This post might be for the audience that has experienced or knows people with special needs.
As I am looking to start getting a job or going into a work program, I am preparing myself of how to tackle my difficulties known as socialization. For someone like me, allegedly there roadblocks of how to have an retain an “appropriate”  “boundaries” with peers, superiors, and other social “status”.
I am going in a mind set of having a [super] professional respect and boundaries with my prospective co-workers. Work is not a place to make friends, its a place where you are expected to perform and do what is expected in your job title. Often, people with autism or other disorders typically do not know what is right and what is wrong. Thats where the “boundaries” comes from.
Now there are places I have contemplating of working. I feel given my educational background of a fraction of a high school diploma* and unfortunately in the mean world of reality, people do judge you by how many “pieces of paper” you have framed. Doesn’t matter what the context is on that piece of paper, its how people judge you.  So I have settled with the idea of working in retail in some of those “cool” stores at the local malls. Since I have gotten less and less laid back (for whatever reason, since it would be improper for me narrow it down giving I have been in a real angry mood, and some of my thoughts might be totally wrong) that I might not even gel well at those places where its socially ok to be laid back and casual.
* I got a High School diploma, but I felt that I didn’t work harder to really deserve it. In my view, they overstated my grades just to give me the diploma with the intent to get need services in the future. I wanted to learn more, instead of learning to do vocational work; and I didn’t get what I felt like I needed.
Another issue is some of these work programs for special needs (like autism) have targeted the high functioning population and think they can meet the high standards. Like the last work program I was in was pretty white-collared, putting high standards (since thats how the corporate world is) and expecting to meet those demands, and have 0% mistakes.
Now I have nothing wrong about the corporate standards, as that has been part of my DNA for almost my entire life. My problem is the “high functioning” population that is often misunderstood of having Asperger Syndrome* while most AS individuals are typically normal, above normal and don’t have significant issues. So if I come off as someone with AS, then the standards go through the roof, and if I fail to meet the standards, then I get fucked by the system. Often people with AS come off as a high standards individual, such as dressed in a corporate attire in some cases.
*currently NOT part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder. The disorder has “autistic-like” traits, while individuals are known to  have”social difficulties.” Again the focus on the latter, and most cases these people don’t have delays like autistic people traditionally have. Do not believe people when they say they have Asperger Syndrome, a form of autism; which clinically is NOT. Also the official name does not have a posseive noun, referring to Hans Asperger, the doctor that coined this non autistic disorder.
Well that last sentence would apply to me. I often dress up as a corporate attire, because I was taught to be a high class individual, and have higher expectations than his peers because people had pushed me to “go to my full potential.”  Today I often dress up, and have a lanyard of an ID badge of what is now a defunct IT consulting firm that I was trying to do before I got a “real job.” Again it has been perceived that there needs to be an “image” to come off as a professional as opposed to his “normal” peers of being inappropriate, dressed over casual, or act immature, as someone like me can’t do things like that and often would be considered as scandalous.
As I go back onto the topic of “relationships at the workplace” there are laws I need to comply (no not Sarbanes Oxley or HIPAA, etc.) but laws like Sexual Harassment, Harassment and follow ethics. Again, while my “normal” likeminded group have enablement of doing things that should be called out on. Ethics is my highest point. I feel that I need to be the “good guy” and expect to have the highest respect in the workplace.
I might be a person that people may hate if I work as a Genius at The Apple Store, or a clerk at Aeropostale or flipping burgers at a Five Guys, because I have been taught to be professional, and to retain full respect of the public and my future co-workers. And I have a conclusion to make sure I put everyone up on a pedestal and respect all my co-workers as a higher level of socialization.
If I didn’t have autism, I’d probably be in Iraq or Afghanistan being in the U.S. Miltary. I seem to have military standards in me.
Call me crazy, but I am a professional with meeting high standards 24x7x365. Because I am expected to be a professional.