Does Your Employer Know You’re On the Spectrum?

[Rob]

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.

Yes, my employer now knows. For years I had no idea why I had such a hard time learning my job and had such trouble with social skills and multi-tasking. But now after leaving pharmacy tech college in Kamloops I explained to him at an appropriate time that my psychologist diagnosed me with Asperger's. He now can tie the many bad experiences I had together and make sense of it all. I can too! It has helped me hugely that I disclosed it to him, and he has done A LOT to accommodate my condition to give me less stressful shifts and give me work that does not require so much multi-tasking and contact with lineups with people. Physical work with predictable routines and less problem-solving does a lot to relieve the pressure on my Aspie mind, and I can still contribute as a person to the economy of our small tourism-based town.

 

[icesyckel]

Oddly, my ASD seems to help with my actual work. It inhibits some of my interactions with colleagues and clients, but on the whole it is more useful than inhibiting. If someone offered me a "cure," then I would tell him were he could shove it.

 

[Cyllya]

I'm not diagnosed with autism or aspergers, so I haven't disclosed that, but I'm open about my ADHD. Besides needing some unofficial accommodations, it wouldn't be feasible to hide.

If I'm diagnosed with an ASC, I'll probably let it slip at some point.

 

[danielcollins]

Handful of people know about it, if someone mentions it then I'm happy to talk about it.

Usually people that have friends or children that have it, notice some of the common similarities and ask in a relatively polite way.

Although on the record I have not disclosed it, because I don't think it's pertinent at this point in time.

Very lucky to work for a small company and I get on with everyone I work with on a personal level too. Part of the reason why I've stuck this job out for nearly two years.. all previous one's got a bit bad after 10 months.

Though I don't think It'd be an issue.

 

[Etzelaire]

I never tell them, I just say I'm commited to my job and like to get on with it without any distraction.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I'm not diagnosed, so no they don't know. But my family agrees and they highly suspect i have it. I think my supervisors have at least noticed an oddity or two, though. They learned early on that i can't be given orders/directions checking a customer out. They now turn my light off and i know to come find them when i finish checking my customers out. Many coworkers have noticed and commented on my somewhat excessive need for neatness at my register - to the point of ignoring a customer right in front of me just to make it look okay before i sign onto the register taking over for someone else. It overwhelms me if my work area is chaotic and not neat, not just how i like it.

 

[AsheSkyler]

My current bosses are my grandparents, because right now their seasonal job is the only one I can get. Even though I don't have an official diagnosis, some things make a lot more sense to them now and they're more willing to work on some things with me, like giving me a few minutes warning before chunking me with a client so I can mentally prepare myself for interaction. If I ever pick up a summer job during the off-season when people around here finally start hiring again, I'll probably keep quiet and let them think I'm just weird unless I have issues with somebody not keeping their hands to themselves and the reminder of "hey, I'm married, bugger off" doesn't work.

 

[ladykayak]

I disclosed to my manager in new (ish) job - was very understanding and had that "lightbulb" face that some people do when I tell them. Have told some colleagues, some get it, some don't. The ones who don't have said "but you don't fit the profile"...usually due to the female/extrovert stuff. Better experiences overall than I'm used to though.

 

[Spinning Compass]

Officially, I am not diagnosed although my primary care doctor agrees with me that I am somewhere on the spectrum, so, no, as far as my employer is concerned, they don't know. I have had to get by without any accommodations no matter what the job.

I did "come out" to a co-worker who I thought I could trust. She seemed to be knowledgeable about aspergers and autism in general. I say seemed. Because all of a sudden she started assuming things about what I was capable of and what I was not capable of, and to make a long story short, I have found myself marginalized and micromanaged--even though I was handling many complex tasks long before she came on the scene. I am no longer competent to send e-mails or phone calls on my own; they must be filtered through her. She speaks to me in front of others as if I were a mentally retarded five year old--and the supervisor lets this happen. Now, nothing changed except one little word.

So take care. You may find yourself on the sidelines and no longer considered capable or credible. There is one light at the end of the tunnel. She is scheduled to be transferred to another department in January. But I have learned my lesson. If you are functioning and accepted to be "normal" do not stir up trouble by letting people know otherwise.

 

[gouldgrl]

Officially, I am not diagnosed although my primary care doctor agrees with me that I am somewhere on the spectrum, so, no, as far as my employer is concerned, they don't know. I have had to get by without any accommodations no matter what the job.

I did "come out" to a co-worker who I thought I could trust. She seemed to be knowledgeable about aspergers and autism in general. I say seemed. Because all of a sudden she started assuming things about what I was capable of and what I was not capable of, and to make a long story short, I have found myself marginalized and micromanaged--even though I was handling many complex tasks long before she came on the scene. I am no longer competent to send e-mails or phone calls on my own; they must be filtered through her. She speaks to me in front of others as if I were a mentally retarded five year old--and the supervisor lets this happen. Now, nothing changed except one little word.

So take care. You may find yourself on the sidelines and no longer considered capable or credible. There is one light at the end of the tunnel. She is scheduled to be transferred to another department in January. But I have learned my lesson. If you are functioning and accepted to be "normal" do not stir up trouble by letting people know otherwise.

Sorry this happened to you, but it does serve as a cautionary tale for others. I think disclosing also has the potential to make the ASD person the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in a working relationship. Unfortunately, we don't always recognize the dangers until after the fact.

 

[ladykayak]

I think diagnosis and disclosure are double-edged swords and so much depends on the response from others. in my last-last place of work (ostensibly a mental-health environment) the harrassment and abuse I had from colleagues was so bad my union advised me to contact the police. In my new job, was wary about disclosure as a result but so much better response and genuinely valued. in this case the risk paid off but yes, a huge gamble. which it really "shouldn't" be.

 

[Kirsty]

Nope.

 

[Shell-Bell]

Luckily my aspie related difficulties don't interfere or complicate work at all and I've only told a few friends. Only one keeps bringing it up as some sort of secret weird thing about myself, the others were very accepting of it and a few were apparently even autistic themselves!

 

[ImAnAspie]

Hah! No one ever quotes me = I'm far more different from any of you - and far more different from these humans than any of you are! HAH!

 

[Aspergirl4hire]

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've found the book Asperger's at Work to be helpful when dealing with online applications that ask if I want to disclose a health condition. While I've been advised to decline to respond--I've also noticed that autism has joined other conditions. On balance, it seems to me that I don't want to work for an employer who can't cope with a reasonable accommodation for something that isn't going to change--and if keeping up with the Sociables is what keeps people employed, I'm certain that I won't do well there anyway. Temple Grandin's book on Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships has an entry so useful that I put it on my cell phone. I look at it when I start to get upset about things other people regard as trivial.

 

[Cerulean]

I've volunteered to disclose my disability on legal forms at work, but the form we have is so very broad and includes items like anxiety and depression, which so many people struggle with, that I don't feel like saying "yes I have one of these things" is descriptive enough to stigmatize me, and you don't have to identify which on the list you have, they just want to know what percentage of their workforce is considered disabled for legal reasons.
Sorry that was a super long sentence hah!

 

[apt-get]

The person who I work for doesn't know that I'm an Aspie. He does, however, know that I'm a transsexual woman.

 

[Mr Allen]

It's on a "need to know" basis IMO, and unless it becomes a critical issue, they DON'T need to know, I've had enough interviews where I've declared being both disabled and Aspie and consequently not got the job to know not to say anything unless I absolutely have to and even then I'd rather not.