Online training: Ruby on Rails

Jobs in Information Technology are certainly out there and lend themselves to Aspie/Autie style of work... at least better than others. If you are starting from zero or beginner level it is hard to know where to go. One particular language that is en vogue now is Ruby on Rails. To be accurate, Ruby is the language and the Rails part makes it a lot more human friendly.

A friend of mine put me on to an hilarious training system for Ruby on Rails called Rails for Zombies. It is an amazing teaching tool with some serious thought behind it. If you do not know Ruby it points you to a tutorial to start with and then will take you through creating a web application with Ruby on Rails.

At the end of the tutorials you will be in a place to start experimenting yourself with the idea of producing a Rails application that will go into your Career Portfolio and demonstrate your new skill to prospective employers. If you want to see the marketplace for Ruby/Ruby on Rails developers go to Dice or Monster and do a search on jobs with Ruby in the description. You will be amazed.

Transferable job skills for non-"job" activities

Here is a post I ran across discussing the transferable job skills you gain while getting a grad school degree. As a straight forward analysis I think it does a good job of translating some of the tasks involved in getting a traditional Graduate degree into phrases that you can use on your resume or cover letter.

In a more abstract sense I think it can be instructive in finding ways to describe your volunteer work, side projects or not so explainable jobs into powerful items for your career portfolio. For instance the table item "You attend a meeting where you devise a plan for future research endeavors with your colleagues" could just as easily be "You attend a meeting where you devise a plan for future project with your co-volunteers" and use the same benefits/phrases as they do on the grid.

The beauty of transferable skills: How grad school prepares you for careers off the beaten path

How to start a social enterprise

One of the things that I have always encountered with my jobs is that in some ways they seem meaningless... it matters to only a few people and the company itself may not be helping that many people. Even when they are 'helping' hundreds of thousands of people the benefits are debatable and occasionally lawsuits occur... or major financial meltdowns (i.e. sub-prime crisis).

The many Aspies and ASD folk I have spoken with feel the same way. More than that they see even entrepreneurial efforts as simply a way to make a buck and provide little real meaning. As an alternative I have suggested looking at starting social enterprises... not quite altruistic endeavors but certainly not cash cows either. Dowser has a wonderful article on how to get something like that going and can be found here: http://dowser.org/how-to-get-a-social-enterprise-off-the-ground-making-an-idea-for-social-change-become-a-reality/

Thinking of going back to school?

Kim at the Autism Blogs Directory requested that I write an article on the issues adult ASD folk face when deciding to go back to school. Check it out here: http://autismblogsdirectory.blogspot.com/2011/08/scott-sheas-how-do-you-return-to-school.html

Potential connection between Autism and gelotophobia -- the fear of being laughed at

Andrea C. Samson, Oswald Huber and Willibald Ruch in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders found that 45% of their subjects with Asperger's Syndrome had gelotophobia-- the fear of being laughed at-- as opposed to just 6% of the control group. This is an extraordinarily high percentage and may be an anomaly; the authors are attempting to replicate their findings.

However, presuming it is even half that number, it is worth an examination of the link between Autism and gelotophobia. Before an further comments let me state that it is clear most of us do not like to be laughed at derisively or in a humiliating situation regardless of ASD or NT classification. Gelotophobia is a more extreme reaction to laughter that interferes with the daily activities of the individual including limiting actions, intruding upon thoughts and physiological responses like tension, headaches and sleep disturbances.

The study also found that the AS group had less capability to laugh at themselves and an increase in the ability to laugh derisively at others, a.k.a. katagelasticism, which runs contrary to earlier studies without ASD/NT differentiation showing a link between laughing at yourself and at others.

It would be very premature to speculate if there is a causal relationship (e.g. Autism leads to gelotophobia) so preventative actions are not easy to suggest. In the The Mirror of Laughter p.77, Alexander Kozintsev discusses the processing of humor in the brain in depth including a mention of several studies showing the perception of humor being processed in the emotional centers of the amygdala, a familiar area of study for the Autism spectrum.

So we must turn our attention to aftercare. The Gelotophobia Assessment and Research Association offers several links to online assessments at http://www.gelotophobia.org/geloph/page/home.html that can help indicate the level of gelotophobia you may or may not posses. While not the same as a trained professional it is a good starting point to see how aggressively you would want to combat the phobia. Due to  the complex nature and lack of understanding on causality it may be that a symptom by symptom approach would work best such as addressing social anxiety through medication, therapy and social exercises or body awareness work for the Pinocchio syndrome (Ruch, 2009).

Resources:

Kosinzstev, A. Trans: Martin, R. The Mirror of Laughter. Published June 2011.

Ruch, W. Fearing humor? Gelotophobia: The fear of being laughed at Introduction and overview. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research; 2009, Vol. 22 Issue 1-2, p1-25

Samson, A., Huber, O. and Ruch, W. Teasing, Ridiculing and the Relation to the Fear of Being Laughed at in Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, April 2011, pp 475 - 483

How to follow-up with slow paying clients

Being a freelance or entrepreneurial Aspie/ASD person can be a nerve wracking process requiring dealing with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar situations on a regular basis  If you are freelancing or have a business that you run getting payment can be an excruciating task requiring a lot of time and causing headaches. For those of us on the Spectrum asking for payment can be difficult, waiting for payment can be anxiety provoking and a failure to adhere to the contractual guidelines may cause a meltdown preventing future business with that person.

First off, keep in mind, things do happen in business and not everyone is a cheapskate trying to screw us over. And even if they are a careful, measured response will help when it comes time to escalate the issue (e.g. small claims court).

Erin Russell at Biz 3.0 wrote a very helpful article on how to deal with such a situation.  It offers very useful advice on how to set up and follow through with clients on payment in such a way that you are in a decent place. I suggest that you use it as the basis for a step-by-step guide that you look at when it comes time to deal with money as it will remind you of the necessary tasks and point you to your previously created resources (e.g. follow-up & termination of service letters).

As an adjunct to that keep up on your state/municipality laws on small claims court and see if someone has created a how to for your specific state.

Update: Link to the Consumerist's Guide to small claims court:
http://consumerist.com/2007/03/how-to-take-your-case-to-small-claims-court.html

5 tips for shaking off job interview anxiety

It has been a while since I posted anything from the Undercover Recruiter which is more about me being busy than their lack of quality. Once again they provide excellent tips for the job search, this time on combatting Interview Anxiety:

http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/content/nervous-wreck-5-ways-shake-your-job-interview-anxiety

Number 5, be open about your nervousness, is an excellent way to let the interviewer know that something about the conversation may seem different without flat-out admitting you have ASD.

Beware the recruiters who don't believe in you

Recently an Aspie friend of mine contacted a major recruiting firm to ask about potential openings. He has some accounting and some technical skills and certifications in his background. He had been working at doing web site design on his own but, being an Aspie, networking was difficult and he needed to find soemthing stable. His skills and experience are a good mix and even in a down market should get some interest. This one said that he would not find a job since he had been 'out of work' for three years and vaguely wonder why he was wasting the recruiters time.

I have a couple of issues with this. The first is the tone of the response. Seriously? That is the best you can do? Not looking for a lot of repeat customers are you. I would write it off as the individual recruiter's style but actually this entire firm is well known for their attitude. They are just as bad when you are the hiring manager as when you are the potential employee. Their entire business model seems to be 'we don't give a bleep about future business; we place bodies'. How it works for them is a mystery to me.

Secondly, running your own business for three years is not the same as 'out of work'... not by a damn site. Many employers look for entrepreneurial types as they show initiative and problem solving ability not casually found in your standard employee. Holding having your own business against you is a sad way to handle a very strong benefit.

So my main point is that even if you do fit the narrow view of employable to some of these meat grinder shops you may want to stay away from them. If the recruiting firm cannot care enough about you to be polite and consider you a potential future customer then their placement is suspect. They are simply looking for bodies to fill out the cannon fodder of the world they see. Not all of them will go to the ends of the earth for you (though I have found a few) but general respect should be a bare minimum. And if they cannot see value in your skills then find someone who can. They should be placing *all* of you in the job; not just one skill they find useful.

Study shows video modeling improving work performance for ASD individuals

In the August 2010 issue of Education & Treatment of Children, Allen et al, discuss their study showing a marked improvement in four ASD youths/young adults in the performance of a socially challenging job... walking around in a big costume in a store to generate business. While not the best paying jobs (part time; $12 - $20 an hour) it is worth noting that success in a social occupation like this is remarkable for people on the spectrum. And when I thought about it the costume does lend quite a bit of help in that it takes care of the bright, sunny dispositions needed allowing the person inside to concentrate on movement and body language.

Abstract

As part of a collaborative project between a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and a local private business, we examined the effects of video modeling to teach vocational skills to four adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Video modeling was used to teach the participants to wear a WalkAround® mascot and entertain customers in a retail setting. Observations were conducted before and after participants watched a video model of the skills performed in both scripted and naturalistic scenes. All participants learned to use the targeted skills after watching the video model and all reported that they enjoyed the work. Implications and vocational applications are discussed.

This article, in addition to the main thrust of the study, presents a potential form of accommodation you may be able to request in your workplace; namely a video of someone else doing the job effectively.  Since AskJan-- the Department of Labor's Accommodation initiative-- suggests alternative methods of communication and training in their discussion of accommodating Aspergers. It is well worth pulling out this study when working with your employer on your labor situation as it shows verifiable results to the effort. A video program like this is more than simple observation as it will stress retention and provide repeated viewing if lessons are confusing or moving too fast. Additionally it is repeatable with future employees.

So consider this the next time you get a review or are interviewing; it may help both sides.

Allen, Keith D; Wallace, Dustin PView Profile; Renes, Diana; Bowen, Scott L; Burke, Ray V.; Use of Video Modeling to Teach Vocational Skills to Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders; Education & Treatment of Children, Aug 2010, pp 339-349

The use of antioxidants along with Omega-3 fatty acids

Previously I wrote on the potential benefits of increasing your Omega-3 fatty acid intake as a means for improving your mood stabilization and neurotransmitter function to combat comorbid conditions of Autism (e.g. depression).  I Just came across an article from BMC Psychiatry (2008 Supplement 1, Vol. 8, Special section p1-3, 3p) by Tsaluchidu, et al regarding the potential need for antioxidants with patients showing many of the comorbid symptoms. Oxidative Stress is increased in people with the various conditions and the addition of antioxidants helps reduce the impact of that stress on brain tissue.

While no specific dosing recommendations are made they do suggest switching to a whole food, plant based diet in order to achieve results. The National Institute for Health (NIH) also suggests using dietary based increases in antioxidants rather than supplements. For specific antioxidants you can cross reference the list on the Wikipedia article here for antioxidants with the NIH list of nutrient values in various foods.

As with many things moderation is key; antioxidants can impair your ability to absorb iron and calcium in your diet.

Making small talk is not lying to the other person

I had a client at one point refuse my suggestions on small talk as it felt like lying to the other person; "I don't care about what interests them and it feels false to pretend I do." It made me re-evaluate my suggestion to clarify what small talk meant both for the interview and the workplace.

Before I get into the tip part though I will once again plug the need to connect with people interviewing you or that you work with. It makes hiring smoother and retention easier if the person knows that you see them as a human being. You do not have to suck up with pointless comments or pretend to be interested in something you do not like. Rather you just need to let them know, even once, that you see them beyond the facade we erect at work.

So when interviewing try to Google your interviewers and most certainly the company. Look for a 'human interest' angle that you like and can talk about. Be sure to bring it up. Say you do not know the name of the person you are interviewing with but you found out via Googlebating (or masterGoogling if you prefer) the company that they recently moved to the new office. Even though it is likely that the person you are speaking with is NT, office moves are still sources of stress and humor. Mention the move and let them talk about it for a while. You will find a sympathetic response in yourself that is a surrogate for empathy in that you likely hate that sort of disruption too. That will come across in the interview.

If you are working with people just keep an ear out for their interests and look for news items that tie into that interest and mention it. Certainly you will illicit some sort of response from them and again, choose something you can tolerate. I have had several conversations with plane owners even though I have never actually owned a plane or even have a pilot's license. In fact it was one of the first things that I spoke about with my future father-in-law (got a good review from him too).

Making small talk with co-workers and interviewers is an effort but does not have to be a lie (or painful). Just keep on the look out for something that interests you too. Read blog aggregators, news web sites or some of the Gawker family of sites for general things to speak about.

And keep the stuff non-controversial (i.e. no religion or politics ).

Starving for a job

Hunger drives us to do strange things. I wonder how much of human endeavors could be traced back to being hungry. Societies undertake major migrations in search of food; humans will attempt to eat things previously not considered edible when they are hungry. Each of these are risks with either great or tragic outcomes; as an example consider what sort of trial and error went into realizing that rhubarb leaves were the toxic part of the plant.

Consider then how each of us may get when it comes time to evaluate if a particular job is good for us. Given the chronic under- and unemployment of ASD folk it is not surprising that many of us want any job as long as it shows promise of being better than where we are at. And it is hard to argue against that when we and/or our families lack something... especially food.

However how are you to protect against eating the toxic leaves and joining a place that will ruin you? Given the horrendous working conditions at some places it is possible that a bad work environment will harm you, your relationships or even drive you to attempt to harm yourself. If nothing else you could find yourself out of work soon enough.

Turning the traditional logic on its head-- it's easier to look for a job when you have a job-- it is easier to conceptualize your ideal job when you are not looking for one. So take a moment when you have a job to write out the criteria you would want in an ideal job and then stash it with copies of your resume on your machine. Later when you have to find a job you will have the clarity of the good times there to ground you when you go back out to find work. You may still not be able to find your ideal job but at least you will know how the current job in question deviates from your ideal and consciously know the deficiency rather than be surprised later.

Aspergers Software Engineers: a 12 question list by Joel Spolsky that you should use

For those of you in software development who are looking for a way to determine if a place is good to work for or with, I suggest you look at the Joel Test created by Joel Spolsky.  While not oriented towards Aspergers or ASD specifically it does address a major concern that many of us have regarding a workplace; namely, does it aim to produce something that we can be proud of. If there is one unifying thing I have noticed about ASD folk in software development is that we hate putting out schlock.

Joel's test focuses on asking questions about whether the tools and material are present in a company to produce quality software. Even non-software Aspies can identify some of the questions as useful: do you have quality testers? do you have a product specification? Seriously, some software shops are so bad that these would be revolutionary questions. The most appealing question for ASD folk would be: do people have a quiet working atmosphere?

So those of you in IT, the next time you go to interview, take these questions along and check them off as they are answered in the interview or ask them when it is your turn to interview them. Asking questions in the interview is strongly encouraged and here are ready made questions for you that will at least give you an idea if it is a good place to work for you.

And if you are not in IT, consider how they may apply to your own job hunt or check back here... I hope to have my own 12 question check list for Aspies that I shamelessly admit was inspired by Joel's questions.

Round-up: Autism & Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory

In response to some discussions I have seen on Wrong Planet and other ASD forums I decided to delve into the concept of an autistic culture. Having been familiar with Hofstede's dimensions I decided to use it as a framework for dissecting what it would mean for ASD folk to be a culture or subculture and how that group would react, as a culture, to the parent cultures of their respective societies.

Listed here are the articles and resources from the series. After careful consideration I decided that ASD folk, while numerous, probably do not constitute an independent culture but are rather a subculture influenced by the national culture that they reside in. Most of the dimensions apply to the subculture with a strong response in the Uncertainty Avoidance Index dimension. The recently added Indulgence v Restraint dimension posed the most difficulties in my analysis though that may be due more to my ignorance of the dichotomy than a lack of fit.

I think it would be interesting to use the cultural tests created by Hofstede or Minkov on a population of spectrumites to see what the true measure for each dimension would be. Given the growth of the ASD population and the need to analyze culture beyond traditional ethnic, racial, national or religious grounds this would be an informative study beyond the boundaries of ASD.

I hope that you find the articles provocative, insightful or at least entertaining. Please feel free to leave comments on any one.

Articles:

Introduction - discusses Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions theory

Part 2: Autism & Culture - analyzes autism as a potential culture or subculture

Part 3: Autism & Power Distance Index - an analysis of autism, ASD folk and the Power Distance Index

Part 4: Autism & Individualism v Collectivism - looks at how ASD folk might place on the Individualist v Collectivist dimension

Part 5: Autism & the Uncertainty Avoidance Index - dives into the ASD spectrumite's anxiety with uncertainty and how it mirrors cultures on the Hofstede UAI index

Part 6: Autism & Masculinity v Femininity - a perspective on the Hofstede Masculinity index and if it applies to ASD

Part 7: Autism & Long Term Orientation - where does an ASD peson land on the Hofstede LTO dichotomy?

Part 8: Autism and Indulgence v Restraint - an exploration of autism and the recently added dimension of indulgence v restraint

Helpful Resources:

Kwintessential - Country Etiquette Guides

Kwintessential - Discussion of Hofstede Dimensions: Jumping off point for many of their Hofstede specific resources

Target Map for Indulgence v Restraint

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition

Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations

Wikipedia on Confucianism (applies to Long Term Orientation)

The Analects of Confucius (applies to Long Term Orientation)

5 tips for overcoming anxiety

25 ways to relieve anxiety

Hofstede's academic site

Part 8: Autism and Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory - Indulgence v Restraint

->Part 7<-

The last of Hofstede's dichotomies, Indulgence v Restraint (IVR) was introduced via a study performed by Michael Minkov in 2010. It is the least studied of the dimensions and I only include it here because Hofstede does so on his site. At times dimensions are introduced and removed or changed later so this analysis is bound by the uncertainty of the dimension.

Generally Hofstede defines the two parts as:

• Indulgence: a tendency to allow relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun.
• Restraint: a conviction that such gratification needs to be curbed or regulated by strict social norms

[p232 - 232 Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition]

While Kwintessential does not have a map for this dimension (yet) I did find this map of scores corresponding to the Minkov study results. Venezuela comes out at the top of the chart with a score of 100 (this study used a 100 point scale rather than the 120 Hofstede had originally introduced). Pakistan came in at the other end of the spectrum with zero. The English speaking cluster all came in at the high 60's to low 70's indicating a fairly permissive society.

From a theoretical perspective this is the hardest for me to place in regards to the Autism subculture. Many forms of stimming for the longest time was looked down upon as unacceptable regardless of the society and certainly our general behavior has been identified as outside the norm. In the Hofstede book mentioned above there is a quote about IVR that "In loose societies norms are expressed with a wide range of alternative channels, and deviant behavior is easily is easily tolerated (p.233). I imagine a poll of most ASD in the loose English speaking cluster societies would not find them all that accepting. True Autism is not punished by death (for the most part) in these societies but when that is the measure of acceptance I think we lose any fine analysis.

On the flip side the adherence to routine and internally defined norms would indicate that as a subculture we are more on the restraint side. However each of these are defined individually and while there might be some similarities it is unlikely that ASD folk share a majority of routines/norms. Additionally the difficulties in forming relationships would pose a pseudo-caste system where everyone is broken down into degrees of how much we can communicate and relate to them.

I think it is safe to say that this debate will continue on for some time and there is no satisfying conclusion for-- or from-- me here. In the meantime I suggest we consider our parent culture's leanings in thinking about our own and then refine our thoughts on a case by case basis. In my own case I am in the United States which tolerates, and even encourages the accumulation of wealth, yet personally I have an antipathy towards people I perceive as greedy. Therefore when encountering a situation along these lines I might scale my response more along the lines of me dealing with a 'more indulgent than I' person.

And while Kwintessential does not have tips specific to the IVR dimension they provide guides on specific countries that will help. Consider Pakistan, which scored a zero, and Venezuela-- a 100-- and the tips provided there. Unlike the previous dimension (Long Term Orientation) where China could serve as a proxy for a tip sheet I think each country should be taken on a case by case basis. As an example much of Pakistan's rigidity might be attributed to the influence of fundamentalist religious views and certainly certain parts of the US could be found just as rigid. In these cases the difference is simply in which is more institutionalized at the moment.

Helpful Resources:

Target map on Indulgence v Restraint - 100 point scale rather than the 120 used elsewhere

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition

Tips on Countries from Kwintessential

Part 7: Autism and Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory - Long Term Orientation

->Part 6<-

After Hofstede's initial research various researchers explored his findings and looked for areas that might have been overlooked. In 1985 a group of primarily Chinese educators administered a test that showed a fifth dimension, one that by its very nature was bound to escape European researchers as it was alien in many aspects. Originally called Confucian Dynamism it was later renamed Long Term Orientation and China was the bell weather example scoring at 118 out of 120 for the category. The basic premise is that a Long Term Orientation culture is focused on thrift, persistence and a stolid social order with rankings and duties for each ranking. While an underling might be obligated to follow their boss without question the boss is also obligated to care for the underling; this concept alone would be very alien to many Western managers. Short Term Orientation cultures are focused on the past and present, respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations such as reciprocal gift giving.

The English speaking cluster of the US, UK, Australia and Canada all scored low (the US was the highest at 29) on the scale indicating extreme short term orientation; indeed every colonial power and subsequent filial colony (e.g. Canada & US with Britain) scored on the low end. China was already mentioned as being the extreme top with Hong Kong reporting a score of 96 which I suspect was diluted due to long time British occupation. Taiwan, Japan and South Korea also scored on the higher end of the dichotomy. India was almost dead center with 61 and probably showing influence of the multiple subcultures that make up large parts of the Indian nation. Considering Pakistan, a neighbor and similar ethnicity to many in India scored a zero on the scale one could surmise that that influence alone is weighing the score for India.

Given the issues with executive function (Source) and the general travails of the ASD subculture I suggest that as a subculture ASD folk would score on the Short Term Orientation end of the spectrum. Whether dealing with the trauma of growing up in an NT society or combating addiction (substance or behavioral) used as a coping mechanism many ASD folk are literally taking it 'one day at a time' almost necessitating a short term outlook. Additionally the resistance to authority figures would be well within the Short Term Orientation mode.

Sadly Kwintessential has not created specific tips for this Hofstede dimension yet. However, due to the strong showing of China on the scale, the tips for China provide a useful alternative. While too long to go into in this article it is worth a read. Additionally, the dimension was not originally named Confucian Dynamism just because it sounded cool. The dimension adheres to the Confucian precepts very well so a study of the philosophy is a good idea. Start with the Wikipedia article on Confucianism to get a good introduction and go from there. One rule that many of us have heard of (and rarely seen practiced in the West) is "Do not treat others as you would not have them treat you" [double negative intended].

->Part 8<-

Helpful Resources:

Kwintessential Tips on China

Wikipedia article on Confucianism

Analects of Confucius at Project Gutenberg

Part 6: Autism and Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory - Masculinity v Femininity

->Part 5<-

The dichotomy I will be addressing in this post is bit problematic because the naming of it is challenging in its sexist titles. Hofstede decided that countries that show competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, materialism and desire for power are Masculine in nature while those who value relationships and quality of life are Feminine. Certainly stereotypes of both genders can be used to support the naming but, on the contrary, anyone at a beauty contest can attest to female competitiveness and I  believe Quality of Life (at least in their minds) is pursued by men as well as women. Additionally, gender role distinction is higher for masculine societies than feminine which flies in the face of nearly every romance novel on the market today.  Nevertheless there is a polarization detailed by his research and thus requires some form of labeling. Various people have renamed the poles to Quantity of Life v Quality of Life... still problematic in my view but less sexist. I will stick with the original names to maintain continuity with the original research but keep in mind they are labels rather than descriptors.

Before I list the country scores also keep in mind that this is not capturing Foreign Relations policy but individual attitudes at a group level. For instance the US scores almost in the middle of the dichotomy with a 62. When viewing Foreign Policy over the past fifty years the ambition, power and aggression-- much less assertiveness-- immediately jump out as extreme examples. However that is from a nationalistic stand point and it is often true that national behavior and individual behaviors are different. Another conundrum is that Russia scores a 36 on the scale meaning it is heavy to the feminine side which would also go contrary to its foreign relations since it was first formed. Norway and Sweden fall at the extreme feminine side with single digit scores.

As a subculture in the United States, UK, Australia and other English speaking countries I think we would have the same confusion presented by our societies. However I will go out on a limb and say that we squelch our ambition, competitiveness and assertiveness out of a desire to avoid conflict. Research does indeed show a difficulty in identifying with a single gender (Williams, P., & Allard, A. (1996). Case study: Cross-gender preoccupations in two male children with autism. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 26(6), 635-642. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, Aspergirls: Empowering Females With Asperger Syndrome). Additionally the traits of Higher Functioning Autism and Aspergers are more acceptable in women than men indicating that the groups are seen as more feminine from an outside view.

And again, as with Power Distance, you should attempt to make a determination about the nature of the people you work with and use the tips suggested by Kwintessential accordingly here in the US or other of the English speaking clusters.  With those on the 'feminine' side respect the boundary between business and life, expect men and women to have similar roles in the group and work to establish trust. For more 'masculine' individuals keep in mind that your work life boundaries may not mean much, or anything, to them and that business can occur at any time. This is especially relevant in terms of networking. For a 'masculine' person any event can be a place to discuss business and your actions in that setting will reflect on how they perceive you in the workplace. This extends to social sites one the web too. A professional LinkedIn account and an unprofessional Facebook account will hurt you with the more 'masculine' cultures.

->Part 7<-

Helpful resources:

World Map of Masculinity v Femininity

Masculinity/Femininity - Tips

Part 5: Autism and Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory - Uncertainty Avoidance Index

->Part 4<-

The Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) from Hofstede measures how a culture handles ambiguity, uncertainty and change. Those groups that measure high on the UAI tend to experience high anxiety regarding uncertainty and seek to limit or minimize the uncertainty in any given situation. Cultures that measure low on the index try to have as few rules as possible, are more pragmatic and are more tolerant of change. Examples of countries that are high on the UAI are Greece, Russia, Poland and Portugal (contrary to popular views of Germany is it much closer to the middle). Countries that score low on the scale are Sweden, China and the UK; while the US is low at a score of 46 it is not the lowest by far.

From a theoretical standpoint I think the Autsim subculture would score very high on this index. In fact I suspect most readers of that last statement said "well, duh". Ritualistic behavior, precision and the need for sameness are hallmarks of of autistic behavior at all levels and sometimes, depending on the situation, this has been included as part of the Autistic Advantage (source).

For those of us in low scoring countries like the UK, Australia, Canada, China and the US (map) I cannot think of a stronger point of conflict between the subculture and culture as a whole. In those countries that are high on the Index many of these behaviors may be seen as well within cultural bounds offering a rare break for ASD folk in their attempts at integrating with society.

I would go into detail regarding Kwintessential's tips for dealing with cultures that score lower than us on UAI but I imagine they are well known in practice, if not theory. All of us in low index countries have had to learn to deal with the changes common to the neurotypical society around us and being told to be more flexible. I would be interested to hear how someone from a high UAI country experiences this dimension.

As suggestions to those of us on the Spectrum I would say focus on the anxiety created by the changes with typical anxiety measures such as meditation, calming talk, a type of tea that works for you and possibly medication.  Xanax has been used for anxiety attacks but the potential for addiction and misuse make it impractical for any sustained usage. Some anti-depressants have been for effective for reducing anxiety in general and may be a good line of defense against total meltdowns.  Here are a couple of articles that offer anxiety remedies to try: 5 Quick Ways & 25 ways to relieve anxiety

->Part 6<-

Helpful resources:

World Map of Uncertainty Avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance - Tips

5 Quick ways to overcoming anxiety

25 ways to relieve anxiety

If you spend your days ripping things apart you become jaded to the process of creation

I posted a link over on Wrong Planet regarding Ian Ford looking for programmers to work in his ASD friendly business. One respondent lamented that it was for technical people and that he needs a non-computer job. I can understand his frustration.

I have posted before about whether Software Quality Assurance is the best job for people on the Spectrum due to the conflict that can be innate in many software development environments. However, while contemplating another set of articles I want to do I came up with another reason that Testing may not be the best.

Don't get me wrong, I love Aspiritech, Specialisterne, Autism Works UK, Uzmanlar and Kaien and their goal of providing well paying jobs for ASD folk. But the constant analyzing and picking apart someone else's work does something to people (NT or ASD). I think it devalues the original work in our eyes and possibly bleeds over to original work in other areas. How many times do you see someone post something original and get torn apart for it?

Georg Hegel posited that the creation of something with our hands and minds is essential to our well-being while saying nothing of critiquing someone else's work. It is an important developmental step in our life when we learn we can create even if it was just finger painting or coloring a picture with Crayons (r).

So even if you are just evaluating someone else's work take the time to create with your own hands & mind. The sense of self and accomplishment that comes from it will help be an antidote to the cynicism that comes from always finding something wrong with someone else.

Craft idea: Alien

So there might be some legal issues involved in this but anything you can make hearkens back to the chest bursting scene in the movie Alien is bound to bring you attention and some money. See this: http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/28/alien-wedding-cake.html

On a more serious note though, if you take public domain works and transform them into something edible, cute, impactful or whatever you can find a market for them. Think of a metal work rendition of the Last Supper or a wood block carving of the cave paintings in Lascaux, France. Or even a diorama of the Battle of Isandlwana.

Your obsessions can be profitable if you can communicate them in a new way so think about what you know well and then think about various forms of media/art; you never know. If Mark Kurlansky can make money on a book about Salt or Cod then you know there is a market for you somewhere.

Mark Kurlansky's books:

Salt: A World History & Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World