(18 Jan 2016, 6:16 pm)MurdnunoC wrote But my point is that you often see the same people standing in the same places everyday.
I am not one to tar everyone with the same brush. Of course, there are those who are unable to maintain a steady level of functionality on daily basis. However, if you're prepared to pursue a hobby with the added bonus of getting paid on occasion while performing the same daily routine lasting several or more hours, then isn't that more or less the same as working?
Is it not possible to apply the same set of transferable skills to the workplace?
It can be possible, but if you can't be guaranteed to be able to do it as and when you need to work, then a potential employer is going to employ someone more reliable, instead.
I don't claim out of work benefits, but I'm not in paid work. I'm sure i could manage it if there was such a thing as a job which didn't aggravate my own condition, between 9-3 on term-time weekdays (including travelling - and term time being much reduced by having kids at school in 2 different counties) with time off at no notice for kids being off school for illness or mental health reasons, plus kids' hospital appointments, school meetings (they have many and I need to visit schools for littl'un, this term, on top of that) and so on.
With over a decade out of the workforce, plus those constraints, despite having had a well paid professional career, in the past, I'm not a great prospect. I do some ad hoc voluntary work - no more than an afternoon a month. Sometimes there is no way on earth I can make it for that afternoon because of other commitments or issues.
Only about 10% of people with a diagnosis of autism (I give this example because this is a big part of my life) are in full time paid work. It's an awful statistic but it's not as simple as saying well, if someone uses this skill in their hobby, they should be able to hold down a job. There can be many barriers to that job, ranging from lack of interpersonal skills, poor organisational skills, inability to break a rigid routine to ensure getting to work on time, mental health issues, an explosive temper, or other stress response and so on. The proportion is only slightly higher for people with an Asperger's diagnosis http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/c...w=Standard