Aspergers and work

mrsdwhite

Hi,
After a bit of advice more on behalf of my bf than for me.
My bf has aspergers, he's 26 and quite smart. He has a BA in cinematography and has a passion for films, camera work. He is really struggling to find employment doing anything even working in warehouses, mainly he just doesn't get a call back when he applies but if he has an interview he struggles as his aspergers makes it hard for him to interact with strangers.
Any advice for where we could turn for help? Or how we can move forward?
TIA

WeAreGhosts

has he sought any advice from the job centre?

also, while waiting to find a job he would be best off volunteering somewhere, a shop, or something. he'll gain valuable experience in interacting with strangers

pinpin

I have a friend who is also very smart , and who suffers badly with aspergers and so can never ever get past the interview stage. It's kind of a personality contest and which candidate can come across the most confident nowadays, so he doesn't really stand a chance.
He's currently working at the Royal mail as a temp, simply because they had no interview process whatsoever. Merely had to turn up and show his Passport and sign some papers

tomtom256

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

has he sought any advice from the job centre?

also, while waiting to find a job he would be best off volunteering somewhere, a shop, or something. he'll gain valuable experience in interacting with strangers

Alas that would not solve the issues someone with aspergers has.

No amount of interaction makes interacting with strangers any easier.

Indie_Kid

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

has he sought any advice from the job centre?

They're not that useful in my experience.

DigForVictory

Any local Aspergers support groups that could help you, let alone him? He will not be the first, nor the last, so there is an ongoing flow of experiences which may be helpful.
Best of luck.

GlasweJen

People with aspergers can learn to interact, it will never feel comfortable but if he's functioning enough to have a girlfriend then he's obviously got some people skills to build on.

What I found helpful were mock interviews, my university careers service helped with this and it was helpful to hear what was going wrong and practice how to do it the right way.

nannytone_2

tomtom256 wrote: »

Alas that would not solve the issues someone with aspergers has.

No amount of interaction makes interacting with strangers any easier.

i disagree.
i have mild aspergers and one of my 'issues' is talking to strangers ( i always try to get someone else to do it for me ) BUT when i have to. i can. and the more i have to do it, the less uncomfortable it becomes.

i know many people have far worse symptoms than i do, but on the whole, familiarity makes situations more bearable

WeAreGhosts

tomtom256 wrote: »

Alas that would not solve the issues someone with aspergers has.

No amount of interaction makes interacting with strangers any easier.

Really? Worked for me .... . I still struggle, but I have learnt how to 'act'.

Re the job centre - the Disability Employment Advisor there would be the most helpful.

Indie_Kid

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

Really? Worked for me .... . I still struggle, but I have learnt how to 'act'.

Re the job centre - the Disability Employment Advisor there would be the most helpful.

Doesn't work for everyone though. It didn't work for me.

WeAreGhosts

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Doesn't work for everyone though. It didn't work for me.

It worked for me, it didn't work for you. It might work for the OP's BF.