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I was born and raised in the same house I currently live within, and I was home-schooled for my entire life. Unfortunately, I didn't officially graduate, because of my states laws on home-schooling. There was an option for me to go to public school for a year, which would allow me to graduate, but I looked like a 25 year old, and I knew that would make it awkward, so I didn't go.

My social skills have never been worked on. I have no friends. No experience in the real world teaching me how to get by.

I haven't been able to keep a job for more than six months, because I can't deal with the general public, but those are the only jobs that appear to be available to me. I'd like to move out of my parents house, and try to do something with my life, but everything is at a stand still.

Unfortunately, I've gone through so many jobs already that I can't find anyone willing to hire me anymore. My track record, in the realm of employment, is bad. I'd like to find a better job than the one I'm currently at, because the people here don't like me... Just the other day, when the computers went down, and the people started getting angry, I got upset and threw the phone. I know I can't do things like that, and I'm surprised that didn't get me fired, but I can't deal with a job like this.

Things are getting so out of control, I'm starting to act like I did as a kid, and that worries me, because I've made progress.

If anyone has any advice on what I can or should do, please give it to me.
 
If lack of a diploma is getting in the way of you pursuing certain job options or going to post-secondary, could you write an equivalency exam like the GED?

Maybe look for jobs in warehouses, or stocking produce during the closed-hours at a grocery store. You'd still have to deal with co-workers but not the general public.

Or consider looking for programs that offer job coaching and other employment supports to people with disabilities. Sometimes these are offered by the government and other times they are offered by private non-profit organizations. Maybe they could help you find a job that is more suitable to your particular strengths and weaknesses.

Also, if you have a huge list of jobs on your resume, consider not actually listing them all when you apply for a job -- try to pick and choose a few that highlight how your previous experience fits with whatever job you're looking for; or the ones you did best at; or only list the most recent ones (if picking and choosing without regard to temporal sequence would create big gaps in your employment history).
 
In the US, a lot of states have a Department of Rehabilitation Services, who place people labelled with certain phyical and mental conditions in jobs and give employers kickbacks for upping state placement statistics. Also staffing agencies are always looking for a few young men. Employers use staffing agencies to circumvent EEOC laws in discriminating against women and minorities and others with non-preferred religious or sex issues, etc. Young males are in high demand. If one placement doesn't work out, you are still employed by the staffing agency and they can use you to fill a quota someplace else. If they place you with a client you like and who likes you, you could be hired permanently. State and private staffing agents know which employers will accept which demographics and which qualify for government incentives to do so.
 
Hi 10PurpleHippopotamuses :)

welcome to af.png
 
Yes, one, to be blunt, time to grow up. In the Air Force we used to say 'Get your ducks in a row'. The Navy was more earthy with 'Get your S**t in one sock.' which I still don't understand but thats the Navy. :D Everybody has to learn to control their emotions if they want to live in a society. 'But its hard cause I'm on the spectrum'... you might say. Here you have a choice. Cry about it the rest of your life or get over it and get on with it. Trust me most NTs have deep seated issues too.

Two, study for and get a GED.
 
Hello & welcome @10PurpleHippopotamuses !

Are you sure that your problems stem from your isolated education (not Aspergers)? I had a public education and had to deal with similar issues.

Also, do you have an autism-competent counselor? They really help with adapting strategies, too.

These two organizations can help you locate one (and have other useful resources),
If they can't help,
 
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Yes, one, to be blunt, time to grow up. In the Air Force we used to say 'Get your ducks in a row'. The Navy was more earthy with 'Get your S**t in one sock.' which I still don't understand but thats the Navy. :D Everybody has to learn to control their emotions if they want to live in a society. 'But its hard cause I'm on the spectrum'... you might say. Here you have a choice. Cry about it the rest of your life or get over it and get on with it. Trust me most NTs have deep seated issues too.

Two, study for and get a GED.
That's why I found a forum. To find out what others, like myself, do in situations like these. I'm looking for a solution.

Getting my ducks in a row is exactly what I'm trying to do. I'd like to move on with my life, just like everyone else. My problems didn't evolve from not trying, but rather in spite of trying. Growing up home-schooled and in a devout religious home doesn't exactly prepare you for the real world.

Despite all of that, I'm not just gonna whine; that's not how I roll. But anyone that read my initial post can clearly see that I don't know where to start.

Now, your advice of getting a GED is probably where you were really trying to help, and so I'll address that with less annoyance. My reason for not getting a GED is that GED's are not a high school equivalence anymore. GED's are now obsolete, and not worth my time. I did all of my work to get my diploma, but I kinda had the law working against me in this state, which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

I still have the option to go back to high-school for a year, but I'm not going to do that. It wouldn't be fair for anyone to expect that of me either. In light of the fact that nobody on here knows what I look like, I'll say that I've always looked older than I am. I looked too old at eighteen, and now at twenty-one, I just look that much more inappropriate in a high-school setting.

There is more to my story then what I've said, and I don't have to reveal it to anyone, nor shall I. Telling me to "grow up" over simplifies the problem, and just sounds inflammatory.

Anyways... You are probably a nice guy. I looked at your profile, and you seemed friendly enough, so I hope you have a good day. Take care of yourself.
 
Hello & welcome @10PurpleHippopotamuses !

Are you sure that your problems stem from your isolated education (not Aspergers)? I had a public education and had to deal with similar issues.

Also, do you have an autism-competent counselor? They really help with adapting strategies, too.

These two organizations can help you locate one (and have other useful resources),
If they can't help,
Hello to you too

I get where you're coming from, but I think it's a big chunk of both. My issues would probably be a little more muted had I been in a setting where I would have already had to figure out how to deal with people on some level, but I could be wrong.

I do not have a counselor of any sort, because I always cancel appointments to meet a counselor. I get nervous. There's a long story related to counseling, but I won't bother anyone with it :p

Thank you for recommending those organizations to me. I'll look into them.
 
Now, your advice of getting a GED is probably where you were really trying to help, and so I'll address that with less annoyance. My reason for not getting a GED is that GED's are not a high school equivalence anymore. GED's are now obsolete, and not worth my time. I did all of my work to get my diploma, but I kinda had the law working against me in this state, which is unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Another option, if you want to improve academic credentials, is to enroll in post-secondary school as a mature student. Depending on the school, you may be old enough at 21, although for some you'd have to wait a few years and might have to write placement tests.

How do you declare your high school education on your resume, by the way, if you do declare it at all? Or how do you answer employers if they ask you about it? (How you communicate about your education could have a big impact on how employers perceive you and your credentials.)

Also consider that at a certain point, particularly if you have a lot of work experience or end up in higher education, your high school education may no be all that relevent and you might be able to completely omit it without issue.
 
Also, some employers actually prefer home-schooled students (comparable to private school students).
 
Another option, if you want to improve academic credentials, is to enroll in post-secondary school as a mature student. Depending on the school, you may be old enough at 21, although for some you'd have to wait a few years and might have to write placement tests.

How do you declare your high school education on your resume, by the way, if you do declare it at all? Or how do you answer employers if they ask you about it? (How you communicate about your education could have a big impact on how employers perceive you and your credentials.)

Also consider that at a certain point, particularly if you have a lot of work experience or end up in higher education, your high school education may no be all that relevent and you might be able to completely omit it without issue.

I say my highest completed level of education is some community college, which is true. Usually the employers that take time to ask me one on one aren't worried since they can see that I'm intellectually capable.
 
I say my highest completed level of education is some community college, which is true. Usually the employers that take time to ask me one on one aren't worried since they can see that I'm intellectually capable.

Community College overrides any high school diploma or GED requirement, which is probably why you have been hired so many times already.
 
Correct, under the stipulation that you have to graduate from the community college, which I have not. I did some classes, but never got a degree.

I haven't gotten a degree either. It's easy to beat yourself up about it. But I am an actress, so my plan now that I've gotten into a theatre ensemble and been taking studio courses in performance, improv, etc.; is to get a degree from my state university (I'm American) over the internet in Liberal Arts. The program I'm enrolling in this January will start out with the required courses and then I will have to choose something like Political Science, Women's and Gender Studies, English, or Education, as my concentration. All of this is so I can audition for my master's degree in acting and then if I need to do something else as well, I would be able to do politics, law, or social work.

I plan not just to become an actress, but to use my theatre background to advocate for autistics, LGBT, victims of violence and sexual assault, etc. All things that are very close to my heart. It can be a long, hard road. There are days when I wake up and feel useless knowing I am almost 23 and my high school classmates are graduated, working, married, parenting, functioning, and I still live with my parents and spend much of the day online. But I try to think of it that everyone has their own path in life and their own pace. I can even think of all of the actors and writers I admire. How they were older when they got their starts and even if they had degrees, they must have faced the same disappointment and envy of peers.

Cheer up.
 
Correct, under the stipulation that you have to graduate from the community college, which I have not. I did some classes, but never got a degree.

I think it still overrides it, even if you didn't get any sort of certificate or degree. (Although, of course, getting a certificate or degree looks better to employers.....and it depends on the college you went to, how rigorous the academic work was. I get the impression that in the USA quite a lot of community colleges don't offer the same kind of coursework as universities do, but in Canada the academic demands of colleges vary massively and some them have programs that are truly equivalent to any of the big universities.)
 
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Unfortunately I don't know much about how employers react to homeschooling - I don't think they care, but I don't know that for sure - but if you have a lack of qualifications, you could look into apprenticeships (some have classes you take alongside them to get basic maths and English qualifications) and/or volunteering in an area you might find better than a public-facing role (I personally find admin quite good, but it's also competitive these days). Otherwise, you could try to get the basic qualifications first.
 

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