Working With Autism

Most people want to be able to work at a job we love and be successful at it, but when it comes to working with Asperger’s, it can be hard. We want to be treated with as much respect as possible like everyone else and prove we can do the job, but on the other hand, working eight-hour days and working many days in a row can be challenging. Some of us don’t have the mental power to work such long days.

When I’m working and I need a quick break from what I’m doing, I take a walk. I do a quick lap around the building or go into the break room and grab a glass of water. I just need a minute to charge. Once I have a moment, I’m back and ready to work again.

Nine times out of ten, I get along with people, but I’m not a people person and working with people with different personalities and opinions is part of the job. At times I feel like I’m not doing a good job, but I know if there was a problem with how I was working or if there was a concern about the way I was doing something, then someone would have talked to me.

I ask questions, even if I already know the answer. I want to double-check and know I’m doing it right — especially when it comes to working the cash register. When it comes to money, I don’t want to mess around.

I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. I want to be able to do things in a way that feels comfortable to me. I want to be successful in my own way and know I worked hard to get to where I want to be. I want to show the world that someone with Asperger’s can build something from the ground up and live a life that has meaning and purpose. I want to be able to do the things I love. I want to work and not have it feel like a job. I want to wake up every day and know that I’m supposed to do what I was meant to do.

I’ve feel like if I was able to do what I love and be successful at it then I know that I was meant to do what I’m supposed to do. I want to be in a position where if something were to happen and I couldn’t physically work, I would be able to stay home with the knowledge that I have the option to work from home.

I’m not a people person. In some situations, I don’t know how to act or even respond to a problem. If I can avoid I do. Interacting with other people just isn’t what I was made to do. I’m a lone wolf when it comes to finding something that only involves working for me and only me. I don’t want to keep going from retail job to retail job. Going back to school and getting a degree or diploma in something just isn’t what I pictured myself doing. I know what I want to do, there is an untraditional way of achieving it. I’ve never been one to follow people and do what else everyone else is doing. I’m my own person who goes down my own path. It may take me a longer in getting where I want to, but its the path I want take. I don’t want to always relay on others to show me how to live life.

Getting a job is hard for anyone, no matter if you have the experience or the degree. Once I have a job, I can keep it, but its the interview process that I struggle with because I don’t know how to read the room. I don’t know what the person is thinking or even how the person is expressing themselves. I never know what to say and if I do, I don’t know if its the right thing to say.

Mentioning that I have Aspergers during the interview is something that I would play by ear. I see how the interview is going before I bring it up. Sometimes I don’t even bring it up at all because I don’t want the employer to think I can’t do the job because of it and I don’t want it to be the reason not to hire me.

I find that co-workers form cliques and they tend to ‘ignore’ everyone else. When its a younger staff and they know each other from school or some other thing outside of work, they tend to stick together. They talk about personal stuff, go on breaks together and act like their hanging out in the cafeteria at lunch. It especially happens on shift work. One person would work 2 hours and want to go on break because their ‘friend’ who started 2 hours before them is going on break and they want to go together.

When being on the phone is part of the job, its something I try to avoid. I don’t like talking on the phone especially if someone is trying to give me a number or a name, the letters and numbers get jumbled in my head and I have to ask several times to make sure I write down right.

I’ve always did well when I work by myself. I was always able to kept myself busy. I prefer to work independently because I know I will do a better job at getting things done and done right because I don’t have someone looking over my shoulder watching over my every move.