Autistic people do poorly in job interviews, but we’re great workers | Opinion
1:30 AM on Apr 18, 2022 CDT
I am currently employed at the Dallas Museum of Art as a gallery attendant supervisor, where I have worked for over three years, first as a gallery attendant, and now as a supervisor. This is the longest I have been employed at a single job, and it’s the first employer that has promoted me. You would think that someone with a Ph.D. would not have a difficult time finding or keeping a job. As it turns out, being autistic has a much greater impact on employment prospects than does having a Ph.D. But with some understanding and accommodation, employers would find in autistic people a well of hard workers who can strengthen a company’s workforce with a different way of thinking.
However, we also have social anxiety. It will take us forever to get comfortable around our new coworkers. We’ll probably latch onto our trainer, but not know how to interact with anyone else. But it gets worse. Many of us have attention-deficit disorder, so our minds are everywhere all the time. I carry a clipboard with me to jot down ideas for stories and poems, for example. I’ve done it when working in an office setting. I do it because, if I don’t jot down the idea, I’ll become obsessed with the idea, and become unable to concentrate on my work. To jot things down is to clear my mind to work.