I have several family members who have autism. It’s a weird disease that encapsulates a spectrum of symptoms and behaviors. Some of those family members can function with the help of drugs, therapy, and the benefit of being born upper-middle-class. Others weren’t so lucky and struggle to stay afloat in a world that doesn’t make sense.
It’s heart-wrenching to watch my adult relatives cope with a condition that cannot be cured, is tough to manage, and is not widely understood.
Beyond the general diagnosis of autism, I have two adult family members who live with Asperger’s Syndrome. One thrives in a regimented academic environment and tells her story in a very honest & personal way. Another family member flounders in his adult life, cannot interact, and struggles to find his identity. The resources haven’t been there for him, and he can barely keep his shit together.
This is a blog that preaches common sense and pragmatism. We don’t jump on bandwagons. We don’t throw labels around. I wonder how you are dealing with neurodiversity in your personal lives and in the workforce?
- When we talk about ‘cultural fit’ in the interview process, how do we account for those who are more than qualified to do a job but lack the social skills needed to make a compelling case that they can do the job?
- How do we interact with those in the workforce who cannot communicate in an empathetic way?
- How do we deal with adults who have problems dealing with social interactions, details, facts, and manners? What happens when an adult at work suddenly tell you that she has Asperger’s Syndrome? Does that change anything?
This topic can go anywhere, really, and I’m ready for the journey. I have family members who flap their hands excessively and cannot make eye-contact with me when they talk. I have adults in my life with Asperger’s who are on the verge of suicide. Now here’s the tricky part: I have worked with both executives & employees at Fortune 500 companies in the late 90s who told me that they had ADD. Then, after 9/11, they had ADHD and post-traumatic disorder — even though they weren’t at the scene of the attacks. Now there’s a new crop of American employees out there who have Asperger’s Syndrome.
As human beings struggle to define themselves in an increasingly chaotic world, Asperger’s Syndrome becomes an accessible and convenient archetype. Unfortunately, some of these people are simply assholes who look for excuses to avoid taking ownership of their rude & selfish behaviors. Personal growth is tough — and it’s easier to be a victim than to take a deep dive into your psyche and hold yourself accountable.
I think the workplace needs to bend and flex to accommodate diversity. Neurodiversity is a fact, whether it’s autism or a woman who cannot function without copious amount of coffee in the morning. As much as we expect the workforce to move forward into the 21st century, I believe we should expect adults to seek treatment for medical conditions [& a public option would do wonders for this], get their shit together & deal with their emotional issues, and do right by their fellow human beings.
What do you think?
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Great post, Laurie. This is not a conversation that is happening — and it should. Leave it to you to tee up a discussion that really matters. Thanks!
“Personal growth is tough — and it’s easier to be a victim than to take a deep dive into your psyche and hold yourself accountable.”
I embrace this wholeheartedly. It is a mantra I recite every single day.
Laurie, probably one of the most poignant and important posts I’ve ever read of yours. I mean, I love your HR insight, the gut-punch levity of Southpark Chipotle Poop and hobby hob-nobbing and Japanese trinkets, but this one really touches me.
I don’t have family members with Asperger’s or autism, but I do have friends and family with other “syndromes”, health issues, and addiction problems – who while needing understanding and empathy, also need to own themselves, elevate and get their shit together.
The workplace can and should promote neurodiversity – our very homes need to promote it – but with the vision of empowering personal responsibility through special programmatic onboarding, T&D, employee assistance programs, mentoring, talent networking…
But at the end of the day when we punch out, we must note this: nobody owes us anything. Not the company, our co-workers, our managers, our families or friends. And if we don’t start taking responsibility and help others less fortunate learn to take as much responsibility as we can, we’re going to continue to have a whole lot of f-ed up folk and a world full of haters.
I’m really tired of the haters and non-elevaters.
Some very complicated issues, here, Laurie.
As a mental health counselor, and as someone with a family member with Asberger’s Syndrome, I have pondered many of these same thoughts.
I agree that the workplace needs to bend and flex to accommodate diversity. I also believe that people need to get their shit together & deal with their emotional issues. Problem is, it isn’t so easy to do that for some people.
For people with Autism Spectrum disorders (such as Asberger’ Syndrome or full blown Autism) it isn’t just a matter of getting their shit together. Their brains are wired in such a way that their shit is organized completely differently than most folks. Some people are more functional than others, but even so, they are all operating as though they are in a foreign country and do not know the language.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a whole different thing, although there are some parallels. Recent research shows that individuals suffering form PTSD have neurological as well as psychological impact from exposure to traumatic events. PTSD is a psychological injury that can happen to anyone after experiencing an extremely frightening or terrifying event. And believe it or not, watching the events from 9/11 on TV can trigger PTSD symptoms.
Persons with PTSD experience a pervasive sense of fear and threat to their inner security, causing numerous behaviors and responses that can complicate employment responsibilities. HR folks do not need to be therapists; however, they may be the front line in directing an impaired employee towards help. Understanding the fears and responding in ways that are less likely to exaggerate those fears can go a long way in maximizing the employee’s work productivity.
All that said, jobs have expectations, and mental/emotional disorders should not be used as excuses to avoid expectations.
Some people may need compassionate support and extra guidance. Reasonable accommodations may be necessary to boost an individual’s productivity. Enhancing coworker sensitivities may be in order. Medical leave may be required in some situations. But excuses for being a slacker are not indicated. If a person continues to fail expectations as a result of a mental/emotional disorder after accommodations have been made, they need to get professional help.
One thing that HR folks can to do is advocate for equal benefits for mental health treatment. Most insurance plans have significantly less coverage and higher deductibles for mental health conditions than they do for other medical conditions. Medicaid even excludes treatment for Autism Spectrum disorders unless there is a coexisting condition. Not only do we need a “public option” as part of health care reform, we need a public option that will cover treatment of mental health conditions in the same way that it covers other medical conditions.
My relative who has Asberger’s Disorder has received considerable encouragement and support throughout his entire life. Although he struggles, he is functional in many ways. I only wish that all persons with this disorder could be so lucky. The more support we offer people, the more productive they can be.
My relative will never tell you that he has Asberger’s or use it as an excuse. If you let him, though, he will go on for hours about some obscure independent film maker from the 1960’s who happens to have captured his attention this week.
That is his world.
i think it makes all the sense in the world. i’m just skeptical of corporate america’s willingness/ability to get there. we have enough trouble figuring out how to advance women and minorities at rates commensurate with their white male peers. the social fabric of a workplace is terribly complex and seems to function almost by accident through some hidden force. it’s hard to tell how that force will respond to new dynamics until they are introduced. i don’t know enough about these afflictions, but if someone who does says that it would be a good thing to give those who have them a chance in the workplace, then i think we have an obligation to at least give it a shot.
Great post Laurie. I have 2 brothers with Autism – 1 having Asperger’s and it is extremely difficult to watch them now as young adults in their late teens and early 20′s trying to find a way to fit into a educational system, workforce and society that just doesn’t understand them and they don’t understand…
I really enjoyed this post, as it addresses a constantly shifting gray area of neurodiversity: when do we, as a workplace/neighborhood/world, need to learn more and ‘bend’, and when are we accountable for our own happiness as individuals (despite a challenging setting)? I agree with you, I don’t think there is some reliable matrix we can use to find the answer to this question all the time. At the end of the day, each of is responsible for empowering ourselves and others, without pity, and schmarmy politically-correctness.
My kids like watching old re-runs of Little House on the Prairie, and it often prompts me to do the “let’s roll things back a hundred years approach.” [Now go with me on this, I know in the not too distant past bad things existed such as women could not vote, and minorities did not have rights, etc., etc. I am not talking about social equity here, and the gains we have made…what I want to bring up is the radical change in self-responsibility that has taken place].
So, think back to Little House…kids in school, Ma mending clothes, making food. Pa out with the horse Team plowing the field, cutting wood. Self sufficient. Self reliant. If you did not chop wood, you froze your ass off. If you did not grow food, or hunt food, you went hungry. If you did not build a shelter or tend to your roof, you got consumed by the elements, and on, and on. No FEMA. No Red Cross. No Food Stamps. And yet, all these ailments, all these diseases, all these syndromes, they all must have existed then, too, right? I mean, all this has not just sprung up over the past several decades, or has it?
I wonder sometimes about indigenous, uneducated, illiterate people, working a rice paddies, say in a small village in Thailand. How many of those people have Irritable Bowel Syndrome? How many of them are Lactose Intolerant? I’ll bet you when you are bone tied, and half starving to death, busting your ass to survive, not many people worry about being gluten-free or how their erectile dysfunction will affect them that night.
Point being, are we so far off the path, so deep into our overall lifestyle success and dollar menus, that we’re coming up with ailment after ailment simply because we can?
I’m gonna comment on the post, but first…
Umm Dale. So many years ago we could only expect to live 35 maybe 45 years on average. For those with undiagnosed and untreated mental issues, they usually lived much shorter and much more painful lives. I get where you’re coming from dude, I just think you should dig deeper into the analogy of the past and see if it really holds. Not only that, but just look at what happened when Hitler couldn’t get it up? I for one am glad for Viagra! Pressure builds. Makes people mean. Just plain mean.
Right. So, awkward jokes aside.
As many have said this is a great post Laurie. And a topic I’ve not personally given much thought to. I don’t have any family dealing with these issues, and only one friend who’s son is moderately impacted, but not so much he can’t attend class with other PS students and succeed in them. That said, I did work closely with someone who had Asperger’s Syndrome for several years; so let’s say I’m of the ‘I play one on TV’ expert ilk.
My initial thought though is, should we be trying to find a way to…I don’t know…make special accommodations for folks dealing with this? I mean, there are jobs which have highly repetitive and highly isolated tasks, these I understand can be attractive to someone with Asperger’s. Isn’t there a natural process that moves such citizens to such jobs (think of Adam Smith’s invisible hand in economics)? I don’t know. You’re the HR expert…
And as for functioning in daily life, most people I’ve encountered in public facing positions are prepared to engage all personality types. This includes intellectually strange and emotionally unstable individuals at the one extreme, as well as excessively nice, talkative, verbose to the point of nausea (much like this comment) people at the other extreme. Why should we think that they or anyone in the workforce would need special training, more than management guidance, to learn how to engage these folks?
I’m really just asking here, but personally I view this as a question of the ability of individuals to accept others for who they are and work within their bounds of communication skills. Is that so much a question of accepting diversity, or is it possibly something more fundamental in being a conscientious citizen of the human race? after all, this is how I, and the other 30 people who worked closely with my aforementioned coworker, treated him. And that worked out fine for well over 10 years.
As always IMHO,
Sid.
@China Thanks!
@Kevin Wow, thank you. So insightful, Kevin, which is why I adore you. PS — I’m tired of the haters and non-elevators, too. I’m going to pay you a penny every time I use that line.
@BZ I just read this from my friend, Mike Vandervort, who posted lessons from Tibetan Buddhism. “Follow the 3 R’s Respect for self, respect for others, responsibility for all of your actions.” Shoot, those are words to live by… and you’re right, of course, about so much in your comments. PS – I read a book after 9/11 about PTSD and the main message for those who weren’t there? Turn the TV off. Your brain, especially when watching hidefnition TV, experiences the horrific events as if you are there. Stop watching the towers fall on the news. Also shared that message post-Katrina when my colleagues were stressed from the TV coverage.
@Charlie the social fabric of a workplace is terribly complex and seems to function almost by accident through some hidden force. I think that’s society in general. I’m amazed that murder rates aren’t higher, actually.
@Sarah I’m sorry to hear about your brothers. Your brothers have serious afflictions and conditions. I hate hearing the diagnosis thrown around as if it’s the illness dujour. Bothers me so much.
@EmpowerAutism each of is responsible for empowering ourselves and others, without pity, and schmarmy politically-correctness. So well written. Thank you!
@Dale I wonder sometimes about indigenous, uneducated, illiterate people, working a rice paddies, say in a small village in Thailand. How many of those people have Irritable Bowel Syndrome? How many of them are Lactose Intolerant? I’ll bet you when you are bone tied, and half starving to death, busting your ass to survive, not many people worry about being gluten-free or how their erectile dysfunction will affect them that night. I laughed out loud reading this comment. It strikes a chord with me because I have IBS and I know it’s environmental + stress + food choices. I eat Olive Garden? I poop. So I don’t eat Olive Garden. For me, IBS is a middle-class affliction that I never had when I had no money to eat at restaurants and made myself PB&J for dinner. That being said, some afflictions are real and were just ignored because of society’s norms and gender expectations. Who cares if women have hot flashes during menopause? Their personal health issues didn’t matter in 1897.
@Sid I’m pro-Viagra because it’s the only thing keeping Pfizer’s stock up. (Hahahahahah. Not funny for my 401k, though.) Sid, all good comments & observations. I’m with you in that our workforce should be able to find a role for someone who has Aspergers, and that role may not be VP of Sales. What I struggle with is someone who has Aspergers or diabetes or depression or cancer who is undiagnosed, untreated, or otherwise in denial. The other thing that bothers me is Sudden Diagnosis Syndrome. You do a crappy job at work, we threaten to fire you, and suddenly you have Chronic Fatigue? C’mon. That just makes it harder for those with Chronic Fatigue to get a fair shake in the workforce, buddy.
I feel your pain. One of my best friends has a child with Asbergers.
Similarly, My wife is a school psychologist and she comes home everyday with horror stories of dealing with various behavioral disorders.
In my own job, I have seen the number of requests for accommodation in the classroom continue to increase. Demands for extra help, extended time on exams. etc. are becoming more and more common. I have no doubt that many students are dealing with some serious crap; at the same time, there are some who receive the accommodation that make me wonder if they are taking advantage of the system.
@akaBruno Do you think accommodations are becoming more common because our culture encourages those people who need accommodations to ask? Do those accommodations correlate to higher success rates in both the short-term & long-term? Or do you think it’s a crutch for people who otherwise would’ve been bounced from college in the 70s and 80s for not performing?
@Dale–We don’t live in that world anymore. We never really did. Little House was a TV show.
Like it or not, we live in the world we have today. You can’t turn back the clock. We need to find ways to promote reasonable personal responsibility in the world we have today, not some fantasy of what it used to be.
@Laurie–I was traumatized by watching 911 on TV. I was in a funk and a haze for weeks. And I didn’t even have TV reception in my home. I only saw it when I was at places where there was TV reception.
@akaBruno–I am a counselor who works with kids who have serious behavioral problems. I come home with amazing stories about recovery and resilience. I guess it is an a matter of perspective.
@BZ I was at the WTC a few weeks before 9/11 and had 200+ employees in the building. http://punkrockhr.com/new-labor-day-911/ After the towers fell, I did research to understand what people felt after that event — and to better understand what I felt. I never really learned anything. That day was nuts. I was in Chicago. I had to get on phone and call people to make sure they weren’t dead. They all survived — but their friends & former colleagues at other businesses did not. Then a plane fell out of the sky and into a NYC borough and killed other friends and relatives of my employees. Then we moved our employees to Rockefeller Center — where anthrax infected NBC employees, a few weeks later. Christ, more crisis. Employees attended funerals, cried, went to grief sessions, quit on the spot, yelled at customers and clients — and I was back/forth to NYC from Chicago. I listened, coached, answered mental health insurance questions, and tried to make shit better for people (which I couldn’t do). I was 26. I saw colleagues abandon 20+ years of sobriety after surviving the WTC event. I had several friends who survived both WTC bombings (93 and 2001) and many of those people are a mess to this day. So I would never say that I had PTSD from 9/11 because I didn’t. But it was a shitty day and I was in a funk for months. Who wasn’t? So when I had an executive tell me that he couldn’t keep his shit together at work (and as a person) because he had PTSD from 9/11 — and he wasn’t the first guy to tell me this — I wanted to both punch him in the face and cry for him. Who uses 9/11 as a construct to explain moral failings? (A sick man. If it wasn’t 9/11, he’d use something else to explain his personal shortcomings.)
So there you go. My story.
You’re really bringing it on this post, Laurie. Each of us has to dig deep on this one and look inside ourselves.
9/11: Beyond horrific for those who were there, a recurring nightmare for everyone. Responding with compassion means we listen and provide individual care. When my team experienced the 1989 earthquake in SF, I found even months after the professional psychologists had left that people felt a huge need to talk. I made time to listen. Everyone had a story – especially the warehouse folks who helped rescue people from the pancaked Cypress freeway. When these things happen, we experience how widely different people’s coping abilities are. So often outward appearances mean nothing. I’ve seen Type A execs do a complete meltdown. Sometimes the inner resources just aren’t there.
Respect and vetting well are important. Some people are ‘eye shy’ and can’t do a lot of eye contact. Others communicate better in writing than in spoken word. Asperger’s can mean an individual is a gifted software engineer or concert pianist. You’re right – we need to carefully consider the value of the match for everyone while we’re going through the hiring process. Often adults with developmental (and other) issues don’t have the social ‘mask’ – and that usually calls for educating others so that they are understanding and welcoming. They may need more time to adjust to change, but once they do get it into their framework I find they’re good with it. The different language analogy is pretty apt.
Folks, I realize Little House was a TV show. Thank you, bztat, for pointing that out. I was drawing upon the TV show to make a point, or perhaps, ask a question. One which I thought was valid and containing enough merit to ask.
@Dale I agree, perfectly valid question. And oftentimes looking at the past is a good way to gauge where we are and where we’re going.
The problem is, more often than not when the analogy of the past is put forward as a critique of the present ideas and social norms are cherry picked to make the point. Then the analogy looses credibility because of all the things it doesn’t do to truly represent the issues at hand.
I’m not saying this is what you did at all. I’m just saying that the reaction to your comment is probably based in an unwillingness to go down that path, so to speak.
I didn’t intend on devaluing your comment, and if I did please accept my apologies.
Best,
Sid.
@Sid–Thank you for the clarification. Indeed, my response was based in an “unwillingness to go down that path”. I often hear folks wanting to return to a past that is a myth, one that has been promoted in fictional TV shows. Regardless of the truth of those shows, however, our culture has changed dramatically over the years, and the austerity of early pioneer America just can’t be recreated at this point. I wish folks would focus on trying to find ways to encourage personal responsibility that works with the culture that we have today instead of walking down memory lane.
@Dale–Your comment certainly was “valid and containing enough merit to ask”. I apologize if my discussion implied that it was not. I was simply stating my perspective.
@Marsha Often adults with developmental (and other) issues don’t have the social ‘mask’ – and that usually calls for educating others so that they are understanding and welcoming. They may need more time to adjust to change, but once they do get it into their framework I find they’re good with it. So insightful. Thanks for the comment about san francisco and thanks for the quote!
@Dale BZ is a therapist and she has good perspective on this subject. Your comment was totally valid.
@Side You are awesome.
@BZ I love your participation on this blog because you’re not in HR, you’re not really looking for a traditional job, and don’t have to participate — and yet you do. It’s readers like you who make me smile!
@Laurie—I participate because I find intelligent folks here willing to engage in issues that are of great interest to me.
I would have never thought I would find that on a career blog, but life takes you down interesting trails.
Pardon the length here, but I thought your earlier post warranted a more thorough one from me.
I am so glad that your friends and colleagues survived 9/11, but so sad for the pain and anguish that you and they have suffered since that fateful day. Much pain is still felt around the world as a result of 9/11/01, on an individual and cultural level.
My own experience of that day was painful, but nothing compared to the experiences of people who were more closely affected. I was traumatized, but I did not experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a persistence of specific symptoms over time triggered by a traumatic event.
I expect that very few people in America were NOT traumatized on some level by 9/11/01.
Each individual responds to trauma differently. Some people who directly experience a traumatic event have more resiliency than others less close to the same event. People who actually survive a tornado destroying their home around them are sometimes less affected by others who simply witness the aftermath. No one really knows why, but it is suspected that some people have genetic traits that lend towards faster emotional rebound than others.
Also, the more traumatic events you have experienced in your life, the more likely you are to be triggered by other traumatic events, or even events that are symbolic of past traumas. Some folks who wigged out over 9/11/01 and had no clear connection to it could have been reacting to past unresolved issues that were triggered by the events of that day.
There is no way of knowing, sometimes, if someone is using PTSD as an excuse or whether it is a true and valid reason for impairment. Regardless, as a therapist and as a pragmatist, I do not take excuses. I encourage folks to offer compassion and support to persons experiencing emotional pain, but not pity. I consider those who have experienced trauma to be survivors, not victims. They need to be held to expectations as long as they are capable of meeting them.
After the towers fell, I did research to understand what people felt after that event — and to better understand what I felt. I never really learned anything.
This strikes me as ironic, because every major news outlets had the talking heads out telling everyone what they supposedly needed to know. At the time, it sounded like bland homogenized psychobabble to me. Now that I know more about trauma, I realize that the talking heads didn’t know what they were talking about. You are right. If they had known anything, they would have said, “Turn the TV off and stop watching me NOW.”
If you still want to learn more, let me know. I can get you some resources.
As I write this, and I re-read yours and others’ posts, I am starting to wonder more about mental health in the workplace. Is this an area of your own personal interest, Laurie, or do all HR (or anti-HR) folks struggle with dealing with these issues?
Just one other point…I did my dissertation on employee assistance programs based on a multiple constituency approach. Besides finding differences in preference and usage based on hierarchical level, one unfortunate finding was that a significant portion (around 15-20% at each organization included in the survey) was unaware that the organization offering an EAP. Tough to tackle personal problems affecting performance when employees are not taking advantage of the resources that are available to them.
@akaBruno–Very good point. I have heard that EAP’s can be so time-limited, however, that they are sometimes a drop in the bucket. And they often limit you to providers who may not have expertise in the area of treatment that you need. Is this a correct picture of modern-day EAP’s?
@bztat like the cereal aisle in the supermarket, there are so many varieties of EAPs out there. Some are very limited as to be as simple as information and referral, to a strong broad-based in-house program that can cover a wide swath of issues.
Laurie,
Great post and even better exchange in comments. I work with a woman that has a primary responsibility to help the disabled community find jobs. Blind, deaf, downs, traumatic brain inj, aspberger, etc. She has done a marvelous job in our organization and has been recognized by numerous state and national agencies. As the parent of an autistic child I am thankful for people like her. I will stay connected and continue to identify the “elevators” that this advocate can partner with so my son can reach his full potential.
Wow Laurie this one hits close to home. As I have shared with you, my 4 year old daughter has Mowat-Wilson syndrome and I am told she will never have an independent life. She has moderate to sever cognitive disabilities and lack of verbal skills. I think people should be grateful that they have the ability to work. To get up, shower, get dressed, feed themselves and go to work. My daughter will never be able to that. Aspergers is such a sensitive diagnosis. There are so many levels and what one person may perceive as rude or awkward behavior is part of who they are. My bigger concern is discrimination due to excessive benefits claims. My daughter had $64,000 in medical claims in the third quarter of this year. I know that flags me on some report. Makes me wonder how that will work for me at restructure time?
I knew when I saw the title of this post that it would be a good one. Thank you for an insightful post.
Lots of perspectives on concern re. Asperger’s, and here’s one more: folks who are “borderline”.
A relative of mine falls in that exact non-category and in some ways I believe things are more difficult for her for that very reason. Wish there were resources for folks who are just “off” — sensitive resources that don’t make them feel bad but just provide support — social groups, for example, or job resources. I don’t believe there’s anyone advocating in this area.
Thank you for bringing up this topic.
My son is five and has just been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. It is so painful because there is little tolerance and only a tiny bit of awareness of even what it is.
I am an executive recruiter and I promise I will teach him as best I can to “interview well”, be polite and thoughtful, and put himself in another person’s shoes (social skills) so that when he grows up he can be rightfully employed.
But we to have those in positions to hire recognize that people with AS can be amazing in the right job–even if they “don’t give good interview”. My son is really smart but I can see he is going to be a nerd. Please teach your children to accept the differences. And please open the boundaries of who you hire. Please.
Laurie, this is certainly an issue that exists, and needs to be discussed. The issues start, in my opinion, in how we define diversity. It’s sadly a very visual thing for most corporate leaders. The need to see people of different colors and genders in the work place. When it comes to peoples with disabilities, that means wheelchairs. It’s sad, but in many folks minds it is definable and measurable (physical disabilities, that is). Neuro issues are not easily defined (go figure, the brain is so friggin’ complex!), and in the eyes of many people, easily “faked”.
This certainly means that companies haven’t rushed in to accept these challanges and how do deal with them. The other issue is the cost and confusion around accomodation. Physical issues are more readily accomodated. If someone is blind, provide voice recognition software, if they are in a wheel chair, build a ramp. These accomodations can be utilized by others with the same disabilities (in general). Where as two or more individuals with autism could (and most likely) would need very different accomodations.
I’m not saying that attitude is righ, just that it is current state. There are to many current and potential employees that are not being given the opportunity to contribute fully because companies are not actively supporting and championing their needs. I hope that it will change sooner, but I fear like many things it will be later.
@akaBruno–With such variation in EAP programming, how could you ever gage usage on any meaningful level? If an EAP is simply I&R, how would usage of that compare to usage of a broad based in house program?
@Alex– You are so right. Borderline Personality Disorder is so misunderstood and services tend to be very misdirected. As a therapist, I can tell you that this is also perhaps the most misdiagnosed disorder out there. People (mostly women) who present as a difficult challenge to therapists often get the “borderline” label, even if they don’t meet the full diagnostic criteria. Persons who do fit the criteria often do not get much help, as it is a very complicated disorder. I agree that offering resources and supports can be a great benefit, however, I do not see companies rushing out to do this for folks who have troubling workplace behavior.
@HRPufnstuf–You are so right. It is less difficult to accommodate someone with an obvious disability than it is for someone whose disability results in behaviors that diverge from company “norms”. It also doesn’t help that the psychological and neurological professions have no consensus about how to support and accommodate people with emotional-behavioral challenges. Perhaps if mental health concerns were more of a priority in the health care arena, mental health professionals would be compelled to stop being Pollyanna bleeding hearts and would come up with some clear guidance for employers. Not gonna hold my breath.
HR pros are candid about sharing the flaws of their profession on this blog. Trust me, I know the problems in mine (mental health), as well. We don’t do such a hot job a lot of the time either. But what can you expect of folks who are overwhelmed with society’s most troubled people, yet often make less money than teachers and have poorer benefits?
Lot of interesting stuff.
RE: “the past.”
Well, most people did pretty simple work, the same work all theire lives with people who had known them all theire lives. You know, you don’t need good social skills to chop wood or pull a plow. And folks might just say “Well, that’s Just John, he always was a little peculiare, but he’s our boy and he can pull a plow with the best of us.”
Even in the days when most people worked in facotories, you learn to do one thing and your set. The guys might hang out with you after work, but whatever.
Now, think of all the skill you need besides the skills that the job involve. Getting the resume together, the interview, the job search, and then the water cooler talk, office politics and on and on.
This is a funtion of living in the post industrial world.
So now we have SSI, but now, the need for SSI is, perhaps, greater.
RE: PTSD: as a person who thinks he has mild aspergers I can say this.
011 didn’t traumatize me, I have no TV.
Survivng the 1989 erathquake in San Francisco didn’t traumatize me, I was on the beach.
Getting bullyed (torchered it a better word) by other children when I was a kid, that traumatized me.
I meant to say “the guys might not hang out with you after work, but whatever.”
I’m so punk rock that I’m anti-welfare and pro-private property!
It’s not very empowering to create a social cache for willing victims, is it? Where is the actual medical proof of a “mental disorder” such as Aspergers? It’s misinformation gleefully perpetrated by the misinformed, catering to a variety of persecution complexes – not a catch-all invention created for convenience by the medical profession! You can’t fit a jigsaw into a keyhole, so why would you readily accept information provided to you by a stranger who is intrinsically going to know much less about an “Aspergers sufferer” (read: person) than you do? They cannot read minds!
If someone tells you that you have a mental disorder after a few weeks of reading off cards and ticking boxes on surveys and you actually believe it, then good grief. What’s more, go look up Aspergers. Look for statistics beyond the lazy and amorphous “25% of people acted like this, 65% like that etc.”. There is no neurological or medical data on the subject at all. Just casual speculation. This is all well and good, if it’s conducted on a purely experimental and diplomatic basis. Not foisted upon the public at large as a legitimate mental condition. This isn’t to say that some people under the Aspergers bracket are not mentally troubled or deficient, but to suggest that it’s an inadequate and slovenly label for them.
So many creative individuals are inexplicably branded Aspergers. Their uniqueness as people becomes a commodity. It’s a desire to become merchandise. Representation is be picked up and put down, not worn.
It’s another invented disease, can’t you see? We gladly reach for any explanation, excuse or identity and this is no different. It is like LGBT “rights”. Choosing to band together under an identity is oppressive, not empowering. Why must sexual (and by extension to my argument general) identity be consolidated? Do you think allowing yourself to be willfully recuperated by readily available social accommodators will allow you some kind of freedom and leverage from powerlessness? Just as a heterosexual must make love to a woman, a homosexual man or woman subscribe to the values of their identity. Where does a transgender fit into this? How are they supposed to “belong”?
Coming back a bit, with the vast range of “symptoms” available to prospective candidates of the Aspergers label, where can it lead? What will Aspergers mean when it becomes too broad a label, too pertinent when considering the technology-encumbered hermeticism of our age? Another word for “alienation”, the new prozac nation? Everyone is disillusioned, everyone has problems. Where does a person with Aspergers “belong” then?
So quick to clamber onto some mirage of clarification, that it became a custom-fit set of blinders. You just bought into a clinical explanation for your meretricious feelings. How stupid.
Neurodiversity… yes, people are different. You got any more news? Why should the world bend over backwards for your sob story? Oh, because an upper-middle class professional sanctioned it, with his powers of clairvoyance. You’re condoning their silly games when you enroll for this kind of no-show caring and sharing bluff. The willing victims/outsides of society, begging for rights and recognition of any sort, are the ideal cattle for tomorrow’s daily grind. If you want a job, don’t create a system that will push you through it in tedious fashion. Don’t build your bids for liberation on the grounds of a society-must-accept-me argument, because then it will accept you – and then some.
If someone lacks the facilities neccessary for a job, they should look somewhere else, or work to achieve said capabilities. Not fucking hound the company to change their policies. I mean, wouldn’t the kind of energy necessary for that kind of endeavor be better expended upon doing something YOURSELF? Isn’t that a bit more punk rock than whining to some white-collar patsies to please, PLEASE give you a job? Erm, aren’t you looking to escape from victimhood? If you are accepted into the workplace on the basis of said weakness, it’s not really doing yourself a favour is it? Don’t let insipid neurosis get the better of you.
I mean, in reality I like a lot of left wing ideas. But man, this kind of thing is something established professionals would do if their company suddenly fucked them in the bum. And they would argue to retain their positions. You are doing the same thing, but trying to retain the pitiful, narrow social roles that you’ve accepted in your head when entering the real world. It’s a fucking bad idea.
As Flaubert said about writing, “Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work.
Yeah? Yeah.
Yes, it’s true. A lot of Punk Rockers were, and are, right wing leaning, hostile inarticulate jerks.
No, I don’t expect the world to bend over backwards for me.
I expect, and am greatful that I am able to expect, food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and relative freedom from harasment.
A lot of Punk Rockers were in favor of that, too (it never did have a unified ideology.)
@Ethan Thanks for the response.
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