• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Hello.. anybody else having work issues?

( Cherry Blossom asked
anybody else having work issues? )

It seems i managed to miss this question :oops:

In my case i sadly had to leave the workforce due to my Multiple diagnosis at age 30 so in my case i was finally beaten by all my diagnosis :( what finally broke me was LONG work days (and mean long average 17 -19 hoers a day 5 days week) and HIGH stress. :eek:
 
It might be less about the manager not wanting to accommodate you and more an issue of the managers need to control. They may fear making special arrangement for you will open the floodgates of special requests from all the other co-workers. That maybe sounds silly but supervisors do have such fears.

It would be easier if you had (or invent) some easily understandable reason such as vision problems. Something everyone easily understands/accepts. People do not generally easily understand/accept autism however so that is more of a last resort approach. Personally I prefer keeping that private and almost never/ever letting co-workers know.

In my workplace which was the military, special accommodations would only be laughed at long and hard. :D So I had to come up with my own ways to solve problems like that. One main thing is not to get hung up/overly upset on issues. If it is just a matter of putting up with it, then just try and get thru it in the short run. In the long run however you can try and manuver yourself into a different position that seems better.
 
My favorite job was many years ago, but I was unaware of my Aspergers. I just knew I had balance and satisfaction in daily life. I was a receiving clerk for a large retail corporation. My job hours were 9-5, M-F, and I worked alone. I had to confirm product deliveries from various sources (lots of boxes). I was strong, so I could lift anything easily. Chit-chat with delivery people was always short, and I got to know them a bit through daily and weekly contact. My job was to scan the products in the boxes into store inventory accurately. I enjoyed working quickly, becoming adept at confirming amounts and product variations. I had my evenings to myself to shop, watch TV, or go anywhere I wanted. My weekends were free, allowing me to socialize and visit my parents an hour away to spend time with them and do chores as needed. This was balance. My job helped me indulge my hyper-focus skills, remain physically active, and work without mental interruptions. My phone rang once a month, if at all. I was always organized and could handle special needs from the selling floor and from the invoicing office. The game was making sure everything was completed before 5pm. I always managed to do it. At the end of the day, I had pride in my work and no BS to have to take home with me. No weekend work meant I could have a life and lots of personal down-time to reflect.

What made this all work for me is something I only understand now. Regularity, predictability, same work environment, in charge of my own area, and focus on the job at hand all worked together. It wasn't just the job. It was also the environment and the fact that I was solely responsible for the success or failure of the operation. It had a good combination of mental and physical activity without any interruptions to my concentration.

In Junior High, my counselor told me that my aptitude test suggested that I should be an accountant or a librarian. I rejected that idea because I felt they would be boring and I was such a bad math student. How wrong I was to ignore this advice. I wanted to experience the world, but I didn't know anything about Aspergers at the time.

If you are aware of your ASD, it would make some sense to indulge your strengths and interests, being aware of the kinds of environments that are a challenge to your overall well-being. I never questioned a work schedule, nor a work environment. I always dove in 100% without recognizing or understanding the role these play in personal satisfaction. My greatest needs are structure and predictability. This is where I find the foundation for balance. It took a lifetime to figure this out.

I think you’ve detailed everything I value in your answer. Ironically my role is at psychiatric nurse; in hindsight possibly the worst role I could pick. The degree was intellectually stimulating and I have an interest in the innermost workings of the mind. I got the highest degree. I was going on to further study psychology. My job changed this. The application of this knowledge onto people is perplexing and I rely heavily on evidence based diagnostic tools as my baseline understanding of people’s emotional state is dreadful and even then I respond to to distress with evidence based fixes. I didn’t know I had aspergers before I studied this field. Thought it would help me understand others and myself better. Funny that being around people never alters the anxiety regardless of the exposure. The office is my main challenge. Open plan. Phones everywhere, speaking to elderly patients and shouting down the phone. Bright lights. People rushing around. Noise. Fax machine. Admin. Need I go on... I think accountancy sounds like a good role. I hear what you say having your own area to manage (I have a residential area...) organising your own workload/diary (yep) and being autonomous (amen). I do have good aspects in this job. It’s mainly the office environment; dealing with people and the unpredictability of the role..
 
( Cherry Blossom asked
anybody else having work issues? )

It seems i managed to miss this question :oops:

In my case i sadly had to leave the workforce due to my Multiple diagnosis at age 30 so in my case i was finally beaten by all my diagnosis :( what finally broke me was LONG work days (and mean long average 17 -19 hoers a day 5 days week) and HIGH stress. :eek:

Long work days and high stress I’ve found are something we need to avoid like the plague! I’m sorry you had to leave your role (hug)
 
It might be less about the manager not wanting to accommodate you and more an issue of the managers need to control. They may fear making special arrangement for you will open the floodgates of special requests from all the other co-workers. That maybe sounds silly but supervisors do have such fears.

It would be easier if you had (or invent) some easily understandable reason such as vision problems. Something everyone easily understands/accepts. People do not generally easily understand/accept autism however so that is more of a last resort approach. Personally I prefer keeping that private and almost never/ever letting co-workers know.

In my workplace which was the military, special accommodations would only be laughed at long and hard. :D So I had to come up with my own ways to solve problems like that. One main thing is not to get hung up/overly upset on issues. If it is just a matter of putting up with it, then just try and get thru it in the short run. In the long run however you can try and manuver yourself into a different position that seems better.


That makes a lot of sense. I don’t know which direction to go it’s a huge learning curve. What do you do since you left the military?
 
Could you wear noise canceling headphones or earbuds? I don’t know if that would be possible in your work environment, but canceling out the noise around you would probably reduce sensory overload. Or is visual overload more of the problem? I know certain lighting can really mess with some people.

I’ve tried with headphones, it’s not enough and the visual aspect also. Studied my degree from my bedroom
 
After 27 years with military I had to retire early due to chronic back condition, but I qualified for pension. Afterwards my wife (also ex-military) became main breadwinner as special education teacher. I then started small home business buying and selling within a lifelong hobby which was collecting Toy Soldiers. Something I still do, but spotty now.

Anyway, your work environment does sound very Aspie unfriendly with many aspects classically difficult for us. We do much better in general if we can concentrate/focus and go at our own pace which is different from NTs. But you have a valuable skill and it may be possible to shift into a different aspect of it. Just as one example, which I learned from my wife's experience was that her school has its own shrink (a word I use only because the real title is too hard to spell) and others it uses by contract. They come in and do one on one evaluations on the kids, make medication reccomendations, etc. There must be many different applications for your specialty. Perhaps you can do some searches and networking to evaluate possibilities.

It is not uncommon to see Aspies in your and Special Ed fields. They are often drawn to it, even if they do not know.
 
Welcome! I'm also a new member, entered the mental health field, and have been worried about what a diagnosis could mean for my career.

I'm sorry to hear you're in such an unaccommodating work environment... We have the ADA act here in the USA, but I've sadly found some people have trouble getting even slight accommodations in certain work settings... Is there someone else at the office (possibly in an HR role) you might be able to talk to? It sounds like what you're looking for is extremely reasonable, so I'd hope there would be at least someone else in the office that might be able to help.

I also think an evidence based approach with diagnostic tools can be a strength. There's quite a bit of research out there in clinical psychology that indicates actuarial decision making often outperforms decisions based on clinical judgement. Although I'm not certain, I imagine the same thing would apply to decisions by psychiatric nurses. I'd suggest consulting the literature first, but if the same principles apply in your field, you would likely outperform peers by relying on methods that are known to have solid reliability, sensitivity, and specificity.

As another thought, do you have an interest in research or academic positions? I've personally found these environments to be more willing to make adjustments for people that need them. If you really enjoy research or an academic environment, these might be options to think about as a potential backups.

In any case, best of luck with your situation, and I hope you're able to find a good solution!
 

New Threads

Top Bottom