Episode 3 Employable Me

This programme contains some strong language

Could I state my employment history so far?

Yes, I have literally never worked before in my life.

-Ever?

-Ever.

How many jobs would you say you've applied for?

Hundreds of jobs.

What was your last job?

Hey. Hey! Stripper.

-HE COUGHS:

-This interview is not going well.

Employers always say they want candidates who think differently,

but how much do they really mean it?

-HE TICS

-How important is it you find work?

I... I want to lead a normal life, like anybody else does.

Meet the extraordinary job seekers...

Chicken.

..whose brains are wired differently.

What do you think your biggest weakness is?

I shave my pubes.

SHE LAUGHS

That shouldn't be a problem in this job.

Good, thank you!

In a world where the workplace is set up for the norm,

it's been impossible for them to succeed at work.

Until now.

Businesses are starting to realise that neurodiverse conditions

like autism and Tourette's can bring creativity,

innovation and real brilliance into the workplace.

With the help of leading scientists,

they'll uncover their unique abilities.

The numbers just kept coming in the right order. Tick, tick, tick.

How is she even doing that?

Wow. I didn't see that coming. Goodness me. That is so impressive.

And battle to overcome their challenges.

This, I can't... I don't know how to control this.

I am hating this, right? This is so awkward.

Hey! Hey, hey, hey!

To prove to employers how their difference...

Trust in thine armour to succeed.

..could actually be a strength.

Do you think you'd fit in here?

And when the job match is right...

Sold for £24 to the little gentleman over there.

Perfect.

..it could change their life for ever.

So what would it mean to finally get the right job?

-HE TICS

-It would mean the world.

If you could describe yourself in one word, what would that be?

I suppose...unique.

There's no-one else out there, that I'm aware of, with my own

unique combination of skills and peccadilloes, if you will.

27-year-old Ben lives with his dad Mark.

They go everywhere together.

Wallet, keys, phone, bus pass,

iPod, inhaler.

-Right, I've got everything.

-Right, got everything?

-Yeah.

Off we go, then.

Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome whilst at school,

Ben sometimes finds the outside world a challenging place.

It's not a not-full bus. That's a rather full bus.

-We'll wait for the next one, yeah?

-If that's OK, yeah.

His condition can make him overwhelmed by crowds.

I don't really like to get on a bus that's that full

unless I really have to.

The crush of people is very unsettling.

And how often do you not get on the bus?

Quite often!

One out of every three, maybe, I won't get on.

Oh, there are people in the shelter so we need to stop here.

He's also a stickler for the rules.

You'll have other people coming, they'll get in front of you.

So long as I'm doing the correct thing,

-I don't care what other people do.

-These ladies can get on before us.

-LADY:

-You're a gent.

-No, the queue's here. Here is where I will stand.

-OK, all right.

I don't care what anyone else does,

-so long as I'm doing the correct thing.

-Inner calm, lad.

I'm perfectly calm. You're the one saying I'm not.

Right, OK.

A common aspect of Asperger syndrome

is an inability to cope with stress and anxiety.

Ben has been working on coping strategies

to overcome this.

This is my helmet.

A museum quality replica of a medieval great helm,

made of 18-gauge riveted steel.

If things are getting a bit much, in like a sensory aspect,

things getting too noisy or overwhelming,

then I can just pop this on for a couple of minutes.

And then I can go back to what I was doing.

Trust in thine armour to protect you to succeed.

Every aspect of Ben's life is geared towards avoiding unpredictability.

I live my life by rules.

Without rules, without order, there is only chaos.

And with chaos, we are nothing.

Well, this is my room, or my chambers, if you prefer.

Ben is so dedicated to the rules that he's devoted most of his adult life to studying them,

and was the first in the family to go to university.

Lawyering Skills And The Legal Process.

I have a Bachelor of Laws undergraduate degree

and a postgraduate diploma of legal practice.

What law is is us turning and looking at our base nature

and saying, "I will not," rather than, "Thou shalt not."

I worship the law the same way others might worship a deity.

Ben's sense of order even extends to the way he applies for jobs.

He won't send a new application

until he's received a reply from the last.

I always viewed it as bad manners to do anything other than

contact one firm at a time.

Over three years, he's managed to apply for over 40 legal positions

using this systematic approach.

"Thank you for your letter and CV.

"Our books are closed for training contracts commencing 2017."

But despite his qualifications,

he's never even been offered an interview, let alone a job.

"Unfortunately we are a very small firm

"and are currently fully staffed."

As far as I'm concerned, he's done everything that's been asked of him.

Everything. School, college, university.

There should be something at the end of the line.

A lot of employers see Asperger syndrome on his CV

and companies are not prepared to take the chance

and give the support that a youngster like Ben needs.

I don't know. It's just...

It's like banging your head against a brick wall sometimes.

And as his dad, or his father as he likes to call me,

it's my job to try and, you know, reassure him.

Try and pick him up, try and motivate him.

It's just a spreading miasma of despair sometimes.

-BLEEP

-this folder.

SHE TICS

I would describe my Tourette's as a little devil.

I talk about my mum's pubes.

I talk about my mum's pubes a lot.

Anything that you would think to yourself,

I'd better not say that, I'm saying it.

And everyone's going to hear it.

Ginger pubes.

Ellie worked ever since leaving school.

Japan.

Until one day, two years ago,

everything changed.

You look like a twat.

'I was working as a community support worker.

'On my way home, went to get a sandwich from a supermarket.'

Hiya, thank you.

All of a sudden, I started ticking "marshmallow."

You lanky prick.

And I was like...

Everyone started looking at me.

I'm only just getting to grips with what it actually is,

and what it actually is for me.

-BLEEP

-buttons.

When Ellie was diagnosed with full-blown Tourette's...

-BLEEP

-go then.

..she lost her job and has been unemployed ever since.

Stinks of piss.

Looking for work has become a daily task,

and without a printer at home,

she has to brave the local library to print CVs.

Slow as shit.

People always moan and say the weekend's not long enough,

and, "Oh, I've got to go back to work on a Monday."

Come on, then.

I want to be that moany person that says, "Oh, work again tomorrow."

Shitting hell.

Shut up, you're in a library.

Very important for me to find work, so I feel a sense of belonging.

Come on.

Having e-mailed potential employers with no response,

Ellie has taken to handing out CVs personally.

Wow.

I'm just wondering if you've got any jobs available.

We've got no jobs at the moment but we'll take your CV.

That's great, thank you.

If any jobs become available, we put a poster in the window.

-That's great.

-OK then.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

It does anger me that employers rule me out because of my Tourette's.

For example, I went for an interview and I called...

what would have been my boss a nosy bitch.

And the 16-year-old girl, who had gone for the same job as me,

got the job with no experience.

-Well, we'll take your CV anyway and have a look.

-That's great.

But when you keep getting knocked down and knocked down

and knocked down, for something that you cannot help...

SHE TICS

..that is the worst feeling in the world.

You're going to crash.

Well, I suppose getting a training contract anywhere

would be like a small-town parish curate being told,

"Pack your bags, you get to go work in Vatican City."

27-year-old Ben has been looking for a job in the legal profession

for the last three years.

Recent weeks' perseverance could have paid off.

"Dear Ben, I'm delighted to invite you to attend for interview."

-Wow.

-It's a job interview.

-Wow. That's brilliant.

I'm so used to companies saying, "Well, thanks but no thanks,

"but thanks for taking the time to apply to us."

Or just not hearing back at all.

And it's not just, "Please come for an interview."

It's, "I'm delighted to invite you for interview." That's spectacular.

Well done, you.

I'd give you a man hug, but you'd tell me off.

-No, you stay away from me.

-We can hold hands instead.

-Don't touch me.

-But I want to give you a big hug and say "well done".

-I know.

-It's not fair.

-You'll have to settle for a high-five.

-I'll catch you when you're unawares.

-No. Don't touch me.

Oh, it's brilliant.

It could very well be a life-changing experience.

It could be like the snowflake that causes the avalanche.

With a trainee position at a local firm in the offing,

for Ben, this will be his first proper job interview.

There you go, sir.

Thank you, Father. Thanks for ironing my shirt.

No problem. It's what fathers are for.

I firmly believe that if I can get into a firm

and just get that one chance to show what I can do,

that I'd be able to impress them enough to earn a place there.

Wallet, keys, phone, bus pass, railcard. That thing.

Right, I'm good to go, yeah.

Although Ben's interview is only a short train ride from home,

unsettling hazards are never far away.

There's a man smoking in the bus stop,

right next to a sign that says "no smoking".

Oh, right.

People don't care about rules like that.

I wish they did, but they didn't.

And he was sitting right next to the sign that said

-"no smoking in this area".

-Yeah.

And then, when he got up, just threw stuff on the floor.

Like he didn't even care.

Probably didn't.

Well, yeah, I know that, but still.

Yeah, I know. But don't let that affect you now. All right?

Take a deep breath. All right. Then move on.

You've got something really important to do,

don't worry about some bloke throwing a cigarette on the floor.

The more I try and puzzle it out, the kind of

more perturbed and bewildered I get.

DOORS BEEP

I'll try not to let you down, Father.

You won't let me down, I know you won't. Good luck.

The only thing that can let him down, I think, is if he panics.

If something unexpected is thrown at him.

Hiya. Hope you don't mind dogs.

Hi, how are you?

Hello. Not so bad, thank you. Yourself?

-OK.

-If you could just quickly sign in here.

-Certainly.

Do you want to come through? She usually follows me everywhere.

Sorry, excuse me, fella.

Come on, Skye. Good girl.

Sit down.

OK.

The role that you actually applied for is a paralegal role

with a view to a training contract.

Hopefully, by the expression on your face,

I'm guessing that makes you quite a happy person.

Yes. Yes, it does. Indeed.

I'm having trouble vocalising how it makes me feel, to be honest.

All I've really wanted is a chance to show what I can do.

And I will give you the blood in my veins and the sweat from my brow.

I swear it upon the very bones of the earth.

Oh, bless you.

What we do is we ask all candidates to complete a personality survey.

Tick, on each line, one that you are most like

and one that you are least like.

I'll see you shortly.

Interpreting emotions is often one of the hardest things for someone

with Asperger syndrome to do.

I struggle with things like this, to be honest.

It all seems very double meaning.

If I tick "obedient," does that mean, yes, I'll do what I'm told?

Or does that mean I'm saying, "I'm a doormat, don't hire me."

To have this cavalcade of grey areas makes me

a little bit panicky that I might screw up before I even begin.

OK. Thank you very much for completing that for me.

What we're actually interested in is candidates with

a bit of character, who can work well within the team.

But I'd like to know, what are your hobbies?

Why did you go into the law? Those kinds of things.

Erm, to... To me, law is,

it's what makes us civilised beings.

You know, the fact that we have stood up and said,

"We're not going to act the way that

"nature seems to have intended us to act."

That the strong must always take from the weak.

We will act in this way because we decide to.

We will not, not "thou shalt not".

That's quite an interesting answer.

Time will tell as to whether Watson Legal is going to be

the place where your career starts.

-Thank you very much.

-All right.

-OK.

I thought that it went OK, I think.

It seemed to go well. I hope it went well.

The key concern that I have is, whilst he can communicate

very, very well, it's just how he would adapt to a team environment.

So I do want to really consider it over the weekend.

-Well done. Nice one, eh?

-Yeah.

What would be my dream job?

Anything at the minute.

Like, literally anything.

I don't care if I'm scooping up dog poo on the park.

Like, anything. Just to get me out of the house.

Good girl.

23-year-old Ellie was diagnosed with Tourette's two years ago

and was forced to leave her job as a community support worker.

Now she spends her days at home

with her three dogs...

Chuck.

..applying for work, and trying to keep herself busy.

Van Gogh's got nothing on me.

On radiator.

I get motor and vocal tics.

On your jeans.

My vocal tics, it feels like a sneeze.

And you know when a sneeze is coming,

but sometimes you can't stop a sneeze.

SHE TICS

My motor tics, when my arms are moving...

..it feels like I'm a puppet on a string.

And somebody's pulling me down, from the bottom of my spine

so my head's jolting back.

Paint.

Paint.

On face then. On face.

Trying to suppress them...

but it's not working.

Do you think you're going to need to find

quite an understanding employer?

Definitely. Especially if I'm a painter and decorator!

So yours is all right, then?

It's been two weeks since Ben had his interview for his dream job

as a trainee solicitor.

-Who's it addressed to?

-Well, it's addressed to me.

What does it say? Come on. Read it out.

-It says, "Private and confidential."

-Private and confidential.

I'd like to think it's good

but I'm not going to kind of make any prediction.

"Dear Ben.

"Thank you for attending this firm's office on the 6th of November.

"I have considered your application in depth and with regret,

"I wish to inform you that on this occasion

"I will not be taking your application any further.

"I'd like to wish you every success in your search for a suitable position."

Well, shit.

I don't know what to say.

I thought I did really well at the interview as well.

-It all went so well, didn't it?

-Yeah.

Oh, dear. We're back to the drawing board.

Yeah, I guess.

I think I'm more devastated than Ben.

You know, the chances that he's had have been so limited, so few,

but this one seemed to go really well.

And whether that tag of Asperger's is going to be

just hanging around his neck all the time.

That people just aren't prepared to give him an opportunity.

You know, a company like this, they've got to make a choice,

and that's fair enough, but the choice never seems to be Ben.

And of course, the older he gets and they'll say,

"Well, you've never worked."

So that's going against him as well.

I worry that he'll never work.

And that's been a worry of mine for quite some time.

After another disappointing rejection,

Ben's dad wants him to change his strategy

and look beyond just applying to law firms.

"Are you passionate about where you live?

"We're looking for volunteers to make the streets of Cambridge

"even cleaner, tidier and more pleasant."

Tapping into his obsession with rules,

the job would see Ben patrolling the city centre

for petty offences.

"Fly-tipping, litter, waste, abandoned shopping trolleys

"and abandoned and untaxed and nuisance vehicles."

-What do you reckon?

-Well...

Wrap up warm. Nice pair of gloves.

I'm... I'm certainly willing to give it a go,

but does it not count as giving up?

It depends what you mean by giving up, giving up on what?

On working in the legal profession.

No, course it doesn't.

Why would it be giving up?

I don't know. Because I've been applying for all this legal stuff.

If I was a prospective employer and I was looking at your CV and that,

and thought, "Well, he's not done anything for a while."

Then I saw, well, you've done whatever job.

You know, you've kept yourself busy.

I suppose the broader I can make my skill and knowledge base,

-the better.

-Well, yeah. Nice one.

Nice one.

Until you actually have this condition,

you don't realise how much it affects you.

I laugh about it and if I didn't laugh about it,

I'd just cry and stay indoors.

SHE TICS

Hoping to discover more about her condition

and how to combine it with a career,

Ellie is meeting a neuropsychologist at Birmingham University.

Today, I'm looking for some answers to my condition.

To, like, help me understand it more.

So I can kind of get a feel of where I will be able to work.

I'm interested to find out

whether there any positives to Tourette's syndrome.

So, yeah, I'm quite excited.

-Ellie.

-Hi, you all right?

Great to see you.

Tourette's is not just about tics.

It's also about how people with tics might think a little bit

differently and how that can be a strength.

To find where Ellie's abilities lie,

Dr Eddy is using a series of cognitive tests.

Seeing people cry doesn't really upset me.

Strongly disagree.

I prefer animals to humans.

Slightly agree.

Videos...

To explore Ellie's perception of the world around her, she has been asked

to watch a series of moving shapes and describe what she sees.

Pervert.

The red triangle's being followed, and the blue triangle is a pervert.

And what made you think that exactly?

Because the red triangle keeps stopping and looking back.

The blue one just stops. Until the other triangle turns around,

and when it's confronted like that, the blue triangle runs away.

That's what perverts do.

When you're watching them,

something's happening whereby it's making you see an emotion?

Yeah, it's making me angry.

We think that maybe people with tics might be a little bit more aware

about what's going on in their social environment

or they could be a little bit more emotionally sensitive.

Would you say that that might be possible in your case?

Definitely. Definitely, it does.

-HER KNEE BANGS THE DESK

-Ow!

Do you think that that might interact with your tics at all?

Emotional things.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Sorry. You're going to have to wait a minute.

Little tic attack going off right now.

This, I don't know how to control this.

Do you want a break for a minute?

Well, I don't know what my tics want to do,

so crack on.

What we're often seeing is that people with Tourette syndrome

are particularly intuitive and very empathic towards other people.

And it could be that an employer could really tap in to those skills.

What kind of work have you been involved in in the past, Ellie?

I was involved in youth groups.

But I wouldn't feel comfortable now, working with young people.

Just for the tics that I say.

Yeah. It's quite challenging sometimes, I can imagine.

Yeah.

But then, I guess, the other thing maybe about having tics is,

it gives you perhaps some insight into what it's like

-to be in a difficult position.

-Yeah, probably.

And maybe that in itself is actually quite helpful for relating to other people.

Ellie, like many people with Tourette's,

has scored highly in tests measuring empathy.

Her heightened emotional intelligence means she would be

particularly suited to professions with a strong caring role.

Moving forward from today, I just want to get in there

and find the job where I can use the skills

that I know that I've got, and where my tics won't matter.

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to finding that job.

I suppose the world to me, in some respects,

looks very black and white.

Things are binary. You know, they're right or they're wrong.

It's been a week since Ben sent his CV to Cambridge Council.

Today, he begins a work placement with the street law enforcement team.

It's probably a good idea to sort of try as many different fields

as I can that have even the slightest bearing on law

and the application of law, and how it all fits together.

I'm going to go, I'm going to have a jolly good crack at it

and just see what happens.

The enforcement team in Cambridge,

their primary role is deal with what we call environmental crimes.

So they go out and patrol for things like litter, fly-tipping,

abandoned vehicles.

An enforcement officer has a lot of different qualities.

What we're looking for is someone that can be professional,

remain calm when they're dealing with

what can be quite aggressive situations.

Thank you for joining us today, Ben. These are the enforcement officers.

Ben's going to be with us, doing a couple of days' work placement.

OK, Ben.

So as we're going to be going out on foot patrol later on today

and dealing with litter offences,

we're just going to do a little scenario, a little role play here.

Tom's dressed up as a member of the general public, smoking a cigarette.

And then at some point, he will walk away.

As he walks away, he will throw a cigarette end to the floor.

As soon as he walks away from that, then that's the offence committed.

-Morning. Can I have a quick word?

-What's this about?

-It's about a littering offence.

-I've got to go.

Yeah, sorry, but you're going to have to listen to me now,

cos you've committed an offence under the Littering Act.

Have you got any ID on you today? Have you got your driving licence photo card?

-My name's Mickey Mouse.

-Yeah. I need your proper details, please.

Bearing in mind, if you give me your details and they are incorrect

and false, there are ways we can find out.

-It's only a blooming cigarette.

-Yeah. But you're littering.

'I'm a little afraid at the moment,

'because this job contains things'

that if I was able to avoid, I would.

You know, having to read body language accurately.

What if we just come to some sort of arrangement?

Zero tolerance.

Thank you very much.

With his crash course in litter law enforcement over,

it's time to hit the streets.

I'm not comfortable. Not comfortable at all.

-INTERVIEWER:

-How are you going to cope?

-I don't know that I am.

I'm just going to have to give it a go.

I mean, if I need to, I can just say,

"I can't do this, I'm out," right?

Ben has the power to issue on-the-spot fines

to anyone seen deliberately littering the streets.

There, I just saw one. That guy there with the hood.

-Chucked it down?

-Yeah.

-Did he?

Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, can I have a quick word?

Basically, my colleague and I have just witnessed you

dropping a cigarette end and walking away from it,

which I'm afraid is my duty to inform you constitutes an offence of littering under section 87.

I'll pick it up.

I'm afraid that Cambridge has a zero tolerance policy to litter.

-So we are going to have to deal with you by means of a fixed penalty notice.

-OK.

You have 14 days to pay the sum of £75.

Although if you pay within ten days,

you'll be eligible for the lesser amount of £50.

-Never throwing a fag butt again.

-HE LAUGHS

You took everything on board from the role play.

You mentioned the legislation. You mentioned what the offence was.

And all in all, I was really pleased with what I saw.

Ben's ability to retain information has impressed his supervisor,

but not every offender is so compliant.

-Oh, that guy. He just threw one over there.

-Which one?

-This fellow, right here.

-He did?

-Yeah.

-Did you witness it?

-I did, yes.

-You did witness it. Are you happy to engage?

-Yes.

Sorry, can I just stop you for a minute, sir?

Do I have to stop?

-You do, unfortunately, yeah.

-You do, unfortunately.

Just listen to my colleague. Listen to my colleague.

-What do you have to say?

-Why are you blocking my way?

-I'm not blocking your way.

-You are blocking my way. I'm trying to get past and you're blocking my way.

Environmental crime officer.

Crime?

I just did what I've been, you know, what we've been talking about.

And then the gentleman's not happy with it,

and it's kind of...escalated.

Just listen to my colleague...

Listen to my colleague first then. Listen to my colleague.

I just assumed that people would say, "OK, yeah. I did the thing."

I didn't realise it would draw quite so much of a crowd.

I'm wishing I was somewhere else right now, to be honest.

When you have a cigarette, stump it out, empty it in the bin

and you won't get done. That's all right, buddy. Take it easy.

All right.

Well, there you go, Ben.

No, I don't think that went very well at all.

I mean, I guess I was expecting people to comport themselves

with a bit more decorum.

That is definitely worst end of the scale. Yeah.

It wouldn't cross my mind to behave like that.

So it's as much puzzlement as anything else.

It's been a busier day than I anticipated.

So I'm looking forward to, I think the right term is "clocking off".

Hi, Ben.

Hi.

Well, basically I just wanted to come and say,

I don't think this sort of work would be sort of for me.

I don't think, erm, I'd be able to do it.

I mean, the unique challenges that what I've been diagnosed with poses,

is sort of detrimental to this kind of work.

I just don't think, on the face of it, that it's for me.

I think you've adapted.

You know, you've done very well while you've been here.

-Thank you very much.

-But all in all, I think

from what we started with initially in the morning, to what we got to

at the end of today, was a good achievement on your part.

Thanks, Ben. All the best for the future.

-It's been a pleasure meeting you.

-It's been a pleasure working with you.

We'll probably see you around town anyway, at some point, yeah. Great.

Just don't litter.

I have never been a litterbug before but I will be certain,

doubly certain, not to magically become one overnight.

Nice one.

-Brilliant, Ben.

-Thank you very much.

Today's been hard, it really has.

I do have a great concern where it comes to interacting

with people, particularly strangers.

At least no-one can turn round and say that I didn't try.

Someone should hire me because I have a big personality.

And if they believed in me, I would go the extra mile for them.

SHE TICS

Maybe!

No, I definitely would.

Since a neuropsychologist revealed Ellie's empathetic abilities,

she's decided to focus on jobs that involve caring for animals

and has enlisted her friend Kat to trawl for opportunities.

Veterinary nurse assistant, full or part time.

I'd like to do a job like that, working with animals,

because they calm me down.

If you was just dealing with the animal side,

I think you'd be quite good, but it's just the people side to it.

Maybe you just need to be like the cleaner-outerer.

Dog grooming assistant stylist.

"You'll be hungry to be part of a successful salon

"and you'll be proactive in your approach."

I am hungry. I'm hungry now.

She is great with animals.

But you know, it's just getting to that point

where she's going to be accepted.

-Nosy

-BLEEP.

I'm looking for work at the minute and I was just wondering if I could leave you with a CV.

'All my life, I wanted to work with vulnerable young people.'

But when I got diagnosed with Tourette's, it got quite difficult

because the tics that I was saying and things like that.

I've got Tourette's. And sometimes that might affect me at work.

I think working with animals is probably the next best thing.

Because they're not going to be bothered.

I'm a ticking twat. Oh, sorry.

That's fine. No problem at all.

-No way!

-How gorgeous, yeah.

-Not rabbit stew.

-No, definitely not.

We'll keep your CV on record anyway.

That would be great. Thank you so much.

-All right then.

-Thank you.

-Lovely to meet you.

You too. Thank you.

Ellie's also looking online for job opportunities

that combine her love of animals and her caring ability.

She's applying for a volunteer scheme at a dog rescue centre,

where she could be trained up for a career in animal welfare.

I hate the idea of animals being mistreated.

So I think I'd be really good at that job and I know I'd work

really hard, to ensure that they do get the care that they need.

High-five. Good girl.

I do feel an intense determination to succeed in getting a job.

It may take me a year.

It may take me 100 years.

But I'm not going to give up.

I do not yield, I do not relent and I will never, ever surrender.

Ben has suffered repeated failure in the employment market.

To help find new strategies to turn his job hunt around,

he's come to Trinity College in Cambridge

to meet leading autism expert Professor Simon Baron-Cohen.

Some employers only see the difficulties when they are

considering employing someone with a disability.

-Good day, Professor.

-Nice to see you. Call me Simon.

-OK, Simon.

-Is that all right?

-Yeah, that's fine.

'But if they could start thinking about what are the advantages

'that someone with autism might bring, that would be a real change.'

-What did you study?

-Law.

Right.

Now that I've finished my studies, I'm trying to find a job.

-OK.

-So you've been looking for a while, have you?

About three years.

That sounds quite challenging.

Challenging is certainly the word I would choose.

To understand more about Ben's profile of difficulties

and strengths, we're going to use a series of tests,

which are often used to understand people

with autism spectrum conditions.

This test, it's a test of recognising other people's emotions.

Just from the eyes.

Many people with autism, like Ben,

struggle to read emotional expressions,

read people's body language,

and that could be quite difficult in interviews

where you're having to interpret another person's behaviour.

You have to pick which of these four words best describes

what he might be thinking or feeling.

I guess I'd go with guilty.

OK. That's interesting.

Correct answer on this one is actually concerned.

That he's a bit concerned about something.

-I've always had a lot of difficulty with this kind of problem.

-Yeah.

Quite uncomfortable making eye contact, even with a picture.

-So, right.

-Yeah.

I mean, I've developed a whole slew of techniques to give

-the appearance of making eye contact.

-Yeah.

But not actually making eye contact.

I'm very interested in what your kind of tricks or strategies are.

Focusing on the end of a person's nose is one that can help.

That can give the appearance of making eye contact, when you're not.

The tip of the ear is one that can help.

Six inches above the left shoulder.

OK.

So if the rest of society expects you to make eye contact

and it's uncomfortable for you,

you've got ways of making it look like you're doing it.

And that's good, actually.

So we've done with that test, which was all about faces.

But this test is a bit different, cos it's all about shapes.

The task is to look at this shape and see

-if you can find it in the larger pattern.

-OK.

The embedded figures test asks people to find one part

within a more complex visual design.

So it's really looking at how quickly

can they take information apart to see the components.

Wow. So I didn't see that coming.

I was still looking for it, but you'd already found it.

It's not the same orientation, though.

-No, it's not the same...

-But...

Yeah, and there's another one.

-That one is.

-That one is.

So, actually, you saw two versions of it, when I hadn't seen either.

There's another one here as well.

Goodness me. Three.

Another one...

there.

-Oh, I see.

-Conversely, there would be...

Use a different pen for the upside down ones.

-Oh, right.

-Conversely there would probably be another one there.

You're absolutely right.

There as well.

Wow. OK, I've lost track but I think that was six.

Most people would struggle.

And then there would also be another sideways one here as well.

It's incredible, isn't it?

So actually, once you've started doing this task,

you keep going, don't you?

And then two more going this way, cos this is a symmetrical shape.

That is so impressive. Most people struggle to find one of those.

Even if they're given several minutes to find it.

You do have a very analytic mind.

This happens to be a kind of visual, spatial thing.

But probably even in the law, you need a very analytic mind,

-would you say?

-I think so, yes.

The law might actually be a very good choice of subject.

Autism or Asperger syndrome is often a difficulty in making

sense of other people.

But, actually, what the law does is it gives you a very clear code

about what people can and can't do.

So it's, in some ways, helping to regulate human behaviour.

I think there may very well be something in that, yeah.

Ben's ability to analyse a complex set of information

could be very valuable in all sorts of professions.

It's a real shame that Ben hasn't had a chance to show these

skills to an employer.

You've been sending off a lot of letters and CVs to people.

I would contact one firm

and wait to hear back from them before I could contact another.

Because it always seemed to me

to be terribly bad manners to just scattershot people.

Right. What you're describing,

I've heard quite a lot from people with Asperger's,

that they like to do one thing at a time.

Start it and then finish it, in a kind of a complete way,

before starting the next thing.

What would be really good for Ben is if he applied for many jobs

simultaneously, so he's got a greater chance of success.

And maybe rather than applying for jobs straight off,

he should be applying for work experience

so that he can show an employer what he's capable of.

I suppose what was particularly interesting for me

was a sort of a new take that I hadn't myself considered,

on particular aspects of autism

and how they could be considered strengths.

When people fill out their job applications,

they might tick the box saying, "I have a disability."

And they might think that's a negative thing.

But actually, if Ben can start thinking about his

Asperger syndrome in a positive way and thinking about the strengths

that he has, that could really help them to see what he's got to offer.

I'd like to believe that there is a job out there for me.

All I need is just to come across the right person, who'll think,

"I can afford to give this chap a chance."

Following his meeting with Professor Simon Baron-Cohen,

Ben is trying a different strategy.

He's composed a fresh covering letter to sell his personality,

and present his Asperger syndrome not as a disability,

but as a potential strength.

I can say that in me, you will find a dedicated,

vigilant and hardworking graduate who burns for an opportunity

to prove himself in the legal field.

I'm seeking an opportunity to demonstrate what I can do

and that people with my condition can hold their heads up high,

even among the more august professions.

Very good.

He's also ditched his policy of sending one application at a time.

25 letters.

With a copy of my CV, I'm going to send to 25 different law firms.

-OK, let's go.

-Yeah, right.

After sending out her CV far and wide,

Ellie's been invited to a work trial at a dog rescue centre.

If I tic a lot today, I don't know what they're going to think of it.

Some of my tics are racist words.

And I can't control anything that comes out of my mouth.

Suppressing my tics, which I hope that I can do today,

it's...not easy to do.

I really want to prove to myself and the people that I can do this job.

The person Ellie needs to impress over the next two days

is centre manager Martina.

Nigger.

I'm so sorry.

If she does well, she could be accepted on to their volunteer training scheme,

her first step to a career in animal welfare.

So if you want to take those through and when you're ready,

come back through to reception and we'll get you with the member of staff that you'll be working with.

-Thank you.

-All right, Ellie. See you in a few minutes.

We don't allow volunteers to just come and volunteer

without going through quite a rigorous set of skills checks,

to ensure that they do meet the standards and ethos,

as set out by our rescue.

I can feel tics in my belly

and I'm trying to like...

keep them all in.

Kennel assistant Simone will be showing Ellie the ropes.

You all right scooping? Yeah?

Each of the 27 kennels need to be scrubbed down twice a day.

This mop's shit.

In this role, you've got to care about the animals

and look after their needs.

Put aside the smell and the mingingness

and just get on with it.

You really do like mopping, don't you?

Yeah. I really do.

Every animal must be walked.

Let him have a good sniff around.

And it's a chance for Simone to assess Ellie's dog handling skills.

So we try and get the dogs out into different places.

-Nice woods and things like that.

-For shagging.

It's a nice place for walking your dog.

Using the different senses, different smells.

-You've got all the squirrels.

-Have you ever shagged in the woods?

-Sorry.

-The squirrels and the rabbits and things like that.

Red sauce or brown?

As the day wears on,

Ellie's tics are getting increasingly hard to manage.

Shave your pubes. Sorry.

Today I've suppressed more than I ever have since I've been diagnosed.

It's made me think, can I actually do a job? It really has.

Following Ben's fresh approach to applications,

he's had a positive response.

A solicitor's firm in central London has invited Ben

for a week's work placement.

I'm very much so excited to be able to work with such paragons of legal excellence.

It is an incredible chance and I intend to relish every minute of it.

Hi, Ben.

Every year, the law firm offers work placements

to 15 aspiring students,

and those who impress are then invited to apply

for full-time employment within the company.

As a whole, what we're looking for is not only academic credentials,

because whilst they're obviously important,

they're not the sole indicator of how successful

a person's going to be as a solicitor.

OK, so these are obviously photocopiers, etc.

We obviously look for people who've got good client facing skills

and we want people who are driven.

Ben will be working under Daniel Godden,

a partner in their criminal law department.

He'll be assisting him on a high-profile drug case.

So our client's name, we'll use a pseudonym for now,

is going to be Steve Smith.

He's involved in one particular date,

and it's alleged on that date that he was arranging to supply

something in the region of five or six kilos of cocaine.

So the first thing I'm going to ask you to do this afternoon, Ben,

is analyse a phone schedule and produce further evidence from it.

OK.

Ben is tasked with converting telephone call details

into tangible evidence to be used in court.

If it's his intention that he wants to be a lawyer,

this is the sort of task that you have to be capable of doing.

You have to be capable of looking at volumes of information,

ascertaining what's relevant

and then producing it in a format that can be readily understandable

by both, in this particular case, me, the supervisor,

and also the client.

Some of the exercises we did with Professor Baron-Cohen

illustrated that I can find patterns relatively well.

So you know, hopefully that will come in some use here.

One number will call another and then hang up almost immediately,

and that number will call the first one back. Something is afoot.

It's almost like there are patterns beginning to emerge.

That number has come up again, so I'm going to go through them

more thoroughly and see

if I can find that last four digits linked to a name.

At the end of the day, Ben has processed all of the data

and has some results to show Daniel.

There was 29 different activities

on a lot of very short phone calls,

both made and received.

Yeah. Cool.

The calls were being made from different locations,

faster than an individual would be able to travel to those on foot.

Which suggests to me that he could be driving about.

It is quite a complicated process and it seems to me

that you've taken to it very well.

You made excellent progress.

You obviously weren't even here that long and you've managed to do

obviously an entire person's phone data for that day.

To be here, in a place where I can use what's in my head, you know,

is...

It's indescribable.

At the dog rescue centre,

the pressure of working for the first time in two years

is making Ellie's tics worse than ever.

But hiding is not an option.

A vital part of the role is matching dogs with the right new owners.

If Ellie wants to succeed, she'll have to host one of these meetings.

What's going to happen is, you're going to bring the dog up that they want to meet.

Go through kind of the age, breed, what pets they already have

in the home, how long they're out of the house for.

That's kind of the main questions, just to start off with.

It's the first time Ellie has had to work with the public

in over two years,

and with so much at stake, it's a terrifying prospect.

I'm happy just being around the dogs.

I don't want to meet people.

Cos I know that this would be a brilliant job.

But I feel like I can't even...

..talk to a fucking person.

I need to go and sort my face out.

Before going ahead,

Ellie wants to know exactly who she'll be dealing with.

-INTERVIEWER:

-How's he look?

Grey as fuck.

Are you feeling all right?

I just want to go and get it over and done with.

Come on.

Hi, are you all right? This is Nova.

I'm sure you've been waiting for this for a long time.

She is eight weeks old now.

She's up to date with all her flea treatment and worming.

Have you got any other pets at home?

We have, yes. I've got two Labradors.

-She may be a little bit bigger than a Lab.

-Yes!

And she's big.

Have you got any children?

-Yes.

-How many children do you have?

-One little girl living at home.

-Aww!

Is there any questions that you've got for us?

Not that I can think of, no.

Obviously if there is anything when you get home, just give us a call.

And I'm sure we'll be in contact very, very soon.

Fantastic.

I'm very relieved I've just done that.

You didn't tic.

Yeah, I know. I think it's cos I was concentrating on the dog.

It was like you'd done it before.

-Really?

-Yeah. You come across really confident. I'm serious.

Like, I'm really impressed.

Wow.

With the final task on her placement completed...

-KNOCK AT DOOR

-Come in.

..it's time for Ellie to see if she's done enough to earn a position on the team.

So, how do you think you've got on?

I've really enjoyed it.

Your willingness to get stuck in with the harder labour tasks,

the cleaning - pooey puppies are not a pleasant experience at the best of times.

You're either wanting to do it or you're not

-and you've shown true dedication...

-Dog shit.

..and wanting to get that done.

You've got more of an ability than you give yourself credit for.

You have that genuine empathy, that genuine want,

desire and drive to do well by the dogs.

We are very keen to get you on board.

We would like to invite you to join our volunteering programme.

How does that sound to you, Ellie?

Really good. Really good.

-Yeah? Excited to come on board?

-Yeah.

For the first time in over two years,

Ellie's been given the chance to work again.

It is pleasing to know that I've made a good impression.

To feel accepted.

So see you later. Yeah? Oh, thank you.

Mwah, mwah, mwah!

Being offered part-time volunteer work is really good,

because I can build up my strength and my stamina,

and figure out how I can combine both a job and Tourette's together.

This has been a great first step on the road

to where I eventually want to be.

As a result of impressing his boss,

Ben's been invited to meet the senior partners of the firm.

What skills do I personally think that you would

look for in one of your trainees?

I'm just going to have to try

and put all the anxiety to the back of my head.

If he presents well, he could be invited to apply

for a training contract at the next company intake.

This is all or nothing. Everything is at stake.

You know, my future, my credibility.

What makes a good lawyer in your view,

and do you think you've got those skills?

In general terms, there's of course, you know, analytical skills,

the ability to, erm, sift through large volumes of information

and pick out the salient facts, in relatively short order.

What specifically do you think that you can offer Hodge, Jones & Allen,

which would make us want to employ you in the future?

The thing that I will be able to offer is dedication.

You know, also I have a determination to see justice prevail.

If you were to be a criminal lawyer, you'd be representing people

who'd been accused of some of the most terrible acts,

and some of them will have done those acts.

How do you feel about that

and how do you feel about devoting your working time,

your working life, to representing and helping those people?

When you step into the persona of a criminal lawyer,

what you think about the rights and wrongs,

and the wither-tos and the why-fors,

you hang on the door with your hat.

-Thank you.

-If you choose to wear hats, that is.

Is there anything you'd like to ask us?

I don't believe so, at this point.

I have very much enjoyed every second of my time here.

It is an experience that I will not forget until my dying day.

'I thought that he gave an incredible interview.

'The first thing was being struck by his amazing passion.'

I felt quite moved by how committed he was to the job,

how much he wanted the job,

how hard he would be prepared to work to have that job.

I have a great passion for the law, for justice

and for the ideals that this firm represents.

I'm also a very committed individual.

I'm committed to whatever I set my mind to.

He could speak very eloquently, very calmly.

I think he'd make a good advocate, actually.

I think I could see him standing up in court

and representing his clients really well.

Our application site is open at Christmas for applications

for training contracts.

We hope we'll be hearing from you.

I can assure you, you will.

I've just been and sat in a room with three august partners

of an excellent law firm and they had nice things to say about me.

So that's a good thing.

I think it's important that the law has a diverse range of people

practising law, because obviously the society who we represent

contains a diverse range of people.

And that's obviously hugely important,

that people like Ben are given the opportunity to practise law.

If you hit an obstacle, if you can't, like, clear it in one jump,

then you walk back a couple of steps, break into a run

and try and jump over it again.

I'm speaking metaphorically, of course. I'm not a very good jumper.

-Hi, mate.

-All right, Father?

-How'd it go?

-I don't think it could have gone better, actually.

-No?

-No. Because they said they would welcome an application from me.

-Oh, wow.

-The window opens in January.

That's brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Well done.

Yeah. So, January 1st, I've got to make an application.

Well done, you.

Come on then.

I really don't want to jinx anything but I've got a sneaky hope

that this might possibly be the start of something wonderful.

I hope so. I think you deserve it.

I think you've done really, really well.