Unarmed security guard jobs for ds

[Night Elf]

How does one get started to become a security guard? This is ds's latest idea. The information I was finding online mentioned licensing but I have no idea where to look for that. I've got to get him driving but my job is so crazy that we can only practice driving on my two off days unless he lets DH take him out after work when there is more traffic on the road which he doesn't like. Anyway, two of the jobs I saw required a valid drivers license. The ones I looked at that were the closest to us said at least 1 year security experience preferred. 

I got him to apply to Target to be a Protection Specialist which we think is a low level security person. We'll see if they call. He applied Saturday night so I'm hoping they'll phone him this coming week for an interview. The only problem is the job description mentions having good customer service skills and as an Aspie he doesn't have that. To be honest, I don't think he'll get this job.

[Carrie12345]

Having an Aspie myself, I have to wonder if it's a reasonable choice.  In some ways, the black and white thinking many of our kids have could be a plus, but most security positions will require thinking on the fly and making judgment calls based on unique/unexpected circumstances. *My* son wouldn't be able to manage that well.

 

[Night Elf]

14 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

Having an Aspie myself, I have to wonder if it's a reasonable choice.  In some ways, the black and white thinking many of our kids have could be a plus, but most security positions will require thinking on the fly and making judgment calls based on unique/unexpected circumstances. *My* son wouldn't be able to manage that well.

 

I've thought about that. That's why I told him to start at Target to see what kind of responsibilities that job has.

[Night Elf]

17 minutes ago, Medicmom2.0 said:

My step uncle was a mall security guard right after getting out of the service.  I was able to walk around with him a couple times and hang out with him and his friends and see what they did.  I believe it was probably his MP experience that got him the job but some people just had the certification class.

However.  There aren’t many overnight lone position security guard jobs protecting empty places.  Most security guard jobs require constant dealing with the public and a high level of interpersonal skills.  If that’s not a strength for your son, I would steer him elsewhere.

(Most of the ones I am familiar with—store, hospital and factory—require driving a company vehicle around the ground periodically. He will need a driver’s license.)

He doesn't want overnight jobs anymore. We don't know how well he'll deal with the public because he's had little opportunity. He talks to people with no problem. He doesn't dominate the conversation. At his last job he helped some customers find items in the store and if he didn't know where they were he took them to another employee who might know the answer, like a manager. But that didn't happen a lot because he usually got to work a couple of hours before the store closed so it was late at night when not many people shop.

I don't know how Target will handle it but if they don't feel he'd fit in the position, I'm hoping they'll ask him if he's interested in another position that may be open. One job was cart attendant which he thought he could do until he read the full job description and a responsibility was keeping the restrooms clean. He said he wasn't going to clean restrooms. You'd think a store that size would have a dedicated cleaning team who would have that as one of their responsibilities.

[Hilltopmom]

No info on security position, but cart attendant is hard work. Ds did it this summer at a different big box store. They only did carts & occasional help a customer load something into a car.

it was hot, physically demanding. He made it through but barely.

[Annie G]

In our town there is a temp agency that handles most of the security guard type of jobs, and they don’t expect people to have experience. Some of the jobs are pretty boring- checking for ID at a local manufacturing plant, for instance. The security guys where dh works have a much different job than a security guy at a school or store has. An aspie would be great where dh works- don’t let anyone in without an ID badge and watch the security camera footage to be sure nothing fishy is going on. Dh runs the test lab and it has to be secure because they do a lot of military work.  Security is taken seriously but rarely has there been an issue. But at our local hospital the job requires a lot more thinking on your feet and making judgement calls. Weekend nights can get crazy with domestic incidents or gang fights in the emergency room area. 

So...it might be that he needs to define what he thinks a security job means. 

‘Would he be interested in a TSA job at a regional airport nearby? Well defined rules, working in teams, and not as much pressure as a major airport TSA job.  But they do send them away to train- for a few weeks. 

[Frances]

2 hours ago, HeighHo said:

How about pharmacy technician?  It doesn't take much to learn the lingo and the pharmacist is right there for backup.  Most people don't want to chat.  It would have to be at sensory friendly pharmacy, that doesn't play the wrong music all day long.

As long as he deals well with a fast paced sometimes high stress environment, this might work. Most pharmacies staff as lean as possible, so the work load can be very high at times. But at least only the pharmacists generally deal with customers upset about cost, insurance, etc, as they have to counsel each patient with a prescription.

[katilac]

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

One job was cart attendant which he thought he could do until he read the full job description and a responsibility was keeping the restrooms clean. He said he wasn't going to clean restrooms.  

 

 

This is going to knock him out of a lot of entry-level jobs, and positions at small businesses or offices. It won't always be specifically disclosed in the job description, and it's not a good question to ask at interviews. 

It doesn't sound like a hard-core sensory issue, so I'd work with him on changing this attitude. Nobody wants to clean public restrooms, which means it's usually done by lower-level employees. Which he will be. He already has a strike against him not having a license, he really doesn't need to add to that (and please know that I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to get some facts across to him). 

Would it help him to think of it as an obstacle to get past on the way to something better? dh and I and a dozen others I know have/had white collar jobs, but cleaned many public toilets back in the day. There is dignity in all work. Jeff Bezos worked at McDoald's. 

He can also think about how little time it will actually take, if it's just an add-on to a different job. Even if he has to spend an hour a day cleaning restrooms, that's only about 12% of the workday! Only 4% of an entire day. Yeah, it's not fun, but you're getting paid for it. 

If he absolutely will not consider the cart job, he should not interview for it. Sometimes employers will suggest or offer another job if you don't get an offer for the particular one you're interviewing for, but that's not the same as the applicant saying they're actually not interested in the job and suggesting something else. 

Getting started is hard. I'm actually looking for a job now, or at least to increase my freelancing, so he has all my sympathy. 

[Night Elf]

Yes, finding ds a job is challenging. His psychiatrist suggested we look into disability but that can take 1-2 years and it won't pay much. He can work a part-time job though from what I understand so that would help him never to have to work a 40-hour week. He was working 35-37 hours at Kroger and he hated it. He repeatedly told them he needed less hours but they were short staffed and he was the first one they gave more hours to because they knew they could rely on him I suppose. His supervisor tried to talk him out of leaving because they were losing a good employee. 

Then he applied to another grocery store and he didn't get that job. We believe it's because when asked how fast he was, he told them what he felt he could do comfortably and it wasn't fast enough.

He applied to a gaming store which would be great because he can talk to and help customers with games, but they never called.

He would consider stocking again if it was during the day. He doesn't want an overnight job again. 

We suggested he just go back to Kroger. They opened a new Super Kroger not far away and he could do something different in that store than his previous store. He said it's a last resort because he knows their policies and he doesn't like them.

DH thinks ds is lazy and doesn't want to work hard. I believe ds worked hard at his last job but he couldn't keep up the very fast pace they wanted their employees to do. 

An airport job won't work. We live far away too far away for it to be considered. 

[maggie18]

Have you considered a job coach for him? Many people on the spectrum do better with a job coach.

[katilac]

1 minute ago, Night Elf said:

 His supervisor tried to talk him out of leaving because they were losing a good employee. 

 

We suggested he just go back to Kroger. They opened a new Super Kroger not far away and he could do something different in that store than his previous store. He said it's a last resort because he knows their policies and he doesn't like them.

 

 

 

Absolutely get the ball rolling on disability! It does take a long time, that's why he needs to get the process started. Being denied the first time is par for the course, you usually have to appeal. Ask around about a good disability lawyer, it's a specialty and some of them know the law backwards and forwards. It sounds like disability combined with a part-time job might work very well while he's younger. He might be able to go full-time when he has more experience and maturity, who knows? 

Regarding Kroger, I think it's a good idea, but what I would do is find out where his old supervisor is and speak directly to him. ds can tell him he wants to come back and he will work just as hard, but these are my limitations and this is why I had to quit last time. If they don't know ds is on the spectrum, he should tell them. They might get a tax break, which would make them even more likely to not push him for too many hours. 

Best of luck to him!

  

 

[katilac]

2 minutes ago, maggie18 said:

Have you considered a job coach for him? Many people on the spectrum do better with a job coach.

 

Some states have free job coaches, sometimes specifically for people on the spectrum. I know we've discussed it on the boards before, but I can't remember if Night Elf was part of that thread. 

[unsinkable]

24 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

Absolutely get the ball rolling on disability! It does take a long time, that's why he needs to get the process started. Being denied the first time is par for the course, you usually have to appeal. Ask around about a good disability lawyer, it's a specialty and some of them know the law backwards and forwards. It sounds like disability combined with a part-time job might work very well while he's younger. He might be able to go full-time when he has more experience and maturity, who knows? 

Regarding Kroger, I think it's a good idea, but what I would do is find out where his old supervisor is and speak directly to him. ds can tell him he wants to come back and he will work just as hard, but these are my limitations and this is why I had to quit last time. If they don't know ds is on the spectrum, he should tell them. They might get a tax break, which would make them even more likely to not push him for too many hours. 

Best of luck to him!

  

 

It takes years. The last time this topic came up with NighfElf I mentioned people I know who were recently approved started the process over 3 years ago.

 

[Night Elf]

25 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

Absolutely get the ball rolling on disability! It does take a long time, that's why he needs to get the process started. Being denied the first time is par for the course, you usually have to appeal. Ask around about a good disability lawyer, it's a specialty and some of them know the law backwards and forwards. It sounds like disability combined with a part-time job might work very well while he's younger. He might be able to go full-time when he has more experience and maturity, who knows? 

Regarding Kroger, I think it's a good idea, but what I would do is find out where his old supervisor is and speak directly to him. ds can tell him he wants to come back and he will work just as hard, but these are my limitations and this is why I had to quit last time. If they don't know ds is on the spectrum, he should tell them. They might get a tax break, which would make them even more likely to not push him for too many hours. 

Best of luck to him!

  

 

He would be going to a different Kroger. He'd have to start the application process over again and I'm sure they'd make him do the two day training again. We don't even know if his supervisor is still at the first store. Ds has been using that guy's name as his supervisor on applications though.

[Night Elf]

Just now, unsinkable said:

It takes years. The last time this topic came up with NighfElf I mentioned people I know who were recently approved started the process over 3 years ago.

 

Yeah and there isn't a disability lawyer in my area. They're all far away. If we could do it all online, that would be best. We have a call in to one firm who says they have clients all over our state so maybe we wouldn't need to go into the office.

[Night Elf]

27 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

Some states have free job coaches, sometimes specifically for people on the spectrum. I know we've discussed it on the boards before, but I can't remember if Night Elf was part of that thread. 

There's a Vocational Rehabilitation office not far away but they didn't answer our email or return our phone call. That doesn't sit well with me for an agency dedicated to helping out disabled people.

[unsinkable]

5 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

Yeah and there isn't a disability lawyer in my area. They're all far away. If we could do it all online, that would be best. We have a call in to one firm who says they have clients all over our state so maybe we wouldn't need to go into the office.

You don't start with lawyers. You start with the social security admin. Some applications can begin online or over the phone.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/

If you'd prefer that I not participate in your threads, just let me know.

But one more thing before I go...adult children who are seemed disabled before they turn 22 can under certain circumstances received their parent's SS benefits when their parents die.

[maggie18]

The voc rehab process can take a while, too. Best to get it started ASAP. 

[Night Elf]

6 minutes ago, unsinkable said:

You don't start with lawyers. You start with the social security admin. Some applications can begin online or over the phone.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/

If you'd prefer that I not participate in your threads, just let me know.

But one more thing before I go...adult children who are seemed disabled before they turn 22 can under certain circumstances received their parent's SS benefits when their parents die.

I'd rather not try to deal with the SSA on my own. That's why I want a lawyer. I've heard dealing with SSA without a lawyer is difficult.

[maggie18]

It seems like you are not interested in pursuing him getting SSI (as you want a lawyer and there are no lawyers in your area, which seems odd) and you don't want to continue calling the Voc Rehab office for him. So since you don't want to do those things, I guess his only option is going to be working without a job coach and not receiving SSI.

Does he have a case manager who can help him with this? If not that is where I would start.

[katilac]

1 minute ago, Night Elf said:

There's a Vocational Rehabilitation office not far away but they didn't answer our email or return our phone call. That doesn't sit well with me for an agency dedicated to helping out disabled people.

 

The path to help is going to be filled with obstacles. You can't let that stop you. 

If they don't answer phone calls and emails, you head on over there in person. It doesn't matter how it sits with you, they have something you need and they don't care if you get it or not. The help your son needs, whether vocational training or disability, is going to come from the government. A giant bureaucracy filled with inefficiencies and obstacles. It's what you have to deal with, it just is. You jump through the hoops or you don't get help. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that's the way it is. 

[Night Elf]

Just now, maggie18 said:

It seems like you are not interested in pursuing him getting SSI (as you want a lawyer and there are no lawyers in your area, which seems odd) and you don't want to continue calling the Voc Rehab office for him. So since you don't want to do those things, I guess his only option is going to be working without a job coach and not receiving SSI.

Does he have a case manager who can help him with this? If not that is where I would start.

I did get him a life counselor who was supposed to help him with job  coaching. He went for 6 weeks and got nothing out of it. We called the Vocational Rehab Center just a couple of weeks ago so that avenue is not off the list. His psychiatrist is the one who suggested we start with a lawyer. It's not that I'm not interested in helping him at all. We're doing things, not just sitting around. No he doesn't have a case manager. What agency does that? Isn't that disability, which he doesn't have yet?

[maggie18]

5 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

The path to help is going to be filled with obstacles. You can't let that stop you. 

If they don't answer phone calls and emails, you head on over there in person. It doesn't matter how it sits with you, they have something you need and they don't care if you get it or not. The help your son needs, whether vocational training or disability, is going to come from the government. A giant bureaucracy filled with inefficiencies and obstacles. It's what you have to deal with, it just is. You jump through the hoops or you don't get help. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that's the way it is. 

Exactly. And if you can't be his advocate, then he will need a service coordinator or case manager to serve in that role.

Edited September 9, 2018 by maggie18

[maggie18]

No, the Office for Disability would not provide a case manger to coordinate his services. That would be through a private agency and would not cost anything as the service coordinators get reimbursed by Medicaid.

[AmandaVT]

Do you have a community mental health center in your area? I have a good friend who has a daughter with disabilities and she has been able to get her a case manager. The case manager helps coordinate adult services for the daughter. Daughter has a job coach, who comes to her job with her and has access to classes ranging from photography and cooking to managing finances. She also gets a free gym membership at the local gym and can go work out whenever she wants. I believe the daughter has access to up to 20 hrs a week with the job coach and another 20 hrs a week with a worker who drives her to classes and the gym as well as does fun things with her.

[Night Elf]

Also, please understand that we don't know much about any of this. We've never seriously considered disability before. He wasn't interested in doing it when we first talked about it a few years ago. He was in college but decided he didn't like it and wanted to work. He has the capability to attend a 4-year university and make good grades but he doesn't like doing school work. 

So now we're following the advice of his psychiatrist. She's the one who mentioned vocational rehab and disability. It took several weeks for that to sink in to his head. He wanted to try something on his own before he followed that advice but that thing doesn't appear to be able to be successful so now he's trying to find a way out of working full time. He said if he could get disability and only have to work part-time he'd be happier but that he wished he could find a part-time job that interested him. I had another thread quite some time ago about him looking for a career and someone posted a lot of information and of all that, only 3 things interested him enough to look into them and he said none of them are feasible. So he's the one who's creating obstacles. Both DH and I feel he's 100% capable of helping with his life plan. I'm not going to pursue all of this without his consent and help. What he really wants to do is sit in his room, play games, and watch other people play games. His latest ambition was to start a you tube channel so people could watch him play games but he got yelled at by another player on a multi=player game and it upset him tremendously so now he doesn't think he should have his own channel because people will be mean to him and he doesn't know if he can handle that.

So please don't make it sound like I don't want this for him. That's completely unfair. I'm starting from ground zero and can only go by the advice that's given to me by a medical professional because I don't know any of this on my own!

[Night Elf]

7 minutes ago, maggie18 said:

No, the Office for Disability would not provide a case manger to coordinate his services. That would be through a private agency and would not cost anything as the service coordinators get reimbursed by Medicaid.

Where do I find that?

[Night Elf]

2 minutes ago, AmandaVT said:

Do you have a community mental health center in your area? I have a good friend who has a daughter with disabilities and she has been able to get her a case manager. The case manager helps coordinate adult services for the daughter. Daughter has a job coach, who comes to her job with her and has access to classes ranging from photography and cooking to managing finances. She also gets a free gym membership at the local gym and can go work out whenever she wants. I believe the daughter has access to up to 20 hrs a week with the job coach and another 20 hrs a week with a worker who drives her to classes and the gym as well as does fun things with her.

I've never heard of a community mental health center. I know we have a county medical office that we didn't qualify for when I was trying to get my dd shots for school and we needed them done fast and couldn't get in to her Kaiser doctor. 

[maggie18]

https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/support-coordination

[maggie18]

Here is the application-

https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/sites/dbhdd.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/Services-InstructionsandApplication12-28-16.pdf

Edited September 9, 2018 by maggie18

[itsheresomewhere]

You might want to get a complete new evaluation done by a neuropsychiatrist/neuropsychologist ( which ever one does it in your area).  It sounds like your DS doesn’t have any other diagnosis besides being an aspie. And having a current evaluation/diagnosis will help with applying for SSI.  

Some of what you have said about him before makes me think he may not be diagnosed completely. 

Edited September 9, 2018 by itsheresomewhere

[Kim in Appalachia]

You have a child with a disability.  You are going to have to advocate for him.  That means dealing with a lot of bureaucracy.  He needs to get on SSI, he will need a case manager.  I don't know if you have his disability fully documented but you need that too.

You need to work now to get things in place so that someday he could live either independently or semi-independently.  You can't always trust that he'll have family around.  I don't mean to sound harsh, and from reading the thread, I'm guessing you've heard some of this before but you've been unwilling/unable to act.  Push for services. There are people who specialize in helping those who are disabled find work, and that includes people on the Spectrum.  You are only going to frustrate you son, your dh and yourself.  He will keep quitting his jobs, because he is lacking the proper support.  Kroger is an excellent place for someone on a disability to work.  But you have to have him hired that way.  They need to know what protocols to follow.  There are ADA protocols for ASD employees.  But if the job doesn't realize it's an issue, they will not accommodate. 

I really don't mean to sound harsh.  But I think you are only going to frustrate your son as well as create a bad work reputation for him unless you get the proper help.

[Night Elf]

3 minutes ago, maggie18 said:

Here is the application-

https://dbhdd.georgia.gov/sites/dbhdd.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/Services-InstructionsandApplication12-28-16.pdf

Thank you. I'll have to contact his psychiatrist for the information about testing and IQ scores and stuff like that. He was tested, and not even as fully as some people I've seen on these boards, when he was 9 years old. I don't know if he would qualify under the current DSM IV guidelines. His psychiatrist will have to help me figure that out.

Also, the application mentions needing to provide a medicaid or medicare card. He has neither. Does that matter? He lives with us and we provide more than 50% of his support and DH makes a high salary. Ds has money saved up from his last job that he uses but we support him mostly.

[itsheresomewhere]

1 minute ago, Night Elf said:

Thank you. I'll have to contact his psychiatrist for the information about testing and IQ scores and stuff like that. He was tested, and not even as fully as some people I've seen on these boards, when he was 9 years old. I don't know if he would qualify under the current DSM IV guidelines. His psychiatrist will have to help me figure that out.

Also, the application mentions needing to provide a medicaid or medicare card. He has neither. Does that matter? He lives with us and we provide more than 50% of his support and DH makes a high salary. Ds has money saved up from his last job that he uses but we support him mostly.

Get new testing. It is old and I bet not totally accurate.  

[Kim in Appalachia]

2 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

Thank you. I'll have to contact his psychiatrist for the information about testing and IQ scores and stuff like that. He was tested, and not even as fully as some people I've seen on these boards, when he was 9 years old. I don't know if he would qualify under the current DSM IV guidelines. His psychiatrist will have to help me figure that out.

Also, the application mentions needing to provide a medicaid or medicare card. He has neither. Does that matter? He lives with us and we provide more than 50% of his support and DH makes a high salary. Ds has money saved up from his last job that he uses but we support him mostly.

 

You will need a full eval.  Once you have the eval, I believe you can then get medicaid, but I'm unsure and it depends on the state.  But you will need the eval for any services.

[itsheresomewhere]

FYI on the target job.  It is not a low key job.  He will be yelled at, have to figure out on the quick what to do and might be physically attacked( especially during the holiday season). 

[Night Elf]

Okay thank you everyone. I'm completely overwhelmed and my brain cannot process all of this. I emailed his psychiatrist about the testing needed to see what she says. I also told her I was worried he wouldn't qualify for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis under today's guidelines. That, of course, would end all of this and he'll get no assistance. It's very upsetting.

[AmandaVT]

I can do some googling for you - where do you live?

[Lanny]

If he would be wearing a uniform, I do not like the combination of being in a uniform and being unarmed. That makes him a target. A very vulnerable target.

To me, that is like the phrase "Non Lethal Weapon". To me, a weapon is lethal.

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

There's a Vocational Rehabilitation office not far away but they didn't answer our email or return our phone call. That doesn't sit well with me for an agency dedicated to helping out disabled people.

 

 

Try again. 

 

Try Goodwill in your area (or similar) and see if they have a job training program — a friend of mine did that with a disabled son and it helped a lot.  

[Xahm]

6 minutes ago, Lanny said:

To me, that is like the phrase "Non Lethal Weapon". To me, a weapon is lethal.

Point of interest: in my husband's police department they have renamed these items (taser, baton, etc) "less-lethal weapons," which is still very, very odd terminology, but does remind officers of the potential risks involved in their use.

[Dynamite5]

26 minutes ago, Night Elf said:

Okay thank you everyone. I'm completely overwhelmed and my brain cannot process all of this. I emailed his psychiatrist about the testing needed to see what she says. I also told her I was worried he wouldn't qualify for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis under today's guidelines. That, of course, would end all of this and he'll get no assistance. It's very upsetting.

 

If he's actually able to do college level work and just doesn't want to, then you're right, he's probably not going to qualify for disability. Rightfully so, disability is a high bar. Of course, you can get him newly tested to see, but I would go into thinking you need to choose a different path. It sounds as though he needs someone with experience who doesn't get overwhelmed, or someone willing to dig in and do research on his options, because he needs a plan. But he also needs to be motivated in some way. Perhaps having a professional say that he's not eligible for disability payments will motivate him to find a new path in life. 

[Night Elf]

4 minutes ago, Dynamite5 said:

 

If he's actually able to do college level work and just doesn't want to, then you're right, he's probably not going to qualify for disability. Rightfully so, disability is a high bar. Of course, you can get him newly tested to see, but I would go into thinking you need to choose a different path. It sounds as though he needs someone with experience who doesn't get overwhelmed, or someone willing to dig in and do research on his options, because he needs a plan. But he also needs to be motivated in some way. Perhaps having a professional say that he's not eligible for disability payments will motivate him to find a new path in life. 

Yeah he was a 4.0 student in both high school and in the 4 college classes he took. He just doesn't like doing the work. He says it's boring.

When he was diagnosed with Aspergers at age 9, it was a simple questionnaire, front and back of one piece of  paper that I filled out. Then when he was about 12, I took him to a private psychologist for proper testing. The report I got back had his name throughout half the report and someone else's name in the other half. So I couldn't trust that report because I believed it to be a standard form they were filling out and not really personalizing it for him. He hasn't had any other testing. 

[maggie18]

Keep in mind you will need to have another diagnosis besides Asperger's as Asperger's is no longer in the DSM.  It is lumped under ASD.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

I'd rather not try to deal with the SSA on my own. That's why I want a lawyer. I've heard dealing with SSA without a lawyer is difficult.

 

Forget about what you have “heard.” Call the SSA and make an appointment to go in and talk with them in person. Take a list of questions with you.

I have no idea why you think you would need a lawyer at this point. Right now, all you’re doing is researching your ds’s options and finding out the requirements for disability to see if there is even a possibility that he would qualify. You certainly don’t need a lawyer for that.

 

[Night Elf]

45 minutes ago, itsheresomewhere said:

FYI on the target job.  It is not a low key job.  He will be yelled at, have to figure out on the quick what to do and might be physically attacked( especially during the holiday season). 

That's disappointing. It's not what we thought then. 

[Night Elf]

44 minutes ago, AmandaVT said:

I can do some googling for you - where do you live?

I appreciate that but it sounds like we need to start with a full evaluation. Everything hangs on whether or not he can get an ASD diagnosis right now. 

[katilac]

1 hour ago, Night Elf said:

I'd rather not try to deal with the SSA on my own. That's why I want a lawyer. I've heard dealing with SSA without a lawyer is difficult.

 

In case you haven't seen it yet, this link gives a lot of information on the process, what documents you will need, and so forth. If he is eligible to apply online, I would get that started - you don't have to submit the app then, you can save it and return to it, and make changes as needed. You want to get as much information as you can on your own, so you're not paying a lawyer for things you can do on your own. 

https://secure.ssa.gov/iClaim/dib

Edited to add: this is a lawyer's site, but the information on what is required for qualifying with autism looks solid: 

https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/conditions-page-2-53.html

 

Edited September 9, 2018 by katilac

[QueenCat]

There are tons of disability lawyers in the Greater Atlanta Metro area. Try looking in that area. It's not too far of a drive from a good bit of Georgia. But like others have said, it's premature for that... The Greater Atlanta area also has many other resources for people with Aspergers. The GA Governors Council for Developmental Disabilities website should still have a list of resources. 

[Catwoman]

5 hours ago, Night Elf said:

Yes, finding ds a job is challenging. His psychiatrist suggested we look into disability but that can take 1-2 years and it won't pay much. He can work a part-time job though from what I understand so that would help him never to have to work a 40-hour week. He was working 35-37 hours at Kroger and he hated it. He repeatedly told them he needed less hours but they were short staffed and he was the first one they gave more hours to because they knew they could rely on him I suppose. His supervisor tried to talk him out of leaving because they were losing a good employee.

Then he applied to another grocery store and he didn't get that job. We believe it's because when asked how fast he was, he told them what he felt he could do comfortably and it wasn't fast enough.

He applied to a gaming store which would be great because he can talk to and help customers with games, but they never called.

He would consider stocking again if it was during the day. He doesn't want an overnight job again.

We suggested he just go back to Kroger. They opened a new Super Kroger not far away and he could do something different in that store than his previous store. He said it's a last resort because he knows their policies and he doesn't like them.

DH thinks ds is lazy and doesn't want to work hard. I believe ds worked hard at his last job but he couldn't keep up the very fast pace they wanted their employees to do. 

An airport job won't work. We live far away too far away for it to be considered. 

 

2 hours ago, Night Elf said:

Yeah he was a 4.0 student in both high school and in the 4 college classes he took. He just doesn't like doing the work. He says it's boring.

When he was diagnosed with Aspergers at age 9, it was a simple questionnaire, front and back of one piece of  paper that I filled out. Then when he was about 12, I took him to a private psychologist for proper testing. The report I got back had his name throughout half the report and someone else's name in the other half. So I couldn't trust that report because I believed it to be a standard form they were filling out and not really personalizing it for him. He hasn't had any other testing. 

 

3 hours ago, Night Elf said:

Also, please understand that we don't know much about any of this. We've never seriously considered disability before. He wasn't interested in doing it when we first talked about it a few years ago. He was in college but decided he didn't like it and wanted to work. He has the capability to attend a 4-year university and make good grades but he doesn't like doing school work.

So now we're following the advice of his psychiatrist. She's the one who mentioned vocational rehab and disability. It took several weeks for that to sink in to his head. He wanted to try something on his own before he followed that advice but that thing doesn't appear to be able to be successful so now he's trying to find a way out of working full time. He said if he could get disability and only have to work part-time he'd be happier but that he wished he could find a part-time job that interested him. I had another thread quite some time ago about him looking for a career and someone posted a lot of information and of all that, only 3 things interested him enough to look into them and he said none of them are feasible. So he's the one who's creating obstacles. Both DH and I feel he's 100% capable of helping with his life plan. I'm not going to pursue all of this without his consent and help. What he really wants to do is sit in his room, play games, and watch other people play games. His latest ambition was to start a you tube channel so people could watch him play games but he got yelled at by another player on a multi=player game and it upset him tremendously so now he doesn't think he should have his own channel because people will be mean to him and he doesn't know if he can handle that.

So please don't make it sound like I don't want this for him. That's completely unfair. I'm starting from ground zero and can only go by the advice that's given to me by a medical professional because I don't know any of this on my own!

 

9 hours ago, Night Elf said:

He doesn't want overnight jobs anymore. We don't know how well he'll deal with the public because he's had little opportunity. He talks to people with no problem. He doesn't dominate the conversation. At his last job he helped some customers find items in the store and if he didn't know where they were he took them to another employee who might know the answer, like a manager. But that didn't happen a lot because he usually got to work a couple of hours before the store closed so it was late at night when not many people shop.

I don't know how Target will handle it but if they don't feel he'd fit in the position, I'm hoping they'll ask him if he's interested in another position that may be open. One job was cart attendant which he thought he could do until he read the full job description and a responsibility was keeping the restrooms clean. He said he wasn't going to clean restrooms. You'd think a store that size would have a dedicated cleaning team who would have that as one of their responsibilities.

 

10 hours ago, Night Elf said:

How does one get started to become a security guard? This is ds's latest idea. The information I was finding online mentioned licensing but I have no idea where to look for that. I've got to get him driving but my job is so crazy that we can only practice driving on my two off days unless he lets DH take him out after work when there is more traffic on the road which he doesn't like. Anyway, two of the jobs I saw required a valid drivers license. The ones I looked at that were the closest to us said at least 1 year security experience preferred. 

I got him to apply to Target to be a Protection Specialist which we think is a low level security person. We'll see if they call. He applied Saturday night so I'm hoping they'll phone him this coming week for an interview. The only problem is the job description mentions having good customer service skills and as an Aspie he doesn't have that. To be honest, I don't think he'll get this job.

 

Beth, I’m not sure how to say this gently, but are you 100% sure your dh isn’t right about your ds?

Your posts aren’t really describing a person with a disability. Your posts describe a young man who wants everything his own way. He doesn’t like this and he doesn’t like that, and he won’t do this, and he prefers not to do that, and he can work long hours but he doesn’t want to, and he doesn’t want to drive if there’s traffic, and it seems like he dismisses everything that has even the slightest amount of discomfort or inconvenience. 

Your posts indicate that he CAN do things, but that he doesn’t do them because he DOESN’T WANT to do them, not because he is physically or mentally incapable. 

I’m not saying he has no obstacles or issues, but I can’t help but wonder if he is truly as fragile as you describe him, or if maybe your dh’s assessment that he’s lazy may have at least some basis in truth.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Catwoman
I am the Typo Queen.