76 classroom hours over 2 weeks = Being able to seek employment working professionally with those struggling with addiction and/or mental health issues. Because Autism is classified as a mental health issue, it allows me to qualify to work in this field in which I provide support to those struggling with these issues from a position of “mutuality.” This has proven to be more effective than relying exclusively on those with superior academic credentials, some of who have let the pieces of papers that adorn their office walls go to their heads.
We R/PSSs do have a lot of limitations placed on us, so we don’t cross the line and exceed our academic credentials and/or start playing God (You need at least a Master’s degree to do that ). An example of this is that we are not allowed to advise the peers whom we are supporting about medications in any manner. Its not our place to tell them if they should be on meds, if they should stop taking them if they don’t like the side effects, figure out how to resolve the conflict that some religions have with taking meds, etc. If they want to understand the side effects of specific meds, we can use Google to find reputable sites that will provide them with the info they need. Beyond that, we’d encourage them to seek the advice of those who are qualified to answer such questions.
Although I’m open to working for anyone who will hire me, my ideal job would be working with the homeless because I have good reason to believe that the rate of Autism is this segment of society is going to be disproportionately hire then the general population.
1) Autistics, including myself, are known to struggle with employment issues. In fact, there were times during my pre-diagnosis day that I thought that making enough money to pay all my household expenses was too much of a burden. So, homelessness seemed like a logical solution because it would reduce them to a much more manageable level.
2) Many of us believe that we have a higher sensitivity to medications, thus making us more susceptible to substance abuse.
3) Those who are experts in this field will tell you that addiction is actually a symptom of underlying issues that compel individuals to misuse these substances to deal the pain (often emotional &/or phycological) that they lack the coping skills to deal with any other way. Most Autistics struggle with these same underlying issues which I’ve learned to overcome to the best of my abilities.
When you consider that about ¼ of all the Autistics whom I’ve discussed the subject of suicide with have acknowledge that they 1st started contemplating before becoming teenagers, myself included, crisis hotlines are a viable option for me. I’m just not sure I’d feel comfortable with supervisors scrutinizing me so much that I’m think more about not saying anything that could get me in trouble with my boss then I am with the caller who is in crisis. As far as suicide hotlines, I’m not clear about whether or not I’d need greater academic credentials to work them.
The specific course I took though Recovery Innovations International also earned me 2 collage credits that could be used if I want to pursue higher academic credentials. They also have a couple of more courses that would be worth 17 collage credits each (Recovery Coaching & Recovery Teaching Certifications), although there is a lot of overlap between the 2. I need to confirm how this would all workout, but I think I could come away with about 2 dozen collage credits if I take all their courses.