My son is a 23yo high-functioning aspergers. He has full-time employment now as an at-home travel consultant for Princess Cruises answering chat sessions from agents and the public.
He is the ideal employee. He sits down at his terminal a few minutes before 3pm, gets ready and away he goes, he takes his allotted break at 5pm for only the 10 minutes and then is back on. He works until 7pm or until his last call is finished. He has never called in sick, and has never made a fuss. If he needs help, he asks. He just works and does his job.
Now I have employed many many people and this is what a manager wants more than anything. Someone that, day-in/day-out, just does their job. Creates no hassle and consequently no issues or work for management. Managers have enough issues on their plates, and to have an employee who creates no hassles and just does their job is invaluable.
And I bet every autistic person who is employed is like this. We are all a manager's dream.
And even if you are autistic and aren't employed, I bet you have the same characteristic. I bet that if you have an appointment somewhere that you plan ahead and make sure that, regardless of how far and what mode of transport you take, you will arrive on time.
This is how we compete in the workforce. We need to update our resumes to accentuate and promote this advantage.
He is the ideal employee. He sits down at his terminal a few minutes before 3pm, gets ready and away he goes, he takes his allotted break at 5pm for only the 10 minutes and then is back on. He works until 7pm or until his last call is finished. He has never called in sick, and has never made a fuss. If he needs help, he asks. He just works and does his job.
Now I have employed many many people and this is what a manager wants more than anything. Someone that, day-in/day-out, just does their job. Creates no hassle and consequently no issues or work for management. Managers have enough issues on their plates, and to have an employee who creates no hassles and just does their job is invaluable.
And I bet every autistic person who is employed is like this. We are all a manager's dream.
And even if you are autistic and aren't employed, I bet you have the same characteristic. I bet that if you have an appointment somewhere that you plan ahead and make sure that, regardless of how far and what mode of transport you take, you will arrive on time.
This is how we compete in the workforce. We need to update our resumes to accentuate and promote this advantage.
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