Finding a job is a difficult task for anyone especially in today’s economy. Add a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome, a disorder that is on the Autism Spectrum into the equation and things become down right frustrating and difficult. As I have learned over the past 5 to 10 years of my life finding a job is a job within itself. It is very time consuming and it requires a lot of high level social skills which are very difficult for me. I have learned many things from my search for meaningful employment over the past few years.
The most important thing is that I have tried many jobs. In doing so I have gained a ton of confidence that I know how to do a physical job. I have not had one job situation presented to me over the past few years that has given me difficulty with physically performing the functions required to complete the job. This has helped improve my self-esteem and confidence levels because before the age of 27 I had not worked a meaningful job in over 8 years. I was scared to even apply for jobs because I was not sure if I could work a job. Instead, the main issue that presents itself in finding the perfect Autism job is not related to the physical functions of the job at all.
The main issue with providing difficulty in completing most job tasks that I have found is the social skills barrier between forming social relationships with other peers. While, you are not exactly trying to form social relationships individuals on the job that are employees at a deep level in order to participate in the professional relationship with them on the job there are a few very important social skills that are necessary to be able to go to work and communicate successfully with your co-workers. The most important social skill that I have learned is important in the workforce is the ability to create small talk and maintain conversation with co-workers during the entire work shift. Many people love to be social no matter where they are at. It can be at home, out to dinner with friends, and especially in the work place on the job.
I have found that many people become bored at work if they are unable to socialize and have conversation with their co-workers. Thus being the case it is very important to be able to participate in necessary small talk conversations at work. These conversations can be as simple as a “hi, how are you?” Or, “hi, how was your day?” type of conversation or sometimes they can be a little deeper where someone asks you if you have seen the latest popular movie at the movie theater. Occasionally a co-worker may even make a comment about a song that is heard on the radio during the work day as well.
It is very important for someone with Autism to be able to understand small talk and know how to engage in small talk appropriately so that they can be a part of a pleasant work day experience for all parties involved. This book address how to help someone with Autism learn the skills necessary to function at the higher level end of social relationships and be successful in the work place. It also gives you ideas and suggestions for finding jobs that they might be more successful in. It will address the high functioning/low functioning social skills myths that exist and teach you how low functioning and high functioning social skills are related to one another. This is a good book for understanding the difficulties that someone with Autism faces with employment and job opportunities.