Full time employment is not something that is usually discussed in autism circles about employment. When I was initially part time, I had no idea how it looked at. All I knew was that I needed it to make a living and it allowed others to pay for larger quality of life investments like living arrangements or getting a loan for a used car.  During the COVID pandemic, I started full time for the first time because of a collaboration between a neurodiversity focused firm and a driving school. My public speaking took off on learning how to drive and the position, autism transition coordinator came to birth. Said position changed over time and I was full time for about two years before I was laid off. Looking back at those years, there was full of bright and bumpy moments. Lessons learned on managing the changed times and relationships between me and others in my workplace. That is why today I am going over some tips to consider for your future full-time job. 
 
Communication Standards: 
It is important to establish communication standards with you and others in the workplace. If the workplace allows it, talk to your employer on what could work and experiment. Come up with a schedule and after a week, check in with your employer to see if it works. If not, keep coming up with ideas. Keep in mind that rescheduling can happen, so it is important to have back up plans. Be careful of boundaries, which I will go over pretty soon.  
 
Customizing your workspace: 
If you work in an office setting, ask if you are to customize the space. Due to being there for most of the day, it does not hurt to make the space more familiar to you. In the space I used to have, I had various items that related to my special interests. I had two video game posters that showed my fondness for the NieR series. I had a big plush from the same series on its own chair and it is mostly there for sensory reasons. These items never distracted me, and I was able to do the work I needed to do. Make sure the items you can bring are realistic and not something that could add problems for the workplace. 
 
Establishing boundaries: 
 It is important to set up boundaries with how to approach work emails in general. It also depends on the individual where some do not mind, but others do mind. I used to be okay with weekend emails until the moments I get overwhelmed at select times. Overtime and near the end of my time there, it became a trigger. Another point for boundaries is if you have access to your workplace on the weekend, do not get into the habit of going there, even if it is to relax! I am guilty of visiting my office too much and it created a long-term issue where I had some people think I don’t care for family. It never came off that way, but I did know that I could have done some computer work at home. It is why I don’t recommend people to use their office space for the weekend because of these reasons.  
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Watch yourself with budgeting: 
Temptations can increase the moment one has more income to use. What I mean is that it is super easy to overspend and get overcarried with the income. I had trouble in this area during the 2021-2022 years where due to some personal matters, I was going a bit over the top with some video game purchases. I started to realize that I was going a bit much and started cutting down on spending in areas like eating out and gaming. It takes a lot of trial and error to see what works or not. You cannot plan for everything, but you can create standards for yourself.  


Knowing when to let go when workplace gets out of control: 

Sometimes, you can do everything for your workplace, and it is the best feeling. It is meant to be experienced once you do feel it in your blood. However, like many things, it does not last forever. The starting point can look different for these stages, but it may start with a breaking point that strips you of the fondness you had for a job. The next stage is where the workplace starts mentally draining. The good vibes slowly fade away as one tries to hide the feeling that something is wrong. You keep trying to do everything you can, but it doesn’t get rid of the feeling. Emotions like nervousness, fear and sadness start leaking and it feels like you are by yourself sinking deep in the ocean.  Finally, you start piecing the puzzle and realize something is wrong and once you figure it out, it is too late. At the end, you are given a choice of leaving the company or you continue the work in some form. Many emotions are felt, and one may experience a crisis mode.  

If this is something you are experiencing, I urge you to move on! Quit and find the true job path you are looking for. It will get better, and I know from experience. The moment you try pretending it is the same workplace becomes an endless eternity that negatively affects your mental state. It's that moment where the place you knew is long gone. There are workplaces that value your skills in this vast world. To see if something is doable or winnable, you have to try.  
 
All in all, full time employment can have complications and at times, it can make or break a person. What is important to know is that any experience, good and bad, has meaning. Even if you have a bad experience, you have the means to search for something better. It will take time, but it is out there. Take in the lessons, know what works for you and that is where you will shine the most.  


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Welcome to the blog section of my website. I will be posting several autism topics, and this will be the home for my driving project. the Autism and Driving Resource Database. This will serve as its home to let anyone access schools and other online resources from all 50 states. The project will change overtime and I encourage you all to comment and suggest new resources to make it rich with numerous choices people can seek. Other than my driving project, I may type about the following topics:

1. Language Preferences
2. Employment
3. Advocacy 
4. Special Education

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