My name is Dylan Volk. I am 25 years old and I have what is known as high functioning autism. In my experience with almost 40 jobs, having been fired from every one of them, I have some advice for employers. I would like to tell you 3 things that I want employers to know about people with autism.
1.) “High Functioning” is a misnomer for people with autism.
The term “High Functioning” to describe my disability is one of the biggest challenges I have to deal with in the workplace. Because I present to the average person as nuerotypical, what people on the autism spectrum call normal, employers underestimate the impact of my disability. And, please make no mistake about it, it is a disability. Without accommodations I am less able to do the same job functions as other people. I need assistance. That is not an insult to me, it is simply a fact of life. What I find insulting is the term “differently abled.” It leads employers to think that my challenges are no more of an obstacle than any other person’s and, therefore, it devalues the struggles I am faced with every day. People tend to go on face value. They go by what they feel, not by what they know. I have found that even when I tell people I have a disability and how it will impact my work, if they do not feel like I have a disability, they assume I am “just being difficult” or “not cutting it.” And that is when I get fired. Employers, please do not assume that because I am “high functioning” I am like everyone else.
2.) Forget all the rules about privacy, PLEASE tell people about my disability!
I have asked several employers and Human Resources managers to please disclose my disability to my co-workers. They usually tell me they prefer not to do that as it violates privacy laws. They say they don’t like to talk about employee’s disabilities. My response tends to blow them away, “The difference between my disability and those of many people who that rule was created for, is that my disability is invisible. You don’t have to tell people about the guy in the wheelchair or the woman who can’t see because everyone can immediately recognize their disabilities.” I have found this argument is challenging even for Human Resources managers to deny. If having co-workers know about my disability means they are more “forgiving,” I am perfectly fine with that. It may mean I keep my job.
3.) Take the most specific instructions you can imagine, and make them much clearer for me.
Whenever I get a job I tell my employer that I need extremely clear and specific instructions. And they always say the same thing: “No problem, I can do that.” Issues arise later when they realize that the extremely clear and specific instructions I need are at a level they don’t even comprehend. You see, neurotypical people read between each other’s lines much more than they know. For example, when I was working in Utah, I spilled some mop water at the pizza place where I was working and had to clean it up. I mopped and mopped but I just could not seem to get the floor dry. I went to my supervisor to ask what he thought of the wet floor. I asked, “Can I go now?” He said, “If you think that is good enough I guess you can go.” As you are well aware, that is not a yes or a no. It is not clear or specific. I mopped some more. I am not an expert on evaporation. I am not a professional in the custodial arts. I had no clue what that floor would look like when the water dried. I asked him again if my work was completed. He gave me the same response. In his mind he was totally convinced he was telling me to stay by his tone, pitch and body language. But I am autistic. I take everything literally. So when he said I could go, I left. I was fired the next day.
When someone with autism tells you they need clear instructions, think to yourself “literal and ridiculously clear” and you might get it right.
Dylan Volk is co-author of Chasing the Rabbit: A Dad’s Life Raising a Son on the Spectrum. He is a nationally acclaimed public speaker for autism awareness and autism understanding. You can learn more at www.chasingtherabbit.org
