Being Autistic, Jobs & Working- Learning to be Autistic Episode 7 

I hate interviews, I went for a teacher training one earlier this year and the interviewer asked if there was anything I thought they should know. I said that I was autistic and talked about what I thought I'd need support with, when I'd finished she kind of nervously said "erm thank you for telling me about your difficulties". Needless to say that I didn't get on the course after that.

You made a very good point about menial, often low-paid and insecure jobs. It is rarely anyone's "passion" to do these jobs and yet applications and interviews often expect candidates to say so. Due to their often difficult employment histories autistic people often find themselves pushed into such jobs at odds with their actual skills and interests and that is a recipe for failure or lack of job satisfaction. Those with autism need specific support to get jobs best-suited to their skills and personalities.

I think employment is difficult for most autistic people - both getting jobs and then keeping them / being successful in them. Whatever employers say, interviews are social occasions and candidates are often judged in terms of whether they will "fit-in" rather than their genuine suitability. Employment is also a social situation and disadvantages autistic workers. There are also issues with information-overload when starting work and often taking longer to learn skills (although once they are learned the autistic worker can be just as able or more able than their counterparts). The best work for someone with autism is probably working mostly alone, maybe at home / remotely on consistent tasks. Some employers / colleagues are very supportive but unfortunately in a minority.

Just as a heads up if you haven't looked at it yet - look into PIP. If nothing else it might help you have a tiny bit of independence :) You can get them to send you the form over email rather than post if you want, so that you don't have to stress about leaving the house to go to the post box. I'd do some PIP self tests first to see whether it's worth doing for you, and to see what they're looking for (the questions are a bit open ended in the official form). It's also not means tested, so they won't take into account your partners income or anything. (He/She/They could also apply for their own PIP too, regardless of whether they're in full time work or not.) Love the videos! They're really helping me as a newly diagnosed autistic female to connect and understand all the emotions I'm feeling - not just the good, but also the bad. Thank you for taking the time and energy to put out these videos for us!

I get the interviews and get hired but always left the job 😢

Me being one of those autistics that normally will get an interview and in almost 100% of all cases also get the job, that is one of the things that gives me the most imposter syndrome about my autism. However, I normally only impress the first one or two weeks, then they are on to me, and then I always get fired, unless it's a job where I work from home and on project basis so that I can work whenever I function the best. I'm currently finishing off my big uni degree, and will soon be out there for jobs again, and I'm seriously worried about screwing up my career after five years of time and student loans and expectations... It's nerve wrecking! And I also stress over whether to be honest or not about autism, since most people would probably find that off putting in the field of being a psychologist/psychotherapist, but it would probably also mean my way of being would make more sense to everyone and we could work with my strengths and weaknesses. Tough question.

So sorry you've experienced such rubbish employers in the past. They do sound truly awful. Major takeaways in that you learned more about yourself and what accommodations you'd need and maybe that was more important than the rough patch? Very inspiring to hear your stories and it helped me to look at my own previous employment background in a different light. Keep up the wonderful videos!

Thank you for this video! I have ADHD and struggle in slightly different ways. Although I do currently have a job and my employer is supportive I have been in your situation and understand everything completely. ❤

Check and see if you can find a legitimate job working from home. Nowadays, telework is a commonplace thing, and speaking as an autistic person, it's awesome. You don't have to deal with people face-to-face or deal with the social BS that comes with most jobs.

Hi Dana 👋 😊 This is one of my favourite videos of yours! If you're at all open to video requests, I'd really love to see a video about PIP 🙈 Your experience going through the rigmarole of applying for PIP, what having PIP now allows you to do that you perhaps couldn't before etc 🙂 I realise making and editing videos is a huge task so please ignore me if that's not a video you want to do, there's no pressure! I'm currently in the process of appealing for mandatory reconsideration (after applying once before a few years ago, but I didn't bother appealing back then because they managed to convince me I didn't deserve it in my initial rejection) 🤦🏻‍♀️ I know of so many autistic people who go through hell trying to get PIP and most, like me, are suffering financially without it due to difficulty working. I'd love to be able to share a PIP video from you (if you wanted to make such a video) to this group and I know they'd find your videos just as helpful as I do! 🥰 Even so your videos are so helpful, happy new year and please take care of yourself! 😊

do you support antinatalism