First CNA Job, Asperger's Makes Things Tough.

[OswinOswald]

I'm a new CNA, and I just started my first job in LTC. I love it, but there are specific things that make things unusually difficult.

Oddly enough, all the alarms don't bother me- I thought they might, since I've had issues with loud noises before, but it's a relief that these ones don't.

It's more stuff along the line of people telling me things and not give me a chance to process them before saying the next thing. I also have a hard time with body language, but it's more like thinking something's wrong and asking what's wrong when nothing is wrong. I guess I also ask too many clarifying questions sometimes, but I always notice stupid little details that other people know are no big deal. The thing I have a really hard time with is not realizing when residents are confused- some are pretty obvious, but then, I'm just so used to "normal" people saying weird sounding things that I just take a lot more at face value than other people.

If anyone has advice or can relate, I'd be happy to hear it.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. My older son is 26 and he is a high-functioning Asperger's kid who's never really gotten the hang of picking up on social cues. However, he has managed to get through a four-year stint in the Army and another two years in the National Guard, and he's currently in college studying criminal justice. He has to be doing something right, and obviously so are you if you made it through CNA training. In time, you will probably get better at figuring out when a resident is confused, although there are a few who fool people for an amazingly long time because they mask their dementia well.

Be sure to give yourself time to learn and grow. There will likely be some parts of life that you'll continue to have difficulty with, but that's true of everyone---we all have stuff we just "don't get". Good on you for asking questions.....the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

Welcome to Allnurses!

[hazyblue]

Just remember that things get better with experience. If it's not, then it only means you have to have more experience.

I have never worked at LTC ever, but I think that in every field of nursing, there is always those patients who won't divulge all that is wrong with them, to you, for various reasons. Thus it isn't really so bad to be always asking "is there anything wrong?" Sure some you may seem annoying and deemed incompetent at times but it does pay to be careful.