#autism at work

[apparentlyautisticandanxious]

When you tell you’re coworkers you’re autistic and their response is always “I definitely couldn’t tell”. It’s called masking, guys, and I’ve been practicing for decades.

#I actually like to tell people about my autism #I like challenging their preconceptions about autism #plus I like the surprised looks on their faces #actually autistic #autistic adult #actuallyautistic #autism #autistic women #autism at work

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Thank you God for getting me to Payday again. But of course being a human being after saying this I'm going to complain about something.

For the third time someone with a quarter of the experience that I have has been made my department head. This has happened so many times now that I don't even know why I expect otherwise or I let it get to me.

I think they look at me and see that I am feeble on the outside so they assume I am mentally feeble too and give me the least amount of responsibility they can.

At this point I don't care it's an advantage because I don't have to do that much work but of course my ego takes a hit every time. The people that used to treat me as equals or no longer working there. Except for one person and when we work together she was so controlling and mean sometimes that I couldn't work with her. Now that we are not working directly together we're best buddies and she's literally the only person left now that treats me like a contemporary and appear. I swear to God the rest of them treat me like I am one of the students.

When I was diagnosed with autism it was over the summer. And I came back very happy and excited and let the principal know that I had gotten a diagnosis and because I was happy with it. However that principle did nothing but use it against me and now that principle is a superintendent. Albeit in our district do we have 13 superintendents for us in town of 9,000 people. So yeah there's that. When I told the principal what I did, I did it as a way of hopefully explaining why I had bad memory lapses at work and why I had had to meltdowns because of the other department head yelling at me constantly. And I thought they would say oh okay you have autism will that make sense we will it try to keep you away from those triggers.

Nope they have spent the last 5 years using it against me.

So my advice is, if you hope to be looked at as a fellow contemporary and an adult at work do not let anyone know you have autism. Don't even say anything about being on the spectrum because they hear the autism word and they think helpless.

Mask up like it is Halloween boys and girls, because if you are working at a school, they will help an autistic child but an autistic adult gets thrown to the wolves.

#autism #teaching in Texas #autism at work #teaching grants #autistic adult #advice #masking #the autism Diaries

[bleakbeauty]

Your Coworker is Autistic. What does that mean for you? (WIP)

Things your autistic coworker may not do:

•Take initiative

•Respond when addressed

•Remember what you just said

•Make eye contact

•Initiate social interactions

•Carry a conversation

•Understand hints

•Interpret nonverbal cues

•Make small talk

•Ask for help

•Want to talk to you

•Guess what you expect

•Care about traditions

What to expect:

•Bad eye contact

•Repetition

•Unusual hand or body movements

•Distraction

•Awkwardness

•Your coworker may prefer their own company

Things to know:

•Autism isn't a personality quirk. It's a neurological condition. Autistic people have different brain anatomy. They face challenges other people don't face, and there are things others can do that an autistic person won't be able to do. Expecting an autistic person to think and act just like a person who isn't autistic is like expecting someone to shrink their feet to fit shoes that are too small.

•Autistic doesn't mean stupid. It's generally a good idea not to treat anyone like they're stupid, whether they're autistic or not.

•Your autistic coworker may prefer to be alone. If you see them alone, don't assume that they want to be around anyone else. If you're worried they're lonely, you can ask them if they're lonely.

•Autistic people may move their hands or bodies in unusual ways. This is called stimming, and it helps them process emotions and sensations that they can't process otherwise. Autism is a multi-system disorder, but it primarily affects the nervous system.

•Some things that are simply matters of will for you will be impossible for your autistic coworker no matter what. Remember that, if you're not autistic, your experience isn't a perfect model for your autistic coworker's experience.

•Don't ignore your autistic coworker because you don't know how to talk to them. You can acknowledge them without trying to pull them into a conversation. Just say hi.

What to do:

•Be patient.

•Believe your autistic coworker when they tell you what their limits are. If they don't tell you, ask them to.

•Avoid hazing your autistic coworker.

•Give clear, itemized instructions. Don't hint or suggest. Tell. Explain. Give detailed directions about what needs to happen and when, even if you don't think it matters. You can do this without being rude.

•Make yourself genuinely available to listen to your autistic coworker if they're having any trouble. They may hesitate to tell you if something's wrong because they may not be able to tell whether you'll actually listen or not. Set aside time just to talk them about how they're doing at the job. Let them know that there's no rush or pressure.

•Treat your autistic coworker like an adult while also recognizing that they have limitations. Be respectful. Just be kind all the time. That's a good rule in general.

•Say what you mean. This may require you to rethink the relationship between what you mean and what you say. If anything you're trying to say requires any guesswork to understand, your autistic coworker may miss your meaning. Be as clear and as frank as you can.

•Try to avoid changing plans suddenly or interrupting your autistic coworker while they're working. Sometimes these things are unavoidable. Understand that your autistic coworker may become confused in those cases.

#autism #disability #work #disability at work #autism at work

[murdernot]

My new job has a Neurodiversity group chat for autistic/ADHD/etc employees and I only recently joined it but it is kind of awesome so far? Because we can swap coping mechanism and experiences and be really specific about what we are struggling with, because we all work in the same place. Like, we help each other work through confusing interactions, tell each other about the best little quiet hidden places in the offices, and generally help each other advocate for ourselves.

I think this is by far the best perk I have had for a job.

#actually autistic #autism at work

[dexmads]

hello. i am autistic and i have a lot of trouble asking for help and wanted to ask you guys how do you do it and how do you feel while doing it. i still have some internalized ableism, though, and asking for help when i need something makes me feel vulnerable and fragile and i don't want people to see me that way, specially people i don't truly know but, most the time, i have meltdowns and anxiety attacks while at college and, very recently, at work, which means that, most of the time, i am with people i don't know. so it would help me a lot if someone could give me advice or tips or things i could do to have a better environment. how can i say it, how can i improve it quietly. my work and college know that i am austistic, but i am not really sure what i have the right to ask for. more breaks? alone time? i would be very thankful for any kind of help. thank you.

#autistic #actually autism #actuallyautistic #autism diagnosis #neurodivergent #actually neurodivergent #autism #autism traits #actually autistic #autistic help #autistic girl #autism at work #college student

[dailydivergent]

There’s no such thing as work-life balance for neurodivergent & chronically ill people.

This is because everything in my life requires work:

maintaining friendships

keeping up with my hygiene

managing bills

making money

remembering my basic needs

sleeping regularly

outputting creatively

All requires some aspect of work for me.

And when everything in your life requires work, your balance goes out the window.

If you're neurodivergent and overwhelmed — I see you.

If you're chronically ill and overwhelmed — I see you.

You're not dysfunctional.

You're not incapable.

You're doing your best.

#neurodivergencies #actually adhd #neurodivergence #actually audhd #actually autistic #audhd #autism #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #work-life balance #work life balance #neurodivergent at work #working neurodivergent #chronically ill #chronic illness

[ninedigitninja]

This work stuff is crazy

I thought for years that I wasn't cut out for the world of work because of mental health, autism and ME. Turns out I'd just ended up working in shitty places. I started a new job in January after being forced out of my old job last year (it was a whole thing with my manager lying and making me look like I was actually delusional) and for the first time I don't actually dread going to work.

The main difference seems to be that the people here treat everyone with respect and no one freaks out if you make a mistake. Also they actually don't mind when you ask questions, a lot of places say you should ask questions but don't actually like you asking questions. The company treats their employees with dignity and pays fairly, as a result most of the employees have been here for years. People are honest and there don't seem to be any egos that have to be managed or worked around.

I'm not saying it's perfect, there are processes that make things more difficult than they need to be and the sick pay policy isn't optimal but I feel normal about going to work now. There's no nausea at the thought of it, I'm not feeling anxious all weekend because I know on Monday I need to go to work. I'm not constantly stressed about work tasks even outside of work. I don't really know how to explain to people how ground-breaking this is for me. I'm 39 and have had issues with work all my life. Feeling how I imagine other people feel about their jobs is uncharted territory.

I do still feel anxious at times like when I make a small mistake, I expect someone to be annoyed or disappointed but people here just write it off as what it is, a small inconsequential mistake. It took a lot for me to tell my manager I was worried about a task, I expected disappointment, what I got was understanding and even him saying he'd given me too much at once.

I'm honest about my autism and ME and people aren't weird about it, in fact they're interested and want to know what they should be aware of regarding accommodations. It's refreshing being accepted like that. I don't know why I wrote this I just really needed to get it out there because I'm feeling some big and complicated feelings right now.

#work life #autism at work #neurodiversity #work anxiety

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

I came so close to telling my new boss I was autistic yesterday.

Around 3:00 yesterday I was informed that my room was going to be prominently featured on a tour of the school on Monday afternoon by God knows how many people.

They are showing off all the places in the school that need Improvement (ie would benefit from the new bond election) and my room is the crappiest--- as far as electrical work, windows, ceiling and doors.

The bond election is the pet project of our new superintendent. This is the same guy that I received the worst performance evaluation of my entire life for simply challenging him over my department being the only one not to get a raise last year.

He has already tried to push this bond election through twice and twice it has failed and he is foaming at the mouth to get it to pass.

So he is dragging who knows how many people through my damn classroom on Monday.

The man was so hateful and so rude to me last year and basically told me to go get another job if I didn't like being the only Department not to receive any money. I would really love to live my life without ever seeing his face again and Monday he will be in my classroom.

I am currently teaching the laziest, most disrespectful set of 5th graders I have ever had and so my room looks worse for the wear.

All the principal could tell me was "Clean it up and make it look good."

I AM AUTISTIC.

YOU HAVE TO BE MORE SPRCIFIC THAN THAT!!!!

So now I have to get my room presentable for everyone and their grandma in this backward burg of less than 9K ppl to look at.

🙄

I finally got his attention for 30 seconds at the end of the day and asked him if Monday morning he could look in my room and tell me specifically things I could do to make it look better.

We'll see.

Just thinking about it gives me a stomach ache.

#teaching #autistic teacher #autism at work #adult autistic #freaking adukthood #teaching in tx

[allegedly-human-uwu]

Existing on tumblr the past few weeks

#i feel like i got 80% of the plot and lore already without ever engaging with the actual material lol #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #imma be honest #i dont care for 99% of manga / anime #i tried multiple but it didnt work out #but this one speaks to me #because of the autism #and the food #and the senshi panty shots

[audhd-flower]

I’ve been struggling a lot at work lately due to the increased work load. I struggle with time management skills (whatever that means) and my procrastination levels increase when the work load increases.

So…

I tried searching for articles to help me how to manage my work struggles.

And there are too generic articles/blogs about how to manage time. One blog said, “keep a timer”, lol. As if that’s gonna solve my problem! I need less workload and less pressure to finish, I really really hate deadlines, so the least you could suggest was to talk it out with my manager about reducing workload or at least reducing the hard deadlines.

While writing this, I realized that a deeper problem why I struggle when there is more workload and deadlines.. is probably because of not getting enough time for myself. Not getting enough sleep. Not getting quiet alone time without the work pressures. Also, it’s the mental pressure of constant reminder of thoughts that I have this much work pending. And between masking while spending time with family (in the past, they got upset if I didn’t give them time, so I make sure to give them time of about half an hour to one hour, but even that is exhausting!) so I procrastinate work. And on and on it goes.

#autism #undiagnosed autistic #autistic experiences #autism at work #self diagnosed autism #autistic adult

[beinganautismgirl]

this

This.

THIS.

THIS.

THIS.

This!!!!!!

(also, to everyone getting on my case about not reblogging or reposting, I actually tried to find this Tumblr after I found the post on Pinterest and it doesn't exist anymore, so shut up and get off my back 🙃)

#living with autism #anxiety and autism #autism #autistic adult #actually autistic #autistic communication #adhd #adhd adult #adhd brain #audhd #the hell that is trying to find a job when you are neurodivergent #it is specifically designed to work against us #nothing is made for us #we just get royally screwed

[bleakbeauty]

Hustle culture says that you should work as much as you can and focus all your attention on making money and getting ahead. When disabled people get left behind, all hustle culture can do is say, "Yeah, of course you're left behind. Leaving people behind is the point."

#disability #autism at work #depression #mental health #hustle culture #autism

[murdernot]

I work in tech and am currently job searching, so I have had a LOT of interviews lately. I struggle with interviews and a lot of things related to jobs, so disclosing at work is generally best. I've experimented with my last few interviews with doing the generally inadvisable thing and telling the interviewer I'm autistic.

The results have been very interesting. It is too early to see if I got the jobs yet, but I passed both interviews I did this with (I only did it with interviews going well, and I framed it positively). But the interesting part is that in some sort of weird coincidence, both interviewers had close family members who are autistics and were actively delighted. One mentioned that she tried to make her interviews as accessible as possible because she hated the way her brilliant autistic brother was discriminated against (it was one of the least stressful interviews I had). And the other told me that his tween child was just diagnosed recently and seeing how smart and accomplished I was was a really encouraging contrast to some of the messaging about his child's future that he was getting from elsewhere.

I don't know know if disclosing in an interview is a good idea, but I felt like personally, I felt the need to do it. Probably it's not a great idea in most cases. But I just thought the responses were very interesting and I wanted to share them.

#autistic adult #autism at work

[pixieverse-icedtea]

i wanna go back and hug my younger self so bad, that little girl went through so much

#mental health #mentally exhausted #mental abuse #mental illness #autism #pda autism #audhd #self love #self care #self healing #self worth #self help #self awareness #self improvement #self esteem #inner work #inner strength #inner child #inner peace #positivity #positivity blog #spilled heart #spilled words #spilled ink #spilled feelings #spilled thoughts #light academia #classic academia #romantic academia #dark academia