. If your young adult has an interest in cars, woodwork, animals or computers...

So, you've got a twenty-something year old with Asperger's syndrome and they're more or less, living on the couch, or on the computer or games console. Over my last couple of posts, I've covered some of the reasons why adults with Asperger's syndrome choose to stay at home rather than enter the workforce. I've also covered some of the skills which need to be taught and practised before they're ready for work. In this post, I want to cover the act of "taking flight"... but first, I just want to go over a couple of points; Education & Work Together can become “Overload” If your young adult (YA) is engaged in tertiary study, for example at a University or College, you probably can't expect them to hold down a job as well. Remember that people with Asperger's usually need time away from others, particularly after a very "social" day. It's not impossible but I'd advise against it, especially in the first year....

Last time, I looked at adults with Asperger’s syndrome who had trouble leaving the house, and who were more often than not, video-game addicted.  In particular, I looked at the possible reasons that they could have for such behaviour. The aim of this series of posts is not to force people with Asperger’s syndrome into jobs but to enable them to live a more rewarding and fulfilling life. At best, this means becoming financially independent but in some cases, simply feeling “brave enough” to leave the house on their own is a big accomplishment. Taking a step back from my last post,  this time I want to look at some of the ways we can prepare our kids for adulthood in modern society. Horror Stories of Our Generation Every generation wants to ensure that their children grow up with less hardship than they did. When I was a child, my parents took great delight in telling me about the things they had to do as children. I was horrified to learn that things that I took for...