October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time to recognize the contributions of disabled people in the workforce, and to consider the barriers that still keep far too many people from meaningful employment.
For the Autistic Community, those barriers are significant.
At GRASP, we have been talking about autism and employment for many years. One issue that continues to arise is not simply unemployment, but underemployment: Autistic adults working fewer hours than they want, working in positions far below their abilities, moving repeatedly between jobs, or being unable to find work that makes use of what they know and do well.
Too often, the conversation begins with the question: How do we make an Autistic person fit into the workplace?
Perhaps we should be asking a different question:
How can we create work that fits the person?
Employment Is About More Than Ability
We also need to be careful about assuming that difficulty obtaining or maintaining employment tells us something about a person’s capability.
Hiring practices frequently reward social performance before a person ever has the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to do the actual job. Interviews can emphasize eye contact, rapid responses, self-promotion, unwritten social expectations, and the ability to quickly establish rapport with strangers.
Then, once someone is hired, success may depend upon navigating sensory environments, office politics, ambiguous instructions, changing expectations, and communication styles that have little to do with the person’s actual work.
When those systems exclude Autistic people, the answer cannot always be to teach us to become better at appearing non-Autistic.
Sometimes the system needs to change.
A Different Way to Think About Work
Meaningful employment does not have to look the same for everyone.
For some Autistic people, success may mean a traditional full-time career. For others, it may mean part-time work, supported employment, entrepreneurship, remote work, project-based work, or building income around a particular area of knowledge or interest.
The goal should not be to fit everyone into the same definition of employment.
The goal should be to help people find ways to contribute, create, work, and earn income that recognize both their abilities and their individual support needs.
During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we hope employers, professionals, families, and fellow community members will think beyond simply getting disabled people into jobs.
Let’s also ask whether we are creating workplaces, and possibilities, that allow people to succeed once they get there.
Because inclusion isn’t just being hired.
It is having the opportunity to do meaningful work, contribute what you have to offer, and build a life that works for you.
GRASP Employment Workshop coming soon!