I started working at a political polling firm on 10/2/15. On my application I indicated that I had a disability, and on the first day I went to the HR person to tell her about my Asperger's syndrome. I was pleasantly surprised that she knew what it was. I asked for more flexibility with breaks and lunches and she said that would be fine. I warned her about what happens when I "go aspie" and that it's best at those times to let me go outside so I can do my meditation practice for a few minutes and return to equilibrium. She said that was fine too, and that she would share the info as appropriate. She asked for documentation and I told her I wasn't seeing my PCP until the 15th but I would request it then. She said fine.
I've been having pain from a pinched nerve for about three months. The wheels of medicine turn very slowly. I finally had an MRI on October 2, but didn't hear the results til the next week or so. I have two ruptured discs in my neck that are basically crushing all the nerves in my left arm anytime i lift my chin off my chest. It's very, very painful and distressing, but I still worked as much as I could, and when I couldn't, I had a doctor's excuse. But I really need to be working! I have a Master's degree but it takes 3-6 months to get a professional job. I've had several interviews though, and I know where I want to work--the homeless youth shelter--so I was happy to work at this place until I found a job that was a good fit with my professional skills. I discussed this at the interview and she said that was fine. During my first week, several supervisors complimented me on my skills. When I got my first paycheck, I was surprised to discover I was in the top 5% of performers and thus got $10.25 an hour. That's a three-dollar raise from South Carolina. Also, I enjoyed the work and was good at it. All was well, except I couldn't sit at my desk in a position that was comfortable for my neck, arm, and shoulder. So I went to HR again and explained the situation. She said I could bring something in to help or use what was in the office. I told her I wanted to sit with my feet in a second chair. She said that wasn't possible because it would block the aisles and that's a fire hazard. I told her I would look around the office and figure something out.
I tried a stool under my desk, but that didn't work because my knees needed to be higher. There was no way to put my knees under my desk. Now, the cubette farm is always at least a third full because their number of employees changes with the election season, but my neck should be fixed, or I'll have a new job, within six weeks. So I figured out if I sat in a corner, facing into the corner, with my feet on a second chair and my keyboard on my lap, monitor positioned where I could see it, that worked perfect, I was as comfortable as possible. It would require the desk beside me be unoccupied, but usually half the desks are unoccupied, so I figured, sorted, and went to see HR.
HR was not in her office but the Boss was. I'd heard the Boss was hell on wheels etc but never had a problem with her. I waited my turn, sat in the chair in front of her desk, and began to explain the situation, what HR had said, what I'd tried, and so forth, but she very quickly began to scream at me that what I was saying was not possible, that we would have to buy a lot of new fancy equipment, and so forth. I was puzzled, it was as if she wasn't even listening to the particulars of what I was saying, and she was getting angrier and angrier. It seemed so strange that a professional manager, who employs multiple autistic people, would be talking to me like this, so I asked her if she knew I had Asperger's and she said yes. I pointed out my top-performer status and she had a sarcastic comment for that. I should add that she was yelling at the top of her lungs, other people were in and out of her office, and there were plenty of people hanging out right outside the open door, hearing everything. By this point they were mouthing "WTF?" at each other and a bit of a crowd had gathered. I again attempted to explain that all I needed was one empty desk next to me and one extra chair and to sit in a corner, and she exploded, screaming, "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU! YOU JUST WANT TO SIT BY YOURSELF SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO INTERACT WITH ANYONE!"
If you yourself don't have a mental illness or love someone who does, this might not sound so terrible a thing to yell at someone, but it is just about the most horrible thing you can yell at me, give my particular history of undiagnosed Asperger's. I lost it. I went Aspie, I'm unclear on what followed, I know I tried to hide because that's what I do, I'm shaking now writing about it. EVERYBODY WORKING THERE SAW ME HAVE THIS HUMILIATING FREAKOUT. Somehow I got out of there and outside and after I spent several minutes getting control of my breathing, shaking, etc, I called my friend who is disabled and has dealt with a lot of this stuff. He told me go back upstairs, tell them you are a disabled person and you believe your rights have been violated, so you're going home, and then leave. So I did that. It was really hard to do because I was sort of having an extended moderately functional panic attack, which is how I spent much of my childhood.
I left and I found two elderly unhoused gentlemen right there and sat with them, because I couldn't walk. They were very kind and listened to me cry and commiserated and cussed out my boss for me and made up terrible things they would do to her, given the chance, until I was okay to walk to the bus stop. Went home to bed.
The next day, still shaking and crying, I called the Center for Disability Rights, the Bureau of Labor and Something, and a couple of lawyers, and corporate HR. Everybody listened to the story and said they'd call me back. Corporate HR called me back and wanted the story again, said they'd call back again. All this time I'm shaking and crying. The the Boss called me, just as sweet as potato pie, wanting to know when it would be a good time for us to meet to plan the accommodations they were going to provide for my temporary disability. I told her I was expecting to hear from HR and she said this is that call, and I told her I didn't want to talk to her and to have HR call me back. Hasn't happened. The thing is, I can't go back to that place and work there after that experience. I don't want my job back. I want the Boss to pay for abusing an autistic person, so she never does it again, and I want the company to pay because they continued to employ her even though her foul temper was well-known.
The Disability Rights people are sending me some sort of intake packet, and the Bureau of Labor and Whatever has a similar snail-mail process, and the first lawyer I called said they are just too busy to take it, but keep trying other lawyers, so I called another lawyer, and told the story AGAIN, with the whole shaking and crying AGAIN, just like I am shaking and crying RIGHT NOW. But haven't heard back from that call either.
I saw my doctor the day after because I was a mess, and talked to my counselor on the phone. I'm still pretty freaked out about it and don't really want to go in there to get my last check Monday. And now I have to find a job again, which means more lags in the money flow. I've been making stuff like crazy but this is Eugene. Handcrafts are everywhere, and busking doesn't work here either. So I'm pretty worried about the short term, although not the long term, because that feels secure to me now. I will get a counseling job, and I will have a safe place to live, and I will have a life that's fulfilling and interesting and full of love. Already, even with all this SHIT, I still feel better off here, I'm still happier that I was in South Carolina. So the mission was a success!
I'm hoping to get some advice on what my next steps should be. I don't really want to win a big settlement or whatever, but I want that woman and the company that hired her to know that you can't abuse autistic people like that. When properly supported, we can be great employees and really good at our jobs. We have a right to be involved in the workforce and to feel productive and support ourselves through our own labor like everyone else. We shouldn't have to worry that work will be a dangerous place for us. I've never been active in the mentally-ill rights stuff, but now I see why it's so important. I will bounce back eventually. Someone else might be literally destroyed and never work again. Who knows, maybe I'll have a fear of call centers now! Thanks for reading, y'all. Any advice is appreciated because I have no idea what to do next.