I know life was never meant to be fair, but when you begin to understand the disadvantage having this disorder puts you at it really is depressing. There's a reason why approximately 35 percent of individuals with Asperger's are attending college, but yet people with Asperger's have a 75-85 percent unemployment rate. The average person underestimates how important social skills and being able to interact with others naturally like a "normal" human is, but when you lack that ability you are truly screwed in our society.
The really sad thing is there is hardly any help for adults with Asperger's. It seems like as soon as you turn 18 society forgets you exist and already expects you to be able to be a "normal" person. Unfortunately for many of us this is when our problems begin to get a lot worse. There are some work readiness programs for people with Autism, but many of these problems focus on individuals with medium functioning Autism who want to work for minimum wage and learn basic social skills so they can reach that goal. For people like myself who understand social skills in theory, and know they are capable of doing much more than working for minimum wage, there is nothing.
The problem is employers want to hire people they view as confident, high energy, and in general fun to be around. When you have Asperger's (especially combined with anxiety and depression like I do), this is literally impossible. I can pretend to be the characteristics viewed as positive by potential employers, but I still come across as awkward, not being genuine and in general very low energy and boring thanks to my monotone voice which is out of my control. I feel like next time I should just tell employers at interviews that "to be honest I do have Asperger's syndrome which can make it difficult for me to interact with others at times, but despite this, I truly believe that having Asperger's also will make me a harder worker than the other people applying for this job, as I am eager to prove myself, take pride in my work, and am more than qualified for this position". Unfortunately I believe if I said this I'd immediately be taken off of a company's hiring list as soon as I said that word Asperger's.
I don't really know what else to say other than I'm tired of the same thing over and over. I know that I am intelligent enough and a hard enough worker to be able to have a respectable job. I know that I am attractive and interesting enough to be in a relationship with something. I know that I am adventurous enough and kind enough to be a good friend, but I can't do any of these things because of the expectations that society puts on social skills. The thing about Asperger's is there is literally nothing wrong with many of us, it's just our society that makes a problem out of it. I truly believe that the world would be a much better place if everyone had Asperger's.
Last edited by Dark_Lord_2008 - on 09 January 2019
