JayD210
Member
Having been diagnosed pretty much all my life, there was a time I wasn’t even expected to hold a job, be out in the world, be in a relationship, drive, own a Car, or any of the things that a typical person often takes for granted. Safe to say I’ve been doing all of the above. Wasn’t easy to get to where I am and it’s still not easy despite my level of life experience being disproportionate to my age. They say it takes a Village and you best bet the whole Village got in on it with me. There was no way in hell my Mom and others were going to let me fail or go unchallenged. The challenges were much more numerous than they are now but there are still challenges. It’s how you handle them that makes all the difference.
I’ve been in my line of work since October 1, 2004 at the age of 18. I’ve done Volunteer Duty for churches and events. I’ve got most of my experience in Loss Prevention/Asset Protection and Field Investigations, and have even done Armed VIP Transport in Las Vegas. From September 2006 until May 2011, I worked two Jobs almost constantly. From July 2009 to February 2012, I was without a Car of my own but still traveled the Country. Autism makes pretty much all of us stubborn as hell of course, and I’m no exception. With the cards staked against me, I chose muster up and walk to hell and back in places I had no familiarity with like Dallas/Ft Worth, Charlotte the first time I was here, and Carson City in Nevada. With what seemed like not much going for me, I made sure to have myself plenty of reason to get after it for something and that something was my Career. I had a pair of Vans Rowley Shoes that I literally did all this in. Years later when I factored in the Miles walked that I could account for, the number kept coming out to over 4,800 miles in those shoes. In 2010, I walked Charlotte every single day, five of those days being a minimum of 20 miles daily of walking each week. When it came time to go back to Las Vegas, Airport Officials literally enlisted a Law Enforcement Officer to make sure I didn’t walk to the Gate after Security. They wheelchaired me onto the Plane. When the Officer asked me if I wanted Medic to check me out, I told him “No, I’ll just borrow your Med Kit if you got one”, and tended to both of my feet, which were absolutely wrecked by Blisters. The Autism Mind is capable of doing all sorts of things. Compartmentalizing being one such thing. A high pain tolerance is another thing. Add being absolutely as stubborn as they come, you get the key of how I approach things when life threatens to take me down. I don’t give up and I don’t quit. If faced with the possibility of dying, still I keep going because I will go until either I die or I win.
Another thing about the Autism Mind is we are extremely detailed. What I bring to the table is being a mechanical expert among pretty much every Security Team I’ve been on and the one I’m on now. If I’m not running after Shoplifters, I’m running around with tools in my hands. If I’m not doing either, then I’m doing my Investigations and cramming my expertise in most things Mechanical into it if it’s involved in an incident. Autism has made being in this line of work very interesting to say the least. I’m also a bit of a comedian because of things I’ve seen in this field. You kinda have to be a comedian or you won’t survive this work whether you have Autism or not. As someone with Autism in this field, extra safeguards must be taken. I usually work alone and the people I’m paid to be dealing with aren’t a picnic. Most of them don’t care, are on drugs, have a criminal record that’s often violent. Company want me to put them in the Office and ask them questions, but to me, that’s not safe, so any Avenue I can use to make my approaches count while remaining as safe as possible, that’s what I go with. I can convert that approach to a case later. I prefer the route safest for me, and I am coming up on 21 years in this line of work. This line of work isn’t all that safe to begin with so add Autism to it, you’re going to need those extra safeguards regardless. That’s what it’s like in my line of work.
I’ve been the target of vicious assaults because of trusting the wrong person outside of work. I’ve also been the target of them many times in my line of work. Two such incidents had me realizing I wasn’t going to make it out alive. I’m writing this so we know how that played out. It’s one part mindset, one part stubbornness, and two parts sheer will power. That’s how I’ve survived the things I’ve seen. I think my Autism has helped me avoid having PTSD to be honest.
I’ve been in my line of work since October 1, 2004 at the age of 18. I’ve done Volunteer Duty for churches and events. I’ve got most of my experience in Loss Prevention/Asset Protection and Field Investigations, and have even done Armed VIP Transport in Las Vegas. From September 2006 until May 2011, I worked two Jobs almost constantly. From July 2009 to February 2012, I was without a Car of my own but still traveled the Country. Autism makes pretty much all of us stubborn as hell of course, and I’m no exception. With the cards staked against me, I chose muster up and walk to hell and back in places I had no familiarity with like Dallas/Ft Worth, Charlotte the first time I was here, and Carson City in Nevada. With what seemed like not much going for me, I made sure to have myself plenty of reason to get after it for something and that something was my Career. I had a pair of Vans Rowley Shoes that I literally did all this in. Years later when I factored in the Miles walked that I could account for, the number kept coming out to over 4,800 miles in those shoes. In 2010, I walked Charlotte every single day, five of those days being a minimum of 20 miles daily of walking each week. When it came time to go back to Las Vegas, Airport Officials literally enlisted a Law Enforcement Officer to make sure I didn’t walk to the Gate after Security. They wheelchaired me onto the Plane. When the Officer asked me if I wanted Medic to check me out, I told him “No, I’ll just borrow your Med Kit if you got one”, and tended to both of my feet, which were absolutely wrecked by Blisters. The Autism Mind is capable of doing all sorts of things. Compartmentalizing being one such thing. A high pain tolerance is another thing. Add being absolutely as stubborn as they come, you get the key of how I approach things when life threatens to take me down. I don’t give up and I don’t quit. If faced with the possibility of dying, still I keep going because I will go until either I die or I win.
Another thing about the Autism Mind is we are extremely detailed. What I bring to the table is being a mechanical expert among pretty much every Security Team I’ve been on and the one I’m on now. If I’m not running after Shoplifters, I’m running around with tools in my hands. If I’m not doing either, then I’m doing my Investigations and cramming my expertise in most things Mechanical into it if it’s involved in an incident. Autism has made being in this line of work very interesting to say the least. I’m also a bit of a comedian because of things I’ve seen in this field. You kinda have to be a comedian or you won’t survive this work whether you have Autism or not. As someone with Autism in this field, extra safeguards must be taken. I usually work alone and the people I’m paid to be dealing with aren’t a picnic. Most of them don’t care, are on drugs, have a criminal record that’s often violent. Company want me to put them in the Office and ask them questions, but to me, that’s not safe, so any Avenue I can use to make my approaches count while remaining as safe as possible, that’s what I go with. I can convert that approach to a case later. I prefer the route safest for me, and I am coming up on 21 years in this line of work. This line of work isn’t all that safe to begin with so add Autism to it, you’re going to need those extra safeguards regardless. That’s what it’s like in my line of work.
I’ve been the target of vicious assaults because of trusting the wrong person outside of work. I’ve also been the target of them many times in my line of work. Two such incidents had me realizing I wasn’t going to make it out alive. I’m writing this so we know how that played out. It’s one part mindset, one part stubbornness, and two parts sheer will power. That’s how I’ve survived the things I’ve seen. I think my Autism has helped me avoid having PTSD to be honest.
Last edited:
