KY-SPIN Youth Talks: Nick on Employment

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>>NICK: Hi, I’m Nick with Kentucky SPIN.

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Today I’m gonna talk with you
a little bit about employment

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and my experiences with it.

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So a little bit about myself first.

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I have autism and that
has given me my own difficulties

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with seeking employment

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ever since leaving high school.

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I’ve worked a few jobs over the past
few years since I left high school,

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and they have all had their challenges.

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So there’s a lot of- I’ve had
a lot of issues with things like

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proper communication with my employer, my
boss, et cetera, and there have been times

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where I’ve had trouble during interviews.

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My thing is that I would always- so
for- so for the first few times that

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I would (inaudible) anything for a job, I’d
always be really open and explain

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to them that I had a disability.

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And I would always tell them that.

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And I got self-conscious because
there were times when I wouldn’t

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get jobs and I thought it might
have been because of that disability.

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So there was a time after
that when I didn’t do that.

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When I didn’t tell people
that I had a disability and

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that didn’t really affect it

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either, there’s still jobs that I
didn’t get, even though I didn’t say

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anything about having a disability.

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It might have been because of how
I interviewed, there’ve been other

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things, but then I eventually kind
of got to the point where I decided

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to just being very open about it.

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Um, it’s hard to give the best advice
on if you should be open about your

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disability or if you shouldn’t be, because
ideally there’s not supposed to be any

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kind of discrimination if you do have a
disability and are you applying for a job.

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But unfortunately there are
people who will still discriminate

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against you for that regardless.

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So I’m just open about it anyway.

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I always, every time I have interviewed
for a job, I’ve always been open and

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honest and told them I have- I have
autism, but I’m also very open about

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the challenges that I have with
that disability, I don’t just

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tell them that I have autism.

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I tell them that I have- what
I have my struggles with.

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Like I might have struggles
with communicating sometimes or

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I might get distracted easily

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cause I also have ADHD.

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So sometimes I have trouble paying
attention or focusing, and I’ve

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been open and I’ve been able to
explain to them during an interview

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that while I do have autism and there are
struggles that I do have, I explain-

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I’ve explained to them what works for me
and I’ll, for example, things like having

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a calendar, having regular reminders
on my phone for when I’m supposed to

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do certain things at work, when I have
certain tasks that need to be completed.

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I have an app that manages all those
things for me, and that has been an

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example of something that’s helped me.

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And that’s- that might not necessarily
help you, but it’s good to, when you’re

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applying for an interview, if you and
you have a disability, it’s good to

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know what challenges you face with that
disability and also to be aware of what

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helps you manage or cope or support
your disability at the workplace.

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And to be, if you are gonna share your
disability, to be completely honest

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with your coworkers or your boss
that comes up, you don’t have to

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tell them if you don’t want to.

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It’s completely personal.

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But if you do, it’s important to be
honest with them about how it is, how

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it affects you, how it works, and what
they can do to better support you.

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And that personally for me, has
helped me with getting the job

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as well as being effective in the
workplace after getting the job.

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