About people with Asperger syndrome

People with Asperger syndrome are at least as physically and mentally capable of working as anybody else, but this is not always enough to succeed in today's employment market. Many obstacles stand in the way of satisfying and successful employment.

Research by the National Autistic Society estimates that as little as 12% of the 260,000 adults in the UK diagnosed with, or believed to have, Asperger syndrome are in full time employment. The real figure is unknown because there isn't a national register of people with Asperger syndrome, but it is unlikely to be higher than 20%. It is also estimated that over 50% of people with Asperger syndrome who hold higher level qualifications in science, engineering, or IT / computing are either unemployed, or seriously underemployed in an unskilled dead end job that makes very little use of their skills and qualifications. 

Surveys carried out by Asperger syndrome support groups reveal that most adults with Asperger syndrome say that finding a suitable career would improve their lives more than anything else. This is even more so for adults who possess a high level of skills and qualifications and want to put them to good use.

The estimated lifetime cost to the taxpayer is £750,000 for each person with Asperger syndrome not employed.

It is interesting that amongst different people with Asperger syndrome of comparable intelligence and ability,  the deciding factor of whether they are able to find suitable employment or not almost always comes down to an individual's circumstances. A high proportion of people with Asperger syndrome who manage to find employment in science, engineering, and to a lesser extent in IT / computing do so through personal contacts rather than succeeding in the open job market. Unfortunately, most people with Asperger syndrome have no contacts in the industry they wish to work in, so have little choice but to compete in the open job market. Success stories are few and far between, and persistant rejection at interviews on the grounds of (lack of) social skills, people skills, or a strange personality is commonplace.

In February 2007, we were contacted by an electronic engineer who has had no success in securing suitable employment for over 2 years after he graduated in 2004. He has managed to secure interviews with over 20 companies ranging from semiconductors, to satellites, to software for financial services. Sadly, he was rejected every time because of issues relating to Asperger syndrome that the managers and interviewers could not understand the reasons behind. Excuses for not employing him ranged from talking to abruptly, to lack of eye contact with the interviewer, or not being a sufficiently rounded person because he doesn't participate in team sports. Only one of the interviewers had heard of Asperger syndrome, and when asked to explain a bit more about the condition after giving the notice of rejection, he (totally incorrectly) stated that they are psychologically unstable. This engineer is a victim of the lack of awareness and understanding of Asperger syndrome by employers.

Asperger Technical has encountered several people either officially or unofficially diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in the 25 to 35 age group who work in the high technology industry or in university research. They all earn in excess of £25,000 a year, and one software engineer in his 30s claims he earns nearly £38,000 a year.

This is clearly evidence that people with Asperger syndrome are capable of succeeding in a career requiring a high level of intelligence and technical knowledge, providing they are given the chance to prove themselves in the workplace.

Communication issues

A common mistake many managers and human resources people make is assuming that people with Asperger syndrome are bad when it comes to communication, and that having Asperger syndrome is detrimental to the way they interact with others in the workplace. Many people with Asperger syndrome are actually very good at communication and can explain things well in clear straightforward English. They often have a rather functional and literal style of language which is a disadvantage in the English literature GCSE, but is often an advantage in a technical environment. Most people with Asperger syndrome actually work best in an environment where there is good communication and they know where they and other people stand with the project they are working on. They don't like working with people who fail to communicate clearly, or have a habit of concealing and obfuscating important information.

The stereotype of people with Asperger syndrome shutting themselves in a closet with a computer all day and never talking to anybody is baseless and unreal. It is true that many people with Asperger syndrome are capable of (and often enjoy) working alone for long periods of time, but they also like regular communication sessions with other people in their organisation to exchange information on progress and other matters.

The social interaction problems that people with Asperger syndrome have is understanding body language, recognising social cues, reading facial expressions, and picking up on unwritten etiquette and rules of the environment they are in. Therefore, allowances need to be made to accomodate these issues. Another problematic area is smalltalk. An employee with Asperger syndrome might have few problems communicating about work related issues to both colleagues and outsiders, so theoretically is an asset to the organisation, but fitting in with the rest of the workforce socially and surviving the office politics, and the horseplay, and the windups are issues that could prove problematic. Most people with Asperger syndrome prefer to talk about the projects they are working on, or topics that interest them such as astronomy or classic cars. They often don't want to participate in gossip about people, or conversations about popular culture that many neurotypical people follow such as celebrities, television soaps, or sports events.

Social skills

One of the biggest misconceptions of people with Asperger syndrome is that they lack social skills. Asperger Technical considers this to be a very poor and unjust label that people with Asperger syndrome are made to endure due to misunderstandings by society, and bad press in the mainstream media. 

There is a world of difference between social skills and manners. Good manners stem from how you think: a gentlement is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as a man who tries to make others comfortable and a lady is the female equivilent. This is not the same thing as social skills because they are about following invisible rules imposed by society to assimilate into a particular community of people. Good manners stem from thoughtful consideration- social skills are about trying to fit in. Social skills are dependent upon particular situations and communities, and change when you move to a different community, but manners are universal. 

People with Asperger syndrome usually comply with the generally accepted social rules such as focusing on what a person is saying, asking and responding to questions, keeping conversation relevant, but are still marginalised because they appear eccentric, and have difficulty with  non-verbal communications that neurotypical people take for granted.