Requirements to put in a job description to discourage or filter out autistic people:

* Comfortable with ambiguity
* Strong people skills
* Good culture fit
* Multitasking
* A fast-paced dynamic environment
* Bachelor's degree or better

I see these things and think you don't want my >30 years of programming and machine learning experience, or my problem-solving skills and comprehensive knowledge that had people mistaking me for one of the team's PhDs, or my solutions that have proven patent-worthy. Your loss.

#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic
@neurodivergence

@actuallyautistic @neurodivergence The degree requirement, in particular, is one I want to highlight. I was a National Merit Scholar, with a free ride to a major, respected university. But I lost my scholarship and ended up homeless for a time because of my (as yet undiagnosed) disability. By the time I got back on my feet, college was no longer an option. But guess what? I kept actively learning on my own, and even pursued my own research agenda in machine learning and NLP. So I don't have the piece of paper you want to see, but I'm a stronger candidate than a lot of folks who *do* have that piece of paper. You'll never know that, because your job description is implicitly ableist in excluding neurodivergent folks who were not a good fit for university -- thanks to ableism there, as well.
@actuallyautistic @neurodivergence My fellow neurodivergent folks, tell me the ableist requirements you've seen in job descriptions. Let's give folks some insight into the stuff that contributes to systemic ableism in the workplace. I know there are way more examples than the few I've already listed.

@hosford42 @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

Must work well as part of a team.

Any other duties. (So just anything they make up that's not related to the job you were hired to do)

@sentient_water @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence Right! It depends on the team anyway, doesn't it? Is it a team of people who are autistic and/or comfortable working with autistic people? Or were those folks already filtered out by your previous ableist hiring practices?

@hosford42 @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence It's not even that I can't work as a team but every team contains at least one person who is just into head games & gossip & being a prick & they infect everyone else.

Often I can see it. Can't unsee it & ultimately have to deal with it. That puts a target on your back & before you know it the rest of the team are turned against you.

@sentient_water @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence Over and over and over. We are canaries. If there's something toxic in the air, it'll take us out first.

I always end up being the target of some jerk who wants to prove to himself and everyone else what a piece of garbage I am for not being compliant with his manipulations. Even in cases where the rest of the team sides with me, it ends up being a fight to the death. I try to make peace with the aggressor repeatedly, to no avail.

@hosford42 @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence Yeah by our very existence we threaten the insecure, the bully & there's no way of avoiding the conflict.

@hosford42 @sentient_water @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

I tried to explain to the management team at a previous workplace that I was a canarie, but that only added to the claims of "insubordination". I got pushback about how I wasn't a manager, wasn't an expert on management, etc.

Attempts to explain fairly well-known problems such as Peter Principle generated reprimands.

When added with other problematic policies, Eventually I was forced to resign.

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2023/09/resignation.html

End of an Era: My resignation from CRKN

I have written about my resignation on social media, but since I’ve been asked what happened by people not on the socials I am posting here...

@hosford42 @sentient_water @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence

The largest problem I see is, while hiring practises filter neurodivergent candidates, there is also problems with retaining employment.

That past employer used all the "right words" for embracing diversity in their hiring, but then had a corporate culture that rejected anyone "too" different.

Anyone can join the organization, as long as they then keep their true selves at home.

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2024/03/autism-employment.html

Observations about (a review of)^2 Autism Employment

I am very thankful for articles by Jim Hoerricks. The latest is: A deep dive on the Buckland Review of Autism Employment: report and recomm...

@russellmcormond @sentient_water @actuallyautistic @neurodivergence I unfortunately have reason to agree with you based on firsthand experience.