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Finding a job is tough for everyone. Especially for those people who are on the Autism Spectrum. The characteristics of Autism can often make it difficult for a potential employer to recognize and understand the strong qualities of a person with Aspergers. The below list is an extract from Rudy Simone's book, "Working with Aspergers." It is not a complete list, but might be a good start to identifying your own postive qualities that can be listed on your resumé and included with an employment application. If you are already working with someone in your job-hunting, review this list with that person and see if you can find ways to expand this list in ways that are specific to you.
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Why Should You Employ Someone who is a High Functioning Autistic? |
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The gifts and abilities that many with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) possess far outweigh the relatively minor inconvenience of making adjustments. For instance.
1. Focus and diligence – The Asperger ability to focus on tasks for a long period of time without needing supervision or incentive is legendary. We are hard workers.
2. We take pride in our Work – no matter how small the task. This ensures a job done with conscience.
3. A desire to please - while it may not always seem so, we often do really desire and want to fit in. We will extend ourselves to do a good job, to get approval.
4. Independent, unique thinking – People with AS march to their own drum. We tend to spend a lot of time alone and develop our own unique thoughts as opposed to having a "herd" mentality. While a team player attitude can be a plus in the workplace, a person who has the courage to walk their own line will more likely come up with novel and creative ideas.
5. Higher fluid intelligence – Scientists in Japan have recently discovered that AS children have a higher fluid intelligence than non-autistic children. Fluid intelligence is "the ability to find meaning in confusion and solve new problems; the ability to draw inferences and understand the relationships of various concepts, independent of acquired knowledge." (Wikipedia 2009)
6. Visual, three-dimensional thinking – Some with AS are very visual in their thought processes, which lends itself to countless useful and creative applications in the work environment.
7. Attention to detail – sometimes with painstaking perfection, again ensuring a job well done.
8. Honesty – the value of being able to say "the emperor isn't wearing any clothes" should not be underestimated, even if it's not what people want to hear.
9. Logic over emotion – although people with AS are very emotional at times, we spend so much time 'computing' in our minds that we get quite good at it. We can be very logical in our approach to problem-solving. |
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