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Does Your Employer Know You’re On the Spectrum?

It's a critical question in the US given so many different issues. Luckily I'm self employed so the boss is a bit more tolerant. But in telling my only friend, my cousin and my brother it's yielded three different responses.

The bad news? I'd be a little gunshy to tell anyone else at this point.

The good news? There isn't anyone in my orbit left to tell.
 
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I was pretty much forced to tell my employer. I'd been working long shifts for about ten straight days, and was feeling absolutely panic-stricken at the thought of having to go another straight week putting on my customer service mask (I work in foodservice, so interacting with strangers is constant). I told him I needed a couple of days to recharge. He responded by telling me that it wasn't normal to need to withdraw like that.

He was right - it wasn't normal. It was actually around this time that I started to find out about all of this. Funnily enough, his accurate (if slightly insensitive comment) led to my discovering the AS. I told him about it, as well as one supervisor I work closely with. I made them both promise not to tell anyone, and assured them I didn't want any special treatment, that I was still the same person I've always been.

It seems to have made a positive difference. He no longer expects me to be thrilled at the prospect of meeting hundreds of new people (even though I still do it, because it's my job), and doesn't mind when I take time between shifts to mentally recharge.
 
It seems to have made a positive difference. He no longer expects me to be thrilled at the prospect of meeting hundreds of new people (even though I still do it, because it's my job), and doesn't mind when I take time between shifts to mentally recharge.

That's pretty important. I'd think at this point your superior will see that it isn't simply an "attitude problem" you have with the general public that can be adjusted with a pep-talk. Good deal, Rudy.
 
Both the owner and my manager of the small company I work for know that I am an Aspie. They are very understanding and know that my AS is the reason I excell at what I do for them. One of my 2 main obsessions is lawn mowers and the repair of them. I am thier head technician and they love me for it. They call me the miracle worker from some of the junk I have brought back from the dead. They understand if a customer is being unreasonable and I excuse myself from the front counter and return to my shop, its to prevent melting down at that person. And that if a customer bypasses the front and comes to the shop directly, one of them will come back and assist me in dealing with them. They have made me part of thier family and I am so fortunate to have this kind of work enviroment. Mike
 
Well said!!! I may be wrong, but doesn't the ADA say something about "reasonable accommodations?" At my place of employment, I've seen some reasonable accommodations that were anything but reasonable. A break, as long as it doesn't adversely affect the flow of productivity, is not unreasonable.

Good point. In the US, it appears that autism in the workplace relative to the ADA is not administrated or enforced in a uniform matter. I find this disturbing. And just reading a number of threads in this forum it appears there may be significant differences in terms of getting help from one state or region to another.

It's another reason why at this point in time I'm not certain a formal diagnosis would hurt or help my predicament. Of course if I eventually run out of money this concern could become a moot point.
 
I'm actually really lucky that he responded with such understanding. Usually, when it comes to mental conditions, he's very closed minded and ascribes to the school of "get over it" - which is good advice, but only to a point. I have a little more respect for him now than I used to.

I did ask him to promise not to tell my co-workers, though, as I know them well enough to know they'd treat me differently. I've lived "normally" for 26 years, I don't suddenly want to become the special needs kid. :/ I hope that doesn't offend anyone - I have nothing against the "special needs" label, I just don't feel it should suddenly apply to me, as I've coped relatively well up until now.
 
I have not mentioned it to my employer because it has not been an issue at all. I didn't put it in my application because there was no need for any accommodation so it didn't seem necessary. I would be willing to tell an employer if there were significant problems that could be dealt with by minor accommodations but for small things I wouldn't bring it up.
 
I've only told one of my employers (Walgreen's) about it, and that was after I got in trouble--

I was busy stocking shelves one day, and a customer interrupted me to ask for something. Well, I was focused so hard on what I was doing that my response was very rude, to put it mildly. The (substitute) manager (the store manager was on maternity leave) called me into the office and asked me what happened, so I explained it, and said that the reason I was so focused was because of my ASD--then, he asked me a question I did not expect: "Were you hydrocephalic as a baby?" I remember thinking, Oh-kay. THAT was a pitch outta left field I wasn't expecting! But I knew I couldn't lie about it, so I said that yes, I was.

The manager proceeded to tell me about his son, who was also hydrocephalic as a baby, and who exhibited many of the same traits that I did--I explained that I suffered the birth injury form of hydrocephalus, where his son suffered the birth defect, and I wasn't sure whether the injury form of hydrocephalus had autism or an autistic disorder as a side effect.
 
I work for an EEO (Equal Employment Opportunities) employer. My bosses know. I told them - and after wearing my Aspie tshirt to work, I suspect all the other workers now know as well. People are fascinated with it for a short time, some even know about it and then it's all forgotten. I think people are too concerned about their own stuff to worry about me and my Aspergers. It's not that big a deal to me or anyone who knows me.
 
I've always worked my balls off, and it sounds like the rest of you do too. When I told my boss (I was newly diagnosed AS at age 59) he immediately Googled it and pointed out numerous reasons why that diagnosis must be wrong. It didn't seem to phase him at all and we haven't mentioned it since, I just get on with the work. That's what we Aspies do, after all, isn't it ? I'm lucky to be in a University environment working with Big Data, which has attracted all sorts of people well up the Autistic spectrum into the same environment. I actually persuaded them to take one guy on precisely because he wasn't any good at interview, but in a way I totally understood. Oh, hang on, that means I must have empathized with him... how can that be when I'm AS? :)
 
As I was going about my duties today, the question came to mind if others who are employed have shared their respective disorder with their employer. This time last year (give or take a month) I disclosed my diagnosis to our HR Director. Our previous supervisor was making life a living hell for everyone, so three of us filed multi-page complaints. I “casually” mentioned having AS and related some of the challenges it presents, particularly in relationship to dealing with the type of supervisor we had.

She asked if she should disclose it to my director. I said, “No, I’d rather not be labeled as such. I just mentioned it to help you and whoever better understand my difficulties.” By the way, but the problems I had with our previous supervisor had nothing to do with my AS. He was just plain evil. They fired him July 12, 2013.

Anyway, I have noticed a significant change in attitude toward me by our director. He is no longer abusive and even goes out of his way to be friendly. The HR Director said she would not disclose it, but I think she did. My situation at work has been much better since then.

So, if you have disclosed it, has it helped any? If you haven’t disclosed it, have you considered doing so? I’m also curious about the workplace attitude concerning those on the spectrum in different countries.
I've disclosed my ASD to only one supervisor, and it did not seem to help my work relationship with her. As a result, I will probably be less likely to do so with future employers/supervisors.
 
If I had known back when I had a my last job that I was almost certainly an Aspie, I probably wouldn't have said a word. I'm too proud to admit deficiencies most of the time. Although, I think once I finish with my short-term degree goals and try to get a job in my field, I'm pretty much going to have no choice. This is mainly because I'm both an Aspie and Bipolar (II), which in my case means sometimes I handle stressful situations better than most people, and then sometimes I have a meltdown over absolutely nothing.

Either way, I know I can never work in the service industry again.
 
I was given a report on the possibility of having ASD from a neuropsychologist 27 months ago and my employer referred me to Occupational Health who said they didn't know what I want as they had no understanding of the condition and to come back when i had a formal diagnosis. In February this year I went for an assessment and received a formal diagnosis of ASD and ADD. I gave the report to my employer and they still haven't done any thing. It's disgusting. Where are these employers' Duty of Care??
 
HELL no. I just try to come off as weird, not AS, but also highly-employable. I'm not ashamed, it's just that things like AS mean different things to different people depending on their level of understanding. If a boss has a crappy understanding of AS and you come out as AS, you risk being put in a certain class that bears no resemblance to who you really are.
 
I haven't had AS present a major problem in the few small jobs I've had in the past, but UK law states that if you don't declare a 'disability' your employer doesn't have to make any special adjustments for you later on if you needed it.

I'd declare it at any job now I have an official diagnosis, as you never know what might present a problem, & if something turned out to be an issue (eg. being asked to wear a particular type of clothing you were uncomfortable with, working in a noisy environment, etc) the employer would have to make reasonable adjustments for you - wearing softer clothes underneath, being allowed to wear earplugs, etc.
 
I honestly only had one employer and they knew I had AS because they were a friend of my relative, but it didn't help me feel any better. I ended up quitting my job recently and I have the opportunity to go back whenever I want, which is obviously a perk, but I don't think I'm going to be able to any time soon.
 
I may have to expand the list of people who know - one of my co-workers had a proper go at me yesterday for pacing and appearing "impatient and nervous" and drew all these conclusions that I was being stroppy and didn't want to be there and it's not her fault so don't take it out on her and she knows I have better things to do, etc. I didn't even cotton onto the fact she was upset at me until she was so wound up that her comments were just downright hateful in tone.

I try not to tell people, but when this happens, maybe I have to.
 
I told one potential employer during my interview and they said because of my condition, I couldn't have the job. I thought it was very unfair and, stupid. They didn't give me a chance to do that job and the discrimination I faced disturbed be so much that I began hiding my AS from people. What may be most ironic about the supervisor's reason for me not being able to do the job is basically, I would have done it too well - or to say it better, too literally. It was a position with the government in a secure reception area. They explained the rules to me, that no on was allowed in without identification. I am aspie and those a clear and defining instructions to me. I was happy to hear that. Then they unofficially modified the rules and said, well, I should let the supervisors wife in without ID. I simply could not do that. That was not the rule. If they had changed the rule to except her, I would have been fine but I must follow the rules. When I said I could not let her in, they said I could not have the job.

Adding to the irony, they were trying to make the place more secure since they had some trouble, an incident where an angry, threatening and unauthorized person had gone in. I would have been the cure to problems like that. You want people who won't bend the rules, hire aspies. But they wanted me to know when to follow the official rules and when to go with the social rules they had all tacitly agreed on. I couldn't do it. My brain can't make sense of it.
 

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