• Make SPACE for Skills: Working While Autistic Sneak Preview

    The following is excerpted and summarized from the second chapter of Working While Autistic: Thrive in a Career You Love, the fifth book in the Adulting While Autistic series by Wendela Whitcomb Marsh, MA, RSD.

    If you want a career you love, you’ll need to develop the right skills for the job. Think SPACE: Self skills, People skills, Authority skills, Communication skills, and Employment skills. Master these to be on the right path.

    SPACE

    Self Skills

    The S in SPACE stands for self skills.

    The self skills you’ll need to succeed include self-awareness, self-presentation, and self-control.

    Self-Awareness

    When you have self-awareness, you think about yourself and how others see you. At home, you might do your best thinking if you lean back and prop your feet up on the desk. If you sit the same way at work, people might think you’re lazy or disrespectful.

    You can develop your self-awareness skills. Become more aware of yourself and how others see you; it’s an important skill to develop.

    Self-Presentation

    Self-presentation is crucial. If you, your clothes, or your hair are unkempt, it won’t matter if you’re good at your job. Nobody wants to work next to someone who smells or has hair like a greasy rat’s nest. Even though it doesn’t make sense, when you have good hygiene, people are more open to what you have to say.

    One way you can develop self-presentation skills is to notice how coworkers present themselves. Model your own presentation on those around you. That doesn’t mean you can’t be comfortable or have your own unique style, but if you want to develop your self-presentation skills, try to avoid extreme styles at work.

    Self-Control

    Self-control may be the most important self skill of all in the workplace. If you raise your voice or argue when your supervisor corrects you, it shows a lack of self-control. If you melt down, cry, or leave work when something unexpected happens, you could be reprimanded. If you lose your temper easily and fail to control yourself, an angry outburst could get you fired. Someone who can’t function under stress will not be seen as a valuable worker. The risks are too great for most companies to keep an employee who is seen as out of control.

    If lack of self-control has been a major problem in your life, seek help. Talk to your doctor. A counselor or anger management coach can help.

    People Skills

    The P in SPACE stands for people skills.

    In addition to self skills, good people skills are vital in any career. Getting along with colleagues and customers will help you get and keep a job. This includes common courtesy and tact. If you pride yourself on your brutal honesty, learn to be truthful without being brutal. Keep negative thoughts to yourself; it’s an excellent people skill.

    Never comment on anyone’s body. Even a compliment about a woman’s pretty blouse calls attention to her chest area, which is inappropriate. It’s best to avoid giving compliments at the workplace. If you want to give an occasional compliment, stick to a person’s talents and abilities, not their physical attributes. Practice improves your people skills.

    Authority Skills

    The A in SPACE stands for authority skills.

    Unless you’re self-employed and have no supervisors or customers, you need to respond respectfully to authority figures. Some people find it difficult to work with a supervisor who’s not as smart as they are. If you’re highly intelligent, it’ll be difficult to find a job where the boss is clearly your intellectual superior. Even so, it’s not a good idea to let people know that you’re smarter than they are. Be respectful, always. If a supervisor says something you know to be wrong, do not call them out in front of others. If it’s important, speak to them privately later. If it’s minor, let it go. Nit-picking will make you look like a jerk, and you’re not a jerk. Knowing when to keep your opinions to yourself is an important skill, especially when dealing with those in authority.

    Communication Skills

    The C in SPACE stands for communication skills.

    Good verbal and nonverbal skills are necessary, for example, when your boss gives you a new project to work on. If you just walk away to get started without communicating, they might think you’re blowing the project off.

    Here are some tips for how to communicate when your supervisor or manager gives you an assignment:

    • First, make (or fake) eye contact.
    • Second, reflect back on what you think they said, to be sure you understand their expectations.
    • Third, let them know that you’ll get right to work on it.
    • Fourth, when you get back to your desk, send an email with a recap of the conversation so you’ll have a written record to remind you of your new assignment, and to confirm that you understand.

    One of the most difficult types of communication at work is when the boss gives you constructive criticism. This can be hard to take, but it’s important to accept it well. Put yourself in your employer’s shoes. Would you rather have a worker who listens and tries to improve, or one who’s stubborn, argumentative, and can’t take correction? Be the one who accepts criticism graciously, and you’ll make your boss’s job easier.

    Employment Skills

    The E in SPACE stands for employment skills.

    The employment skills you need depend on the job you want. Whatever the field, it’s up to you to get those skills. Some careers require a high school diploma, or a college degree, or special training. Check out colleges, adult education courses, and online courses. Don’t invest in a school unless you’re sure it’s reputable. Be smart and check your options before you commit.

    Whatever your dream career is, learn the skills and get the training you need.

    That was just a brief summary of the chapter. If you’d like more, I hope you’ll check out Working While Autistic: Thrive in a Career You Love at your local library or book store or online. It launches June 3, 2025. If you read it, I hope you’ll let me know what you think of it.