Aeolienne

6th job: Placement with an investment bank arranged by AS Mentoring For the record, I was referred for an AS diagnosis after losing my first job, and officially diagnosed just after starting the second.

I split up with my first ever partner in April, two months after turning 40.

For the record, we split up in April this year. He said the relationship wasn't going anywhere.

I haven't had a proper holiday for several years, due to being out of work for most of the time. When I was in regular employment I generally spent around 2-3 weeks (not concurrently) of my annual leave on holidays away. These were a mixed experience. As I had no-one to go with I was faced with the choice of going on my own (single supplements, asking for a table for one in restaurants) or going on a group holiday (having to get matey with a bunch of total strangers I had little else in common with - on one occasion I found myself in a group where all the other were old enough to be my parents!). I did go on a couple of short breaks with my now ex-partner. Unfortunately he preferred to save his annual leave for catching up on political activism in London rather than exploring other regions or countries. Besides which I felt guilty that he had to foot the bill due to my not having a job.

I would contact the universities' disability support services (here and here) in the first instance. If they're not willing or able to respond to your concerns, let that be a warning sign.

Having seen The Theory of Everything earlier this year, I'm re-reading Stephen Hawking: A life in science by Michael White and John Gribbin.

Specialisterne's London branch is operating more as a recruitment agency than a training services provider. To this end they arranged an interview for me with a software firm in Ealing in late 2013, but nothing since.

Didn't the trainees find it a strain having to get by on just expenses? It's all very well saying money doesn't buy happiness, but even so...

And another one in the US: ULTRA Testing

I finally managed to have a phone conversation with Emma's colleague Simon yesterday. There are still some things I need to clarify, so I emailed him with the following questions: What am I likely to gain out of this project? Is it definitely going to end in a job, or is that more of a nice-to-have? How is the programme going to help me get a job? Simon said something about mentoring. Who would the mentor(s) be? Do they have specific knowledge of autism spectrum disorders? Are they affiliated to a particular organisation, such as Remploy or the Shaw Trust? What sort of questions / situations / scenarios are going to be filmed? Do I have the right to withdraw my consent at any time without the footage shot to date being shown on TV?

Tambora: The eruption that changed the world by Gillen D'Arcy Wood Short Circuit: The lifecycle of our electronic gadgets and the true cost to Earth by Philippe Sibaud, available to download here

Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707), Sonata No.6 in E major, BuxWV 264, performed by John Holloway (violin), Jaap ter Linden (viola da gamba) and Lars Ulrik Mortensen (harpsichord)

Sorry Livelife, that wasn't very clear. My last so-called job was on the Autism Work Placement Programme of a well-known investment bank. It was a major disappointment. I was initially assessed by a occupational health adviser who made some recommendations - regular meetings, moving from daily to weekly. When I joined the team, I hardly saw my manager at all during the first month, despite the recommendation. I was given some work, but never enough to fill my day. I said that I didn’t have enough work to do, but my boss was too busy to meet with me. When I said I was disappointed at how unproductive I was being, I was accused of having narcissistic tendencies. It made me feel like a charity case, that I was just there to salve their conscience and allow them to tick a box. I tried to apply for work for after the placement, so I went to trade fairs and networking events, but I couldn’t really explain what I was doing in my current job because I didn’t know myself! In my last post I should have said "in line with my interests", not "one line".

Get a proper job (i.e. one line with my interests and a permanent contract, not another crappy autism work placement) and move into my own place.

Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2002), Ritmes, performed by Jordi Masó

Julia Holter, Hello Stranger

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-94), Missa Papae Marcelli

Cyndi Lauper, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

This was the programme: Employment and autism: why it is important for employers to understand autistic perspectives 08.45 - 09.30 Registration and refreshments on arrival 09.30 - 09.40 Welcome by the Chair Mark Lever 9.40 - 10.30 Employment: doing it your way Damian Milton 10.30 - 11.20 Recognising hidden gems – roles and companies that value the autistic mindset Conor O’Halloran Break 11.50 - 12.40 Stream A: Transitions, work plans, consistent support and skills David Breslin or Stream B: Employment Training for Professionals NAS Employment Consultant Lunch 13.40 - 14.30 Hints and tips: an autistic's perspective on how to get a job and maintain employment Stephen Ben Morris 14.30 - 15.20 Finding the balance between reasonable adjustment and professional development Helen Ellis Break 15.40 -16.20 Q&A panel Stephen, Helen, Damian, Conor, David 16.20 - 16.30 Close Mark Lever 16.30 End My feedback... The conference was interesting, but didn’t actually offer anything in the way of leads to follow up. I had hoped that Conor O’Halloran’s talk might have provided such leads, but despite its title he spent most of the time talking about his chequered work history. What information he had about enlightened companies employing autistics was drawn entirely from a US perspective (not that he had ever worked there) and I suspect was largely a cut-and-paste job. Damian Milton’s talk was also predominantly about his work history. He did briefly raise an interesting point, about whether the low percentage of autistic adults in employment suggests that the methods used by schemes such as Prospects Transitions are ineffective, but didn’t follow this up. The best talk of the day was Helen Ellis’s. As she said, professional development is so often overlooked for autistic employees because getting them into work in the first place is seen as such a hurdle. Indeed, there seems to be this assumption is that the right way to treat autistic workers is to give them routine, predictable work, and to assume that they have no career ambitions. I personally think that even if some people do want that kind of work, they should still be encouraged very gently to move in the direction of career paths so that they are better prepared to move on if they get made redundant due to circumstances beyond their control. Just my tuppenceworth.

What's so great about slam-door trains? Good riddance to them I say.

My favourite German-language film is Good Bye Lenin!

An Economy That Works: Better growth beyond GDP by the Aldersgate Group, available to download here

Value Together: Annual report and accounts 2014 by Associated British Foods plc

What's dialectal behaviour therapy?

Or this: Personal Independence Payment myth buster