Work

finding work has been a problem in my life. I have struggled to find one that I am good at, that is within walking distance, that the manager is actually sympathetic to how I process things. I have only found a hand full of people who have actually been sympathetic to how slow I am at learning and at how slow I can be at doing things in general. the five main jobs I have had in my life have been delivering news papers, working in fast food restaraunts, at one time, I was a Library Assistant, that I got let go from, and I was also a Sample person at Costco, as well as a custodian. A common trouble that people with high functioning Autism have is finding a job that is good for them, that is at the level of ability that truly reflects them. My Father had this problem. He was a Custodian basically his whole adult life. He was a smart man, not in the way that others imagine smart as being, but he was. He did struggle with his place in life, and not having many people who understood how he felt. A lot of the time he would take his frustration out on us, and that would bring stress into our own life, and some times, make us feel less useful.

One other thing my father struggled with however was admitting his faults. for the life of him, he would not admit that he had social problems, which I have been told that I am better at. because of this, I have made moves to ensure that I do not have that problem put on others. I actually got diagnosed with a PDD-NOS, and I went to Vocational Rehabilitation that is helping me out with school, and other things. through this I was finally able to get disability services from school, for extra time on Tests, and I can have a note taker. for this I just use my Lab top, but I could have someone else take notes for me if I so desired.

some have wondered if it is cheating or not, but the thing with it is it's more about getting an individual the best chance of doing well in school, and in life. If someone judges the smarts of a fish being able to ride a bicycle, is that a fair assessment? The same goes with education. the services are not there to do the work for a student, they are there to help them overcome their weaknesses. As far as getting help with employment, it is illegal to discriminate against a person if they have a disability, physical or mental. This law is not to make people do things that they otherwise can not do, but it is there for people who would otherwise be discriminated for a job we can do. When we are in a time that there is no guarantee's in getting a job in this economy, there is some comfort in knowing that there is some safety in keeping one once we get a job. Note that this doesn't solve all the problems but it does help.