Promoting Success For People With Autism By Using Their Strengths – Employment and Autism

Most people would consider their employment successful if it involved something they like to do, are good at it, and if it brings fulfillment. The same holds true for people with autism, except perhaps to a greater extreme. One of the characteristics of autism is an extremely diverse set of strengths and challenges. For example, a person with autism may have such skill in mathematics that they can tell you how old you are – in seconds, rather than years. However, that person may be significantly challenged navigating the complicated social maze that make up most working situations such as dealing with office politics.

As a teenager, working as a busboy was my first “real” job. Although I was excited to be employed and approached the task of cleaning tables with much enthusiasm, there were two major challenges making the job unsuitable. One was sensory related and the other was social.

A restaurant is a fast-paced, busy, noisy environment. As a result I would go into a sort of sensory overload and shut down resulting in my working very slowly, which was not appreciated by my supervisors.

Additionally, I never seemed to be able to get into the “swing of things” and banter about smoothly with my coworkers. As a result I was very unhappy in this job and eventually left.

However, there is a good ending to the story. Bicycle repair was a special interest of mine and I secured a position as a bicycle mechanic. In the bicycle shop I could spend my time fixing bicycles, focus my contact with customers to discussing their bicycles, and in short, be in an environment with much less sensory input and stress.

The implication behind this experience is the importance of matching characteristics and strengths to employment opportunities.

Through my travels around the world I meet many people on the autism spectrum having genius-level IQ’s who are poised to make significant contributions to society. However due to the social challenges of, first obtaining, and then keeping a job; they become part of the 90%, (as determined by the National Autistic Society of England) of people with autism who are either unemployed or under employed.

During my bachelor degree studies I developed a very strong interest in mutual funds. As a result, I completed a degree in Accounting & Information Systems in addition to my Music Education major. After graduation, I set out to work for an accounting firm specializing in the area of auditing mutual funds.

First day on the job I got up at 5:15AM in order to be at the office by 8AM. The crowds, smell, and noise were just a part of the toxic basket of sensory violations that the public transportation route treated me to. The second day, I packed my suit on my bicycle and shaved a total of four hours off that daily commute. I made sure to arrive at the office at least an hour before it opened to store my bicycle in the basement and to change into business attire.

All was well and good with this mode of transportation until the personnel director called me into his office to tell me that I was “seen arriving to the office not in [my] suit.” Explanations of why I chose to ride my bicycle fell on deaf ears as this was not behavior becoming of an accountant. Soon work assignments seemed to dry up and I spent most of my time in the office library reading books on business-related subjects. Shortly thereafter, the personnel director indicated that he had to “let me go” because I didn’t seem to be a good fit.

After leaving this job I found another accounting position at a large bank with about 5,000 employees. The sheer size of the organization gave me a degree of anonymity making it possible to park my bicycle at the opposite side of the building where I worked and no one would be the wiser.

Still, I found the job unsatisfactory and about a year and a half later, left for a position as a college instructor. Serving as a professor worked much better for me and I derived great pleasure at teaching a variety of courses ranging from Music Education to Database Design to Accounting to Special Education.

At this time my work is mostly within the area of autism related issues where I still instruct at the college level. However, I have added consulting, presenting, writing, and giving music lessons to children on the autism spectrum to my working activities.

In summary, even though I was fascinated with mutual funds and accounting, there were sensory and social aspects that made the job as an accountant unsuitable. The field of education, however is often more tolerant of people with differences; to the point where some institutions of higher education are often jokingly referred to as “sheltered workshops for people on the autism spectrum.”

The implication here is that while focusing on interest and strengths is vital to successful employment for people with autism, it is also important to consider sensory, social and other aspects of a potential position.

Focusing in matching the often considerable strengths of people on the autism spectrum to employment opportunities can significantly contribute to what all people would consider as an important component of leading a fulfilling, productive, and successful life.

My next article will examine how people with autism can work towards overcoming the challenge of getting a person with the power to hire them to be interested in what they have to offer. See you next month!

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