I’m no longer pretending not to be autistic and mentally ill in order to get a job

I’m about to turn 35, and I’ve spent my entire adult life being unemployed or underemployed. This is far from uncommon for autistic people. Roughly 85% of us are unemployed, and that’s only the diagnosed folks who are included in the studies. Before I knew about my autism, I used to think I was just a broken human being. At 17, I could barely speak to strangers except in stilted, scripted speech. How would I manage to pass an interview, let alone work a job where I would be expected to display ‘excellent oral communication skills’ and speak to customers? I couldn’t fathom that anybody would want to hire a screwed up individual like myself, so I receded into my own little fantasy world where I didn’t have to talk to anybody. Obviously, this couldn’t last forever. <a href="https://medium.com/@htsai_33515/im-no-longer-pretending-not-to-be-autistic-and-mentally-ill-in-order-to-get-a-job-e8da27bcbabb">Visit Now</a>