Ignorance and stupidity prevents me from ever getting legal

[Ubehage]

I'm on the autist spectrum, more precisely I have Asperger's autism.

Due to ignorance about autism, local laws prevent me from ever working with pyro in a legal way.

 

As for myself, I say this is bullshit!
My autism is exactly what makes me capable of collecting tons of information. Sometimes, much more than a "normal" person would.

 

Also, because of autism, pyro is my life. I knew, since I was 3 or 4 years old, that I wanted to be a pyro.

And now, I have realized that it will never happen. At least, not in this part of the world that is governed by ignorant assholes who thinks that a smart thinker who lives far away from anything else, is a danger to public safety. WTF?!?

 

Anyhow, I have applied for becoming apprentice at various legal pyro-workshops, and they all had the same response:

They seem interested, until they learn that I have autism. At that point, I can see in their eyes that "DANGER" is all they can think of.

 

Which country should I move to? Is there anywhere in this world, where laws actually make sense?

[lloyd]

I don't know what you can do about others' stupidity.

 

I have a 4-year-old grandson who's autistic. He does math up to three-digits, addition, subtraction, and now learning multiplication.

He reads, aloud, better than most 5th-graders. He instantly picks up ANY mechanical relationship, and is always disassembling then reassembling his toys.

 

Somehow, I think he'll end up being a significant contributor in some science... yet, he's 'labeled' by the school system as being disabled.

 

This year, he got lucky... he has ONE teacher who recognizes intelligence when she sees it, and has already recommended that he skip first grade, because he's already WAY past them.

 

I will offer you this: I had an autistic young man working for me at the factory. He was brilliant. He memorized every formula in our repertoire. But he destroyed his ability to work with others with his acerbic and abrasive comments about people... and ended up having to leave.

 

Maybe the ignorant ones more fear the behaviors than the skill-set, Ube.

 

Lloyd

[Ubehage]

I will offer you this: I had an autistic young man working for me at the factory. He was brilliant. He memorized every formula in our repertoire. But he destroyed his ability to work with others with his acerbic and abrasive comments about people... and ended up having to leave.

 

Maybe the ignorant ones more fear the behaviors than the skill-set, Ube.

 

Lloyd

This actually makes sense.

I was lucky to meet the right person that managed to see where I was and guide me from there.

Taught me to be empathic and recognize other people's reactions and emotions.

 

But I fully understand that most autistic people don't have those abilities.

 

Thank you.

[Boophoenix]

Ube, while I'm not familiar with the legal reason why ya might have trouble I could see where some people might have concerns. Which sucks. I known a lot of capable people threwout life, but they are to lazy or don't give a hoot to accomplish some of the most remedial tasks. The local McDonald's needs to remove the Happy Meal and start offering the Mystery Meal.

 

Back on subject. What about working towards show designing if there is a physical reason why people feel you should be restricted? Master that if ya can and the other should fall into place one day. Then you could get the last laugh.

 

Personally I'm more of the type of person that lets a persons actions speak for them more so than their degrees or expressed knowledge and experiences.

 

Best of luck to ya. Hope ya get an opportunity to light up the night.

[taiwanluthiers]

Pyros are a cautious bunch. I mean a lot of them already dislike me and I think people tend to associate any (and I mean any) conditions as "danger" and so if they hear you have any condition red flags go off. Pyros may be good but they aren't experts in mental health.

 

Best way you can protect yourself is do NOT tell anyone that you are autistic unless you are in an educational (by this I mean college) setting, mostly because people in Academia tend to be autistic.

 

Do not give anyone any reason to discriminate you. Hide it, lie if you must but the only way to stop discrimination is to control information about you that can be used for discrimination.

[pyroman2498]

I feel for you and i talked to Lloyd about me being autistic on FW a while back.
I have my job being a pyro because i never told them any of my health problems , its not legally required to list your health problems. Even on the ATF form you do not have to say you are autistic .

If you dont mind me ask where about you live , i may be able to help you get a job doing pyro

 

~Steven

[Arthur]

"They seem interested, until they learn that I have autism."

 

If your behaviour is normal (and that's a wide definition!) then why do you tell them that you have a syndrome, I'll suggest that we (on here) are all quite unusually interested in pyro and chemistry, the skill is to do beautiful things with the knowledge!

[Ubehage]

"They seem interested, until they learn that I have autism."

 

If your behaviour is normal (and that's a wide definition!) then why do you tell them that you have a syndrome, I'll suggest that we (on here) are all quite unusually interested in pyro and chemistry, the skill is to do beautiful things with the knowledge!

That's a good question.

The answer is, that I have a problem with things that I have to do.

 

For example:

We all have to get up in the morning and go to work. And because it's something we have to, then it's hard for me. I simply lose motivation.

But if I get absolute freedom - meaning, I can come or not come, whatever I feel like. Then I can often work for days on end and keep the interest and motivation.

 

And because of that, I want any potential employer to know that this is a need that I have.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Ubehage

[lloyd]

Ube,

Unless you find an employer who has "unique needs", you just are NOT likely to find them amenable to such terms. Work has to get out. Staff has to be present to get it out. Staff can't be present to meet those needs, unless they're punctual.

 

It sounds to me like you need to hunt-down an employer who's looking for "inspiration" instead of "punctuality". There are those who need such, but they're rare. Good luck. Look hard enough, and you'll find one.

 

I work with a fellow in Montana who had such an "inspirational genius" on staff. He got a LOT of good stuff from him. Most employers want "8 hours and out". Sorry, but that's just the reality of it.

 

Another alternative (and this is just a suggestion) is for you to personally work on JUST that one aspect of your 'work ethic'. It takes repetition and desire, and I don't know how important that is to you. But I know from my own bad experiences with my OWN bad treatment of folks (when I was young, thankfully), that if you need to change the behavior badly enough, you can!

 

 

Lloyd

Edited April 22, 2017 by lloyd

[DavidF]

When I was working at the anodizing plant, I hired co-op students as assistants for 4 months each. I'd lose time on them the first month, and gain time for the next 3- except for 2 of them. One of them was a girl, that was probably the most intelligent and able person I've ever met. The other remarkable one was clumsy and forgetful. One day I really let him have it because he just wasn't 'getting it'.

 

He became very emotional, and apologized profusely, and stated that he had ADD. When I asked him why he didn't say that before, he said it was because he knew I wouldn't have hired him, I would have discriminated. I told him he was right. I also told him the process of hiring itself is discrimination- that's the whole idea. I worked around his condition and made the best of a bad situation. I was glad to see him go. Maybe I'm unreasonable. I just think that a person with ADD has no business going into the hardest program a college has to offer. Like Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

 

The suggestion that an employer should not 'box you in' to a schedule is ridiculous. It reminds me of another old quote. " You don't have to like it. You just have to do it." And here's a favorite quote of my own- "Don't get your tears on the parts."

 

The world is a harsh, cruel place. See it for what it is, and adjust to it. Don't ask it to adjust to you. I'm sorry if this seems harsh. Regular attendance is a bare minimum expectation in the workplace. The workplace is not about you. Maybe you should start your own business and see if you can make that work for you. Problem is, I can't think of a business where lack of reliability could be tolerated. The sooner you realize that it's your responsibility to fit in, the sooner you will do the things you need to do to succeed. I suggest you dust yourself off, and take another crack at it.

Edited April 22, 2017 by DavidF

[AzoMittle]

I was actually talking with a lawyer the other day about something kind of similar to this. I'm diabetic and was wondering if I needed to put that down in the 'disabilities' section for my driver's license, her answer was, "Does it affect your ability to drive? No? Then no need to list it."

 

Showing up on time is a basic requirement of any job, autistic or not, pyro or not, it has to happen. What aspect of pyro were you hoping to get a job for? Maybe you could work something out where you do R&D on new formulas or products, you work under their license, they get cool new stuff. Or show design could work well, depends on the company and their needs though. Speaking as a manager of ~20 staff (non-pyro work), scheduling is one of my biggest headaches, when an applicant tells me they have full availability I almost always bump them to the top of the stack.

 

I understand autism is a spectrum, and I've seen your posts on here Ube (they are wonderful), but soft skills (people skills) go a LONG way no matter where you are. Maybe you could also put together a small demo reel, show them what you can do, explain you are willing to work with them to what they need and will accept feedback in a constructive manner. Just my 2 cents.

[Arthur]

Very few businesses have space for an erratic genius, most firms want boringly ordinary work done steadily and right first time. An order for 100,000 of anything must go out on time for the money to come in to pay the wages. To be gainfully employed you need to have OK interpersonal skills, sometimes these have simply to be learned and acted.

 

If you don't want to learn to work with others as a team then you have to have enough money to start your own business the way you want it -but you still have to deal with potential customers the way they expect.

[NeighborJ]

There are plenty of jobs which can make use of people without people skills. I worked as a HVAC service tech for twelve years, aside from the brief contact with the customers, I always worked alone, was given new and exciting challenges to solve and had somewhat flexible hours. I can also tell you that working alone for so long will drive you a little goofy.

 

I now work as a welder and I can say that it was a shock to the system learning to work with others, showing up on time, and being able to consistently do the same tasks over and over but it has enough diversity to keep me a little stimulated.

 

There is a job out there which is a perfect match for you. It may take a while to find it but it does exist.

[OldMarine]

I'm a plumber and have never been accused of being a people person. Like NJ said, I work by myself most times and almost never see my customers. I'm completely anal about my work quality and have no patience with sloppy help so though my customers often request me for jobs very few apprentices (my son was the exception) ask to work with me!

[taiwanluthiers]

I don't know if punctuality is anything to do with autism because I have no problem with it. But people with Aspergers live with routine so punctuality is actually not a problem. But for just about all employers punctuality is required because you can't run a business if workers are showing up 3 hours late. Only work where it's not an issue is when it's project based, but they do have deadlines.

[OldMarine]

Our shop/lot steward is autistic (severely, not Asperger's) and though limited in his communication skills, his ability to coordinate and place parts orders is extraordinary. He recently came and fixed this very computer when it crashed a few weeks ago.

My boss was reluctant to hire him since his sister came to the interview with him to aid communication but after finding out they attended the same church he gave him a try. His meticulousness has been a boon and he's learned to holler at the parts guys if something is not right and is learning self pride. My boss is going to pay for his prom getup when he gets to graduate HS this summer since he couldn't finish with his classmates due to his Mama's passing.

Carrying on a conversation when he first came to the company was like talking to a dead frog on the sidewalk and almost as unpleasant. After almost 2 years I can call him a friend and a trusted one to boot. That boy has learned every part in the store and knows every part stored in the overflow outside and corrects the inventory in the computer twice weekly, an act no one had done before he got all up in there.

He's still an unsocial asshole to most people and if I wasn't one myself I might hold it against him. I am though and I like his cantankerous ass.

Go find your Holt Plumbing!

[Ubehage]

The world is a harsh, cruel place. See it for what it is, and adjust to it. Don't ask it to adjust to you. I'm sorry if this seems harsh. Regular attendance is a bare minimum expectation in the workplace. The workplace is not about you. Maybe you should start your own business and see if you can make that work for you. Problem is, I can't think of a business where lack of reliability could be tolerated. The sooner you realize that it's your responsibility to fit in, the sooner you will do the things you need to do to succeed. I suggest you dust yourself off, and take another crack at it.

My reliability is perfect, if I like my job and like the place/atmosphere.

I know what you mean, and I'm sure you mean it well. But it's something deep down in my personality: I feel like a slave, if I know that I have to do something.

 

The fact that I can't just say "nah, fuck it. I'm calling in for a day off", is what takes my motivation away.

I propably won't ever take a day off, but having the freedom to do so without any questions asked, is important to me.

[lloyd]

Then, Ube, you'd better start your own business...

 

Lloyd

[OldMarine]

My reliability is perfect, if I like my job and like the place/atmosphere.

I know what you mean, and I'm sure you mean it well. But it's something deep down in my personality: I feel like a slave, if I know that I have to do something.

 

The fact that I can't just say "nah, fuck it. I'm calling in for a day off", is what takes my motivation away.

I propably won't ever take a day off, but having the freedom to do so without any questions asked, is important to me.

Dude. That sounds more like a bad case of lazy ass than Aspergers. I have a Down Syndrome cousin who goes to work every damned day though they said he'd never wipe his own ass or live past 20. He's 51 and still working every day. Get the fuck over yourself. If you recognize a problem you can change it..period!

Sorry to be harsh but you are starting to sound self excusing rather than explanatory. Life sucks for everyone and you are no exception. If you're that fucked up get some disability and go be quiet somewhere. If not? Get out and conquer something, no matter how small, make it your own.

[NeighborJ]

There isn't a person alive that wants to be under someone else's thumb. I don't care who it is they all need to acknowledge at some point that they are not in control of others, in order to gain control of themselves. Self will is a bitch.

 

The moment I realize this I am handed the keys to my own freedom and can work toward earning what I need, not always what I want but what I need. It is this cooperative give and take which greases the wheels on this earth.

 

I am reminded almost daily that the world doesn't revolve around me no matter how much I may will it to and so I need to give in to the little things to win the real prize.

Edited April 24, 2017 by NeighborJ

[Sparx88]

1. Don't fall for the religion of "be content with your life if it has become less than you set out for it to be". You have to keep going or what else is there to live for if one gives up...Do what you love and do it well. Even if you don't get payed for it. - If you have disabilities that will worsen as you age, but have a work ethic of a saint, the willpower of a lion and a mind to rival the most intelligent...that holds especially urgent.

 

2. I was disabled in an auto wreck caused by me in 2007. I can no longer do what I loved to do in the same capacity but could still do the smallest things but with my disabilities I'm a "liability" a "high risk for injury" and can't be insured for the work which is mandatory . I feel you on being locked out of what you love to do on account of a "technicality". I mourned this for a couple years and when it got bad, refer to number 1.

 

Much love and respect to you bro.

[lloyd]

Ube,

One other thing:

 

When you DO finally get your own business going, and it's running successfully, I want you to VERY carefully record what your own responses are when an employee regularly starts 'just showing up when they want to'.

 

Let me know how that goes.

Lloyd

[DavidF]

The impression I got was that the OP would show up, but just needs to know it's OK not to, sometimes. I think the rest of us call those times 'sick days'. In some jobs people take days off even when they are not sick, just because they can (unionized workers like teachers, and other government workers). Other more dedicated people just show up if they are not sick, because they have a work ethic. But then other workers complain that the dedicated workers make the others look bad. Nope, the lazy shits make their own selves look bad. They don't need help.

 

I don't know about the other folks, but when I read that someone can't do what they want to do because other people are ignorant and stupid, it makes me wish my computer had a SLAP button! Those words are indicative of a problem employee right there! They are insulting, and defeatist. Nowadays, employers check social media postings as part of their screening processes. If I was a potential employer and I read the original post in this thread I would DEFINITELY pass on that person. I hope the anti-employer posts aren't also on Facebook.

 

I think the OP got off on the wrong foot on this thread, but some really valuable things were said. Best wishes Ubehage.

[taiwanluthiers]

I never take sick days by the way.. if I'm sick, most the time it's a cold, I still show up because it's not so bad that I'm confined to bed. However the exception I'd make is food service... since there's sanitation concerns, and I'd discuss it with management if I were sick in a food service setting.

 

If I need time off to chill or whatever I request the days off ahead of time. Employers deserve advanced notice like this so they can at least plan around it.

[lloyd]

Amen, Taiwan Guitarist!

 

People who use 'sick time' for PTO rob both the employer (of planning opportunities) and themselves (of available leave with pay when they ARE actually sick)!

 

Regardless of whether or not an employer 'lumps' all leave into one 'leave package', it's still polite to request leave.

 

For instance, in the fireworking industry, we have certain times of the year when ALL discretionary leave is prohibited. If anyone claims 'sick leave', they must provide a doctor's statement that substantiates their sickness claim.

 

Lloyd