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I'm still trying to understand why you need to learn a programming language and Spanish. I live in Texas and grew in a city that's majority Hispanic. While being fluent in Spanish would have made me more competitive for social services jobs, I've managed to stay employed without being fluent. Unless you plan to teach Spanish or ESL students, you don't need to know Spanish.
Most Millennials do not know how to program. Not even the next generation, Gen Z/I-Gen, is expected to know how to program. Do you plan to work in any technology jobs? When do you plan to program anything?
MOOCs, such as Coursera and edX, give you deadlines, there are grades, and you have to pay for a certificate.
I agree. OP, are you in touch with any organizations for vocational help for people on the spectrum? They can help you figure out how to explain seeking a lower level job then you're qualified for. I also think you would benefit from their help because I think you have to be honest from the get-go about being on the spectrum for your next job.
You can learn computer skills and Spanish at adult community education courses. Most of them are under $25. I took everything from ballroom dancing ($40 for 8 weeks, a bargain compared to a dance school) and also a couple of writing courses. They were taught in a local high school at night.
Wow, those classes sound so affordable. I don't know of anything like that in my area! That sounds ideal, though. What's the program called?
Yes, I've been in touch with vocational rehabilitation since June. I don't think there's anyone who specializes in only ASD in the area, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by L210
I'm still trying to understand why you need to learn a programming language and Spanish. I live in Texas and grew in a city that's majority Hispanic. While being fluent in Spanish would have made me more competitive for social services jobs, I've managed to stay employed without being fluent. Unless you plan to teach Spanish or ESL students, you don't need to know Spanish.
Most Millennials do not know how to program. Not even the next generation, Gen Z/I-Gen, is expected to know how to program. Do you plan to work in any technology jobs? When do you plan to program anything?
MOOCs, such as Coursera and edX, give you deadlines, there are grades, and you have to pay for a certificate.
Okay, well, the courses I signed up for can be taken at any time, and, to be honest, I haven't finished any of them, so maybe there are grades, but I doubt I could fail something that i can literally take at any time. I even emailed one of the instructors and asked about it. I can take the course at any time I want to. It's completely self-paced. Of course, this is on sites like Udemy, where anyone can become an instructor. Sites like Coursera and Edx may have different rules. I might want to check and see.
As for tech, I guess maybe it's something specific to autistic people from my generation maybe? I'm getting the impression that we're expected to be tech savvy; I got hired on at the youth center because of my perceived proficiency with tech (which in my opinion I'm not really that proficient; I just Google things and ask questions), and even my vocational rehabilitation counselor said I would probably be great if I had a job working with computers (maybe IT?). I told her that I did not know any programming languages, but that didn't seem to bother my counselor.
Well, maybe that's where I'm coming from, because I majored in ESL, sort of, so it would be pretty helpful for me to know a foreign language. Maybe it's just my background in Education that's making me believe I need to know Spanish, though. I have noticed that a lot of people here are bilingual, though, and I've seen it as a requirement on a few job listings, and this was for lower level stuff, too, like server, dishwasher, or housekeeper and such. Of course I live in a part of Texas that is rather close to the Mexican border, so that might have something to do with it.
Why don't you listen to your conselor's suggestions, or find a new counselor? None of your ideas really make any realistic sense, unless you just want to waste time taking classes. Programming jobs or any tech job above just reading off a script at a call center require far more in depth knowledge and experience than you are going to get from any class. Call center IT help desk jobs are filled with people with no knowledge of programming or computers in general past reading a script.
You really have no burning desire to learn any of this stuff or you would have dove in and stayed with it. You haven't yet found your niche. Maybe you would be better off with a manual job you can do well. Or some sort of clerical job, maybe an office temp if that appeals to you. Actually working at anything would be more rewarding than spitballing a bunch of ideas you have no real desire to accomplish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krmb
Wow, those classes sound so affordable. I don't know of anything like that in my area! That sounds ideal, though. What's the program called?
Yes, I've been in touch with vocational rehabilitation since June. I don't think there's anyone who specializes in only ASD in the area, though.
Okay, well, the courses I signed up for can be taken at any time, and, to be honest, I haven't finished any of them, so maybe there are grades, but I doubt I could fail something that i can literally take at any time. I even emailed one of the instructors and asked about it. I can take the course at any time I want to. It's completely self-paced. Of course, this is on sites like Udemy, where anyone can become an instructor. Sites like Coursera and Edx may have different rules. I might want to check and see.
As for tech, I guess maybe it's something specific to autistic people from my generation maybe? I'm getting the impression that we're expected to be tech savvy; I got hired on at the youth center because of my perceived proficiency with tech (which in my opinion I'm not really that proficient; I just Google things and ask questions), and even my vocational rehabilitation counselor said I would probably be great if I had a job working with computers (maybe IT?). I told her that I did not know any programming languages, but that didn't seem to bother my counselor.
Well, maybe that's where I'm coming from, because I majored in ESL, sort of, so it would be pretty helpful for me to know a foreign language. Maybe it's just my background in Education that's making me believe I need to know Spanish, though. I have noticed that a lot of people here are bilingual, though, and I've seen it as a requirement on a few job listings, and this was for lower level stuff, too, like server, dishwasher, or housekeeper and such. Of course I live in a part of Texas that is rather close to the Mexican border, so that might have something to do with it.
Why don't you listen to your conselor's suggestions, or find a new counselor? None of your ideas really make any realistic sense, unless you just want to waste time taking classes. Programming jobs or any tech job above just reading off a script at a call center require far more in depth knowledge and experience than you are going to get from any class. Call center IT help desk jobs are filled with people with no knowledge of programming or computers in general past reading a script.
You really have no burning desire to learn any of this stuff or you would have dove in and stayed with it. You haven't yet found your niche. Maybe you would be better off with a manual job you can do well. Or some sort of clerical job, maybe an office temp if that appeals to you. Actually working at anything would be more rewarding than spitballing a bunch of ideas you have no real desire to accomplish.
I'm open to any career options suggested to me at this point, and I've told my counselor as much. I don't think that means I should stop trying to update my job skills to become an even more desirable hire to perspective employers, though.
You can download Python interpreters 2.7 and 3.0 for Windows and Linux for free.
There are lots of books downloadable also.
Thanks for the link, but I'm trying to figure out why I haven't really been able to stick with anything. It may be that the courses that I enrolled in offered little in way of accountability, so they were easy to forget. I guess the online courses that actually grade my work might be worth looking into. Maybe that will give me a greater sense of accountability and provide more motivation. It really doesn't take that much. I've had luck with almost every online class I've taken, except for free or low-cost MOOC's, but maybe I haven't taken the right ones.
I'm open to any career options suggested to me at this point, and I've told my counselor as much. I don't think that means I should stop trying to update my job skills to become an even more desirable hire to perspective employers, though.
Thanks for the link, but I'm trying to figure out why I haven't really been able to stick with anything. It may be that the courses that I enrolled in offered little in way of accountability, so they were easy to forget. I guess the online courses that actually grade my work might be worth looking into. Maybe that will give me a greater sense of accountability and provide more motivation. It really doesn't take that much. I've had luck with almost every online class I've taken, except for free or low-cost MOOC's, but maybe I haven't taken the right ones.
In the end, the bottom line answer is you don’t stick with them because they are not of interest to you. You have to really be motivated and interested in a subject in order to self teach it.
Community education comes in many forms some of it is offered a local colleges others are offered by the city it’s self often at local high schools. You could find out on your city’s website. Usually they send mailers out for them though. Here is a link to University of South Alabama’s non-degree continuing Ed course lineup most of them are about $115. Courses offered at the community level will be less expensive. Community colleges also have lower cost non-credit adult Ed where you can learn a language etc.
I will agree with another poster however who said that needing more education is not your issue. Your issue is with social skills and understanding communication (esp non-verbal). I don’t really think taking extra quarters is going to do much for you. I think you need some sort of setting where they know from the get go that you are on the spectrum and that they are able and willing to accommodate that. Thus far your strategy has been to fool them enough to get in the door than do all you can to hide it. That hasn’t worked.
You need vocational testing, to tell you where your strong suits are. The right counselor should be taking those aptitude test results combining them with your autism and coming up with a job for you that you can do well that will not be overwhelming nor require in person social skills. Is the vocational center giving you attitude testing at all? Are they modifying what they’re doing based on your diagnosis?
In the end, the bottom line answer is you don’t stick with them because they are not of interest to you. You have to really be motivated and interested in a subject in order to self teach it.
Community education comes in many forms some of it is offered a local colleges others are offered by the city it’s self often at local high schools. You could find out on your city’s website. Usually they send mailers out for them though. Here is a link to University of South Alabama’s non-degree continuing Ed course lineup most of them are about $115. Courses offered at the community level will be less expensive. Community colleges also have lower cost non-credit adult Ed where you can learn a language etc.
I will agree with another poster however who said that needing more education is not your issue. Your issue is with social skills and understanding communication (esp non-verbal). I don’t really think taking extra quarters is going to do much for you. I think you need some sort of setting where they know from the get go that you are on the spectrum and that they are able and willing to accommodate that. Thus far your strategy has been to fool them enough to get in the door than do all you can to hide it. That hasn’t worked.
You need vocational testing, to tell you where your strong suits are. The right counselor should be taking those aptitude test results combining them with your autism and coming up with a job for you that you can do well that will not be overwhelming nor require in person social skills. Is the vocational center giving you attitude testing at all? Are they modifying what they’re doing based on your diagnosis?
Yeah, I think I got some aptitude testing from the vocational rehab program. I don't think there was anything in way of how I act during unstructured social interaction, though. It was mostly a coordination test, lifting test, general knowledge, response to distractions, and non-verbal IQ test. My counselor said that I did fairly well, but I did qualify for job support (someone tries to help match me with a job they think will be a good fit). I haven't seen my scores. I also know that I did not do that well during the response to distractions portion; I was so focused on everything else going on in the room that I could hardly focus on the questions.
The counselor seems knowledgeable, and I trust her judgement. It just seems to be taking a long time, though. I've been waiting on these people since when i applied in June.
Um, thanks for the usouthal link, but I'm living in Texas now, about a thirty minute drive to Mexico. I guess the same idea applies, though, even though I haven't been able to find any Spanish classes at all around here--weird.
This place is at least better than Alabama's vocational rehab center. The person who interviewed me there told me they didn't have anything for "that," when I told him I was diagnosed with ASD.
In the end, the bottom line answer is you don’t stick with them because they are not of interest to you. You have to really be motivated and interested in a subject in order to self teach it.
Community education comes in many forms some of it is offered a local colleges others are offered by the city it’s self often at local high schools. You could find out on your city’s website. Usually they send mailers out for them though. Here is a link to University of South Alabama’s non-degree continuing Ed course lineup most of them are about $115. Courses offered at the community level will be less expensive. Community colleges also have lower cost non-credit adult Ed where you can learn a language etc.
I will agree with another poster however who said that needing more education is not your issue. Your issue is with social skills and understanding communication (esp non-verbal). I don’t really think taking extra quarters is going to do much for you. I think you need some sort of setting where they know from the get go that you are on the spectrum and that they are able and willing to accommodate that. Thus far your strategy has been to fool them enough to get in the door than do all you can to hide it. That hasn’t worked.
You need vocational testing, to tell you where your strong suits are. The right counselor should be taking those aptitude test results combining them with your autism and coming up with a job for you that you can do well that will not be overwhelming nor require in person social skills. Is the vocational center giving you attitude testing at all? Are they modifying what they’re doing based on your diagnosis?
The part I bolded is, I think, the crux of your problem. You are trying to learn things because for some reason, you feel that you need to learn them. In order to learn something on your own, I think you should find something that you really want to learn. Find your passion and follow it!
Find a Spanish-speaking person who needs to learn English. Teach that person English and have that person teach you Spanish.
Go Berlitz—that can be expensive face-to-face, but I think it may be less so via skype.
It sounds as though you are trying to do it alone and that is difficult. Why do you need to learn Spanish—do you have a concrete goal? It’s a beautiful language and I encourage it, but it helps to have a specific reason. If you get Telemundo, watch and turn on the Spanish subtitles as well.
I wish it were this easy. We retired to a Spanish-speaking country but the dialect here is like the U.S. Deep South, so "TV" Spanish won't cut it. We have been very lax trying to learn, for this reason.
No locals seem interested in learning English, either. We have to keep trying though. I can understand most of the subtitles, and can read Spanish somewhat, but speaking/understanding is a whole other thing.
I wish it were this easy. We retired to a Spanish-speaking country but the dialect here is like the U.S. Deep South, so "TV" Spanish won't cut it. We have been very lax trying to learn, for this reason.
No locals seem interested in learning English, either. We have to keep trying though. I can understand most of the subtitles, and can read Spanish somewhat, but speaking/understanding is a whole other thing.
I'm apparently too lazy, unmotivated, or disorganized for this to work for me, and I don't know if it really is this easy, but you could try a conversation exchange. This website has them, and I'm sure there are others.
One of my problems with arrangements like this is people aren't machines. They sometimes do things that make you uncomfortable, and the idea of mispronouncing something I should know and accidentally offending someone keeps me from even attempting a face-to-face conversation in an unstructured setting. Of course, the way I feel about this varies, and if I can find someone who is no-nonsense and just interested in practicing the language, that's a bit different.
I taught myself Hungarian to a low-intermediate level (nothing exceptional but I could get by in Budapest and read most basic stuff and having simple conversations) and that was out of fun, I also learnt most English out of the internet and tv series. What I would say to you is:
1) You need to want it: it is not a matter of being motivated, it's an issue of knowing what you want to obtain and be determined to get it. I go to the gym thrice a week and often it takes lots of will to go out to the gym but I keep doing it because I know I'm going to regret not going, because I like being there (not going there though) and a whole set of other things about the gym. Let's say you want to learn Spanish: is it going to be bothersome sometimes? Yes. Is it going to take time and effort? Indeed. Yet, if you manage to go through you'll be much happier than if you had not.
2) Assuming you are a monolingual, learning a foreign languages, especially for you native English speakers, is even harder because you are not used to do that, but it is not impossible at all. There are many, I mean, MANY resources all over the web to study Spanish: ranging from website where people correct your writing (Lang8) to private teaching (Italki), from exchanging messages (Penpals and bunch of other websites) to grammar collections. There are books and courses specifically designed for people learning on their own (rosetta stone, pimsleur etc).
3)A few practical tips:
- You need to be constant: even 30 minutes per day is better than 4 hours every three day. After a while, it will become a routine.
- Don't set unreachable goals: don't tell yourself that you are going to speak like a native in two months because it's unattainable. Set small, realistic goals and monitor your progresses.
- If you do not have a studying method, try out different ones: I like grammar, but there are those who prefer to just speak and speak, or others who merely read and read.
- Do not EVER be afraid of making mistakes: NEVER. It is perfectly normal to make mistakes, even the stupidest ones and you should never refrain from trying to speak: even if you botch 99 % of your sentences, it's better than mumbling and thinking.
- The best way to learn new words it to read, read, read, read and be immersed in them (either living in a Spanish-speaking environment, watching Spanish-speaking programmes, listening to Spanish-speaking podcasts, having a Spanish-speaking girlfriend, whatever).
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