First of all, this post isn’t to gain pity and is simply to explain what I’ve had to overcome with my disabilities. I presume some employers or schools will reject me for openly disclosing my disabilities, but in that case, it’s a good [litmus test](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litmus_test_(politics), because I don’t want to work somewhere with such prejudices.
People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aren’t limited to shitty jobs like working at McDonalds. My local community college has a program to “train” people with ASD to work fast food jobs which I find disgusting. I’ve completed k-12, and some college at demanding schools such as Tulane and Berea College. Also, I’ve worked in Cybersecurity and as a Programmer at top tier companies. Companies such as Chase, Simons Foundation, Microsoft and IBM actualy have programs for folks with Autism for white collar jobs.
The only accommodations that I’ve asked for was the use of a calculator and tasks etc. in writing since I forgot things often or have to re-read a few times to internalize stuff. Medicine helps me a ton and I’ve performed above my peers for my last 4 jobs and made notable accomplishments. I’m high functioning, but I’ve read of other folks working for Microsoft who are lower functioning.
People with Autism and other discords have a very low employment rate and not many employers are willing to hire us which is depressing. It’s near impossible to accuse someone of not hiring you because of your Autism unless they wrote it down in the interview notes which would be stupid of them to do. Very fear cases of disability discrimination is successful and may earn you a “bad apple” label.
It sorta makes sense, because why hire someone who may cause more trouble than a neurotypical employee? Well, even the military and NGA found that their employees with Autism have less errors and better performance than people who are neurotypical.
It irks me that military members can find out they have Autism while enlisted and stay in, but it’s disqualifying if you try to enlist while already diagnosed. More and more employers are creating Autism programs at companies and I wish more would. Many of my employers didn’t have such a program, but I still excelled.