People in the Public Eye with ASD

[LeroyT1000]

No you're really not understanding, neither of you. I did not disclose ASD and look down, I didn't disclose. I went to a normal interview with a bunch of others and really tried my best. I think it's horrible you'd suggest otherwise, that I'm not trying, that I'm just falling back on my diagnosis.

I can speak but most of what I say is "I don't know". It doesn't matter where I am, who I am talking to, it's "I don't know". Even at home when I'm not at all stressed out it's "I don't know". My entire life it's been this way. And why do I say it? No words. None. If my speech was anywhere near as good as my typing then yeah I'd have less problems. But it's not. I don't believe either of you experience a truly blank mind but this is daily for me and there's nothing I can do about it. If you had you would not be saying what both of you are saying about it. You do not "completely understand", you think you do but you don't. I've worked my entire life trying to get better. But it's not going to happen. My speech is never going to be at a level where I can even think about passing as an NT, I have a disorder that impairs verbal communication (among other things) and it's horrible being trapped inside myself.

No I am really understanding I'm talking about MY experiences not yours. I do not know you or have any idea about your life or what you are going through. All I stated is that whatever can help is worth a try. I hope you get some success with things in the future

 

[unsurewhattoname]

I'm on a huge waiting list for help. Absolutely huge. I'll probably be old by the time I get any. In the meantime it's just being financially dependent on my parents and failed interviews. What help they're planning to give me I don't know. Hopefully some cure they've kept secret because I hate being this way. Success isn't going to happen, I'll be lucky if I ever reach independence - I need a job for that, and getting hired isn't happening. All the jobs want good communication skills. Something I will never have.

 

[LeroyT1000]

Im

I'm on a huge waiting list for help. Absolutely huge. I'll probably be old by the time I get any. In the meantime it's just being financially dependent on my parents and failed interviews. What help they're planning to give me I don't know. Hopefully some cure they've kept secret because I hate being this way. Success isn't going to happen, I'll be lucky if I ever reach independence - I need a job for that, and getting hired isn't happening. All the jobs want good communication skills. Something I will never have.

I'm hoping you get where you want to be and wish you all the best in your quest. Is there anything you can do self employed??

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Im

I'm hoping you get where you want to be and wish you all the best in your quest. Is there anything you can do self employed??

Like what? I've not heard of it before.

 

[LeroyT1000]

Like what? I've not heard of it before.

Anything you can think of to make your own money then no need for interviews. Think of anything you're good at and you can use that to make money. Some people sell art, buy and sell things on EBay or auctions. Window cleaning. Car valeting. House cleaning. Lots of things really.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Anything you can think of to make your own money then no need for interviews. Think of anything you're good at and you can use that to make money. Some people sell art, buy and sell things on EBay or auctions. Window cleaning. Car valeting. House cleaning. Lots of things really.

There are 5 year olds that draw better than me, I help clean our house but I don't think I'd know how to do it all myself somewhere I've never been before, where I live isn't fancy so I doubt people are too lazy to park their own cars (that's what that is, right? I've only seen it on the simpsons), people already clean the windows.

 

[LeroyT1000]

There are 5 year olds that draw better than me, I help clean our house but I don't think I'd know how to do it all myself somewhere I've never been before, where I live isn't fancy so I doubt people are too lazy to park their own cars (that's what that is, right? I've only seen it on the simpsons), people already clean the windows.

Don't get me wrong being self employed is hard and you need a bit of luck to get going. I'm sure your family are proud of you and even if you managed to even think of an idea and have a plan then that would be impressive in itself.

 

[Cosmophylla]

unsurewhattoname, I agree with LeroyT1000 that there are lots of options for self employment so you don't have to go to interviews. Thanks to the online world you can now make money without having to talk to anyone, so if writing is your best mode of communication you can use that to your advantage. Online auctions/sales platforms like eBay could be the ticket.

You seem to be putting yourself down a lot... There may be five year olds that can draw better than you but that doesn't mean they all do.

So how about thinking about what you are good at and what you enjoy, and seeing if there is a way you can use those things in an enterprising way to make money?

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What do you enjoy most? What are your interests, special or otherwise?

What are your skills and talents? What can you do?
For example, creating, organisational skills, writing (books, articles, blogs, poetry, etc.), puzzles, finding patterns, advising, counselling, money matters, learning, editing, driving, cooking, collecting, restoration... And more things than I can possibly think of.

Do you have any principles, morals, or beliefs, that could impact on your ability to do something?
For example, I would find it very hard to write a blog using native advertising because I think it is insidious...so I'd feel like a hypocrite.

Do you have any issues or disabilities that could impact on your ability to do something?
For example, verbal communication problems, social anxiety, ASD, depression, ADD, gross motor coordination issues, dyscalculia, sensory issues, and so on.

What realistic steps can you take to get where you want to be?

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If you find you can't answer these questions, and keep drawing a blank whenever you try to chase down an answer, make sure you have a pen and paper or a mobile device with you everywhere you go. Then when something pops into your head you record it immediately, before you get distracted by something else. I have to do this often as I get so easily distracted. If I don't my thoughts are lost to the ether...

Put all your ideas into a folder (real or digital) and just keep adding to it every time you have an idea. If you attend employment counselling, you could take your ideas along to show the counsellor.

Hope this helps.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

I don't have counselling I'm on my own at the moment, the waiting time for adults is long.

My interests change a lot and it tends to be a few things at a time. So for example now it's gathering data from around the world on climates and sorting it into categories myself. I keep scrapping my previous ideas when I come up with better ways. So far so good with my new one, just haven't figured out the criteria but will once I collect enough from each one I know is in that category but can't think why until I scan them for patterns to put into words. I like creating category systems when I find things I don't like about existing ones. They may change but my interest in category systems does seem to keep coming up. I'm also interested in South Park and became obsessed about which episodes I'd have been their age, so figured out what two years they'd be born in to be the 3rd (or 4th) grade at that particular moment. Not very useful, you get the idea.

I can drive, I'm insured, and I have access to a car, and can drive by myself (full, clean license). I'd like to think I'm good at it. With me collecting before I could walk I'm also good at that, as well as sorting into categories, but I hardly see the use of that outside of my interests. I am very good at seeing patterns. Again not sure what that is good for either. I have a very good memory too, especially for numbers. I found that out when I started accidentally learning huge strings and when I learnt the number system for a site I was mainly on as a kid. No sure what this could be used for either.

Nope, I'm pretty much an asshole. I wouldn't want to directly hurt anything but asides from basic human morals I can't think of anything.

I have Asperger's so my communicated (social, verbal, and nonverbal) are significantly impaired, I do have restrictive repetitive behaviour (in case talking about what my interests are didn't make that obvious), I do have sensory issues (biggest one for me is noise), I do get extremely anxious if in an unexpected situation (so I have to know what's coming) as a result of Asperger's, not an anxiety disorder, and nothing else I can think of - no depression, ADD, learning problems, nothing. Just Asperger's. I have no comorbids.

I have no idea. I don't know where I want to be.

 

[Beverly]

Well, you have a car and can drive alone so, maybe a newspaper delivery route would at least be a start for you. You don't need to communicate much to do that and, it would be some income.

You might also want to consider truck driving. Many companies will provide free training if you agree to drive for them for either one or two years after they train you. (how long depends on the company.) I know Schneider, Southern Refrigerated Transport, Dart and, Swift offer training in various locations around the USA and, I'm sure there are companies that do the same in other countries too. Truck driving means you have to talk with your dispatcher and, be nice to customers when you load or unload the truck but, not a lot of talking and, you can memorize a few nice things to say to customers, your trainer could help you with that.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

That could work.

I'm not in the US and my license doesn't cover learning to drive trucks. I can drive cars, mopeds (on the condition I do CBT), tractors, and mowers. I can learn to drive motorbikes, car with trailer, road rollers, and tractors. To drive a truck (CE), I'd first have to apply for my license to provisionally cover large goods vehicles (C), pass that, apply for provisional CE, pass that. I'd need to be 21 (I'm not), and there'd be stricter medical requirements. So TL;DR they can't teach me because a) my license won't cover it and b) I'm too young.

 

[Cosmophylla]

I'm not in the US and my license doesn't cover learning to drive trucks.

Where are you? Not being nosy, just wondering if we can find more localised knowledge to brainstorm.

Driving sounds like it could work for you in some way. There is also postal delivery/courier services, where you would be driving a van or small lorry. In Australia I don't think you need a special license to drive these vehicles. Being a courier doesn't require much talking aside from a few lines you could have in rotation for when you are getting things signed by customers, etc.

You also said you can drive a mower; you mean a ride on? That would get you work in garden maintenance. And driving a tractor would get you farm work, too.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

I'm in the UK. I have the standard full car license, which means:

"You can drive vehicles up to 3,500kg Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) with up to 8 passenger seats (with a trailer up to 750kg).

You can also tow heavier trailers if the total MAM of the vehicle and trailer isn’t more than 3,500kg.

You can drive motor tricycles with a power output higher than 15kW if you are over 21 years old."

I took that from here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

(I have AM, B, f, k, q full, and A, BE, G, H provisional - standard license at the moment)

And yes. Apparently. I've never driven either before.

 

[Cosmophylla]

And yes. Apparently. I've never driven either before.

Ah, so you mean you are licensed to drive a mower or tractor but have no experience doing so? I see. I thought you meant you had experience, which is always going to make it easier to find work. Sorry for the oversight.

So you are a logical, mathematical thinker, meaning you could work in an academic area, plus you don't have any gross motor conditions that would prevent you from working in a physical job.

So the next question is, is there something you would like to do? You are still really young... I thought I wanted to be an artist when I was in high school, so I studied visual art at uni and excelled, but became disillusioned with the amount of sales and marketing crap that came with trying to be a successful artist. So I went to Japan and taught English for nearly a decade, after which I returned to Australia with no real qualifications and no real idea what to do with myself. That was ten years ago, and since then I haven't had a proper job. I have had two kids though. I've been enterprising, though... Making stuff to sell at a local market, and to sell online, for example. Now I'm studying horticulture to lead me into a job. I can do horticulture anyway (it's my passion) but in this country you need a qualification for everything, grrr.

Sorry, after that ramble my point is, there is still plenty of time to decide what you would like to do. These days your career isn't set in stone like it was for my parents' generation.

Another question: are you studying at the moment?

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Yes, just license. I only have experience with a car. No, nothing. And nope. That doesn't mean I do nothing, though. I'm housewife at the moment.

 

[Cosmophylla]

Yes, housewifery is hard work. Do you need to find paid employment at this time, or could you spend this time studying (part time, or part-part time like me) toward something? For example, you enjoy categorising things, and doing research, etc. I'm wondering if there is a way for you to become a research assistant, lab assistant, etc. I don't know the answer to this, but I do happen to know a senior research fellow at one of our universities here, who leads her own team of researchers (sleep research) and I could ask her how one goes about getting into the industry if crunching numbers or organising is something you think you would like to pursue.

 

[Cosmophylla]

Also, there's coding and programming. This is something you can study at home in your own time (lots of resources online) and doesn't require face to face interaction. Silicon Valley is widely acknowledged as Aspie turf. You could study to write apps as a freelancer or for a firm, or could work as a tester, finding bugs (good for someone who likes puzzles, patterns, numbers, logical thinking, finding discrepancies, etc.). This is a huge industry so you would be guaranteed work and it may be more fulfilling than manual work because you'd be doing something you enjoy, using your natural talents.