Career options for Autistic People: Vast potential and lost opportunities!

Has the passion, the finicky attention to detail, or the impassiveness towards your office gossip, ever posed an obstruction in your workplace? Has it ever occurred to you that offices and stock rooms at big stores exhibit "typical" work settings? But autistic individuals aren't typical and neither are the professions for which they're already good at. You may be flabbergasted to know that there exist a number of career options for Autistic people for which they are amazing entrants.

Autism, also known as a ‘Spectrum Disorder', is a severely incapacitating life-long developmental disorder that typically occurs in the first three years of one's life. The disorder leads to impairment or disturbance in three main areas: Social skills, Communicative skills and in their repetitive and restrictive behaviors. The key towards a flourishing career for many individuals with autism lies in the quest for career choices that suit their specialized interests and talents. Through this editorial, we would tell you all about some successful and lucrative career options for autistic people.

• Science and Research
  

The area of Science and Research can prove to be a very good alternative for people with autism. This might leave you in awe but some people with autism excel in the field of science. They further enhance and add value to the researches done by non-autistic people. Some of these individuals can effortlessly process visual and auditory information far better than non-autistics. From top scientists and researchers to lab technicians or assistants, many on the autism spectrum excel in the work of science.

Believe it or not, quite a lot autistic adults exhibit certain exceptional and unique capabilities that even intelligent non-autistic adults lack. For example, they have the capability of recognizing a data pattern in large data set, without being distracted. And they can also process where such data patterns break. They do not get distracted by other sensory inputs. Such capabilities, when properly channelized, would do wonders in the field of science.

• Technology
  

It has always been believed that quite a lot of autistic individuals can be found amid the most celebrated and successful computer programmers and software engineers. So, getting one's hands on and working with computers is surely one of the most idyllic career options for autistic beings. Most autistic people are good at complex systems and mathematics. Some autistic people can, with practically no effort envisage a 2 dimensional picture as a 3 dimensional object. With the right training, these people can prove to be the ideals for jobs in areas like CAD (Computer Aided Design), architectural model construction, industrial design etc.

Besides this, the working conditions prevalent in the field of computer technology would be apt for the autistics. The secret here lies in unearthing and shoring up the training that can lead to such careers.

• Journalism
  

This is one area in which the autistic beings may carve their niche. In fact, a person with the ability to set aside their personal emotions and opinions while covering a story and reporting just the authenticated facts, would leave no stones unturned. Bunching up these facts in an organized and unbiased manner can be second nature to many with autism.

• Manufacturing
  

One universal trait that be seen in autism is the need for repetition. Moreover, there are jobs that would be mind-numbing to many but suitable and comforting to many autism folks. For instance, this field of manufacturing can be worthy for individuals with these penchants, especially assembly line work.

• Working with Animals
  

It's not a hunky-dory stuff to become a veterinarian. But autistic people for whom social interaction poses a major issue may get attracted towards an employment field that includes working with animals. Many who have difficulty interacting with people have no such issues with animals, making fine veterinarians or veterinarian's assistants. There are countless numbers of animal-oriented careers available that one can opt for. These include:

• Caring for horses at a stable, horse-farm or track
• Working on a farm
• Zookeeper or animal curator at a zoo or petting farm
• Animal wrangler for the entertainment industry
• Naturalist or husbandry expert at a museum or aquarium
• Pet store employee
• Animal tech at a veterinary practice or kennel
• Tending to the needs of livestock
• Working with a pet grooming establishment

• Painting
  

This is one of the most sort out careers for autistic individuals. If you think you are passionate enough and have that madness in you to make it big, then this is where exactly you should be. For developing your inner realm and gaining self confidence, autistic people should surely try out their luck in this field.

Painting has often been recommended as a medium for autistic children to develop their overall learning abilities. Painting is basically a form of expression for autistic students. So if a child is interested, he can absolutely consider painting as a career option for them.

Who's out there and who's doing it? How's he doing it or where he's doing it? For people on the autism spectrum, the answers to these questions need to be as wide ranging as possible. Whether your autistic loved one is an animal devotee or crazy about computers, with a college degree or an info maniac, there are innumerable career options for autistic people that can be availed. The only key here is realizing the potential and passion of your autistic loved ones, the abilities, the needs and the big wide world of possible careers options for these autistic folks. He or she may already be halfway through!

Source: Madiha Jawed (Shiksha Team)

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