Last updated on November 26, 2023
Podcast Episode 0025; Season 02, Episode 11; January 15, 2019
We have a backlog of podcasts to transcribe and post to the blog, but for now I wanted to get back on track for the new year. Welcome to 2019 and the second half of season two.
Transcript (lightly edited)
Scott: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to The Autistic Me Podcast. I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, speaking as The Autistic Me.
As we begin the new year and the second half of season two of The Autistic Me Podcast, I have been looking through the analytics for which episodes and which topics are of most interest to listeners. Also, which blog posts have received the highest traffic as they predict which topics people might want to hear more about or read more about. Unsurprisingly, for the last decade the same three topics remained the most popular. Those would be relationships, education, and employment.
I can’t say that I’m an expert in any of those.
People assume that because I’m married and have two children that I must know something about relationships.
[00:00:53] I probably know as much about relationships as anybody else. What I can say is that I understand people want to know how I navigate social situations and connections. And so I will try to find experts and other autistics with whom I can discuss those experiences and hopefully add value beyond what I can individually suggest to listeners and readers.
[00:01:24] In terms of education, I have struggled both as a student and as an educator. I know that the laws that exist to protect us are often insufficient. I also recognize that the social deficits that exist within autism cause problems in the classroom. Theycan cause conflicts with educators and classmates. And so I would like to discuss educational strategies with experts beyond myself.
[00:01:56] I’m not sure that my experiences are universal, but, unfortunately, I also recognize that they often reflect experiences shared by other autistics. I wish that were not the case.
In terms of employment, again, yes, I currently have a full-time job and I have had several full-time jobs that have lasted months or even a year or two.
[00:02:23] But I have not had long-term permanent employment. I believe that that’s something I can discuss again with job coaches or others and hopefully offer more insights than my own failures might. I don’t believe I have a good strategy for employment — not any better than I do for either relationships or education.
[00:02:48] In the end, that’s really the lesson that I have for everyone. My experiences are individual and though I am familiar with relationships education and employment, whatever we claim to know or have gained can only reflect individual experiences.
Possibly the best thing to do is seke out as many voices as possible, which is the point of The Autistic Me Podcast, and reflect on all of those voices. Find your own individual path through the social, educational, and employment mazes.
[00:03:20] They are certainly mazes for me.
Social networks proved to be difficult to establish and maintain. Education has proven to be driven by personality and likability. In the end, employment is about relationships and education. And so all three of these connect in ways that make it impossible to separate employment from relationships and education.
[00:03:48] Over and over again, I find the same problems trip me up in all three realms. Anything I might say is only going to reflect the problems that I’ve had and the fact that I don’t really have strategies to overcome those problems. I would like to believe that I could learn from my past. But again, and again, I seem to slip into the same mistakes and the same pitfalls that have reoccurred throughout my life.
[00:04:15] I don’t believe that that’s unusual. What I believe is frustrating for me individually is that I cannot seem to internalize and practice the lessons — I can only record them… note them… and find that I cycle through them again, and again.
The Autistic Me Podcast exists to answer questions, but in the end, there may not be answers.
[00:04:42] What I can do is say, “Here is what happens to me in relationships.” Or, “Here is how I struggled in the classroom and here is how I would like to succeed in a workplace.”
When someone tells me that I’m an inspiration, which happens when I speak to groups, I don’t understand this.
As I look back, I find myself to be struggling with my marriage and being a parent.
[00:05:11] I certainly struggle in the classroom as a teacher and student. My employment history is not one that suggests I know what I’m doing either when pursuing jobs or, once I have jobs, maintaining those jobs.
So, when someone tells me that the podcast, the blog, and my public appearances offer some sort of hope or inspiration, this does confuse me.
[00:05:33] At least I understand that I’m able to offer some voice to the autistic experience.
In the weeks ahead, I will be addressing the trio of topics that I have said are the most popular on the podcast and the blog. I hope to give what insights I can. I don’t know what I can offer other than my individual experiences.
[00:06:01] There does seem to be some value however in reading and listening to as many experiences as possible.
So again, this is The Autistic Me Podcast. I am Christopher Scott Wyatt, and I look forward to our next meeting. Thank you.
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